Baskin-Robbins has been recognised as Australia’s premium ice-cream brand at the QSR Media Awards recently at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney, winning the award for best brand transformation.
The brand transformation process began with the appointment of David Jordan to Australian general manager in February 2014. A record 14 new stores opened the same year which was recognised by the Chairman and CEO of Dunkin' Brands, Nigel Travis, and international directors as the most successful year in the history of Baskin-Robbins in Australia.
“18 months ago we began a journey with our franchise partners to re-build this brand through the implementation of a strategy that together we all had input and ownership in,” says Jordan. “The alignment between our franchise partners, support centre team and owners has been critical to ensuring engagement and execution of our collective vision.”
Over the 18 month period, Baskin-Robbins introduced an abundance of franchise partner development programs, operational strategies, guest service initiatives, monthly webinars, focus groups, training models and an online marketing portal to provide the resources and tools for franchise partner store growth.
The Australian team also introduced additional design features into all new stores which showcase new dedicated dessert topping stations, a community wall which aims to engage and uplift the local community, a state of the art cake ordering iPad and merchandise display, digital menu panels, and store ambiance that creates the perfect environment for guests to enjoy their ice cream creations.
“The strength of the Baskin-Robbins brand is a testament to the leadership being shown at every level within our brand, a shared vision and a united passion for making our guests smile,” says Jordan.
“We have seen increased satisfaction from franchise partners, with recent franchise partner survey results showing a significant turnaround in engagement and satisfaction at record high levels. This in turn has generated an improved guest experience and increased guest frequency rates.
“This award is a reminder to all of our team members, store managers, franchise partners, and franchise support centre team members that together, our strategy is delivering. The most exciting part is that this journey has only just begun, and we are even more excited about what lies ahead, as we know we still have so much more to do to continue to exceed all of our stakeholders’ expectations,” he adds.