How has Covid-19 changed your marketing strategies, plans, and goals for 2021?

In our early conversations as Covid19 grew, as a lifestyle brand we knew that we had to remain committed to our guests’ health and wellness goals. We pride ourselves on being a purpose-driven company and, if anything, the pandemic magnified our need to stay focused on our brand’s mission and vision in the health and wellness space. With our guests’ routines drastically interrupted, our franchisees and the marketing team knew we could not slow down our guest-focused initiatives.

For example, early in the pandemic, we fast-tracked a new smoothie designed to support our guests’ immunity. We also collaborated with Under Armour to expand our reach during the height of home workouts and to reinforce our position as a healthy lifestyle brand. Additionally, we donated more than $1 million in smoothies to healthcare professionals and first responders on the front lines fighting Covid-19 to show how our smoothies can serve a purpose in more ways than one.

At the same time, we also had to meet our guests where they were and communicate our message digitally. Since the start of the pandemic, we have shifted a lot of our time, attention, and resources to the safety and convenience of our online ordering platforms. Whether that’s incentivizing guests to order through our Healthy Rewards loyalty app with in-app promotions, or partnering with a trusted third-party delivery vendor like DoorDash, we are continuing to build out our digital presence and ordering capabilities so our guests understand how accessible we’re making ourselves.

Also, in terms of accessibility, Covid-19 allowed us to lean into the convenience aspect of our business. Smoothie King has always attracted an on-the-go guest, so we made sure to emphasize our drive-thru capabilities as a safe and convenient option. As a result, our 400-plus drive-thru locations averaged a 26 percent increase for July year-over-year.

Being a lifestyle brand requires adjusting to the needs of consumers. As guests’ lives were affected, we quickly pivoted to better align our brand with those changes. They may only feel comfortable ordering on their phone, picking up in-store, or having their order dropped off to their car curbside. So we have focused our marketing efforts on letting our guests know how they can order Smoothie King safely and conveniently, and will continue to do so.

Covid-19 has affected the coworking/flexible workspace and how we market to potential franchisees and members. However, in many ways, this pandemic is helping us reach new audiences and focus our messaging on what potential franchisees and members are really looking for right now.

Before Covid, our marketing strategy centered around the current and projected growth in our industry, the professional, upscale spaces we offer, and our unique features. During and post-Covid, we will still focus our messaging on those key items, but we have enhanced it with the following:

• Focusing on positive projected growth in 2021 and beyond (number of spaces and number of members) • Building awareness of new target markets based on the explosion of remote workers • Describing the increased demand for private offices, private meeting rooms, and offices closer to home (to avoid mass transit)

• Focusing on virtual office offerings (professional address/mail handling without a physical office) needed for those working from home but not wanting to use their home address • Marketing meeting rooms for professionals who are working

remotely and need a professional place to have a meeting/conference • Targeting enterprise clients who are giving up their long-term leases at traditional offices • Marketing private individual and team offices for those who cannot work from home on an everyday basis, but want to be near home • Focusing on the size of our spaces (which easily allows for social distancing) and the cleanliness procedures we have put into place

These are just a few of the marketing changes we have made as we approach 2021. Regarding our plans and goals, they have not changed. Our plan is to continue to grow in new and existing markets in 2021 in the U.S. and worldwide. We are currently at 37 locations open and more than 120 signed worldwide.

The recent Global Coworking Growth Study 2020 showed, among other statistics, that 5 million people will be working from coworking spaces by 2024, an increase of 158% compared with 2020. And 77% of the coworking operators surveyed said they plan to expand by opening new locations.

We understand the need for coworking/flexible office space will only grow as the office landscape, remote employee situation, and general environment continue to change. And we will continue to pivot our marketing messaging to focus on the solutions Venture X is providing.