Keke’s Breakfast Cafe Ohio Expansion: Franchise Case Study

Expanding a franchise system into new markets requires building awareness among prospective franchisees who may be unfamiliar with the brand, then turning that interest into qualified leads. Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, a daytime concept known for its specialty meals freshly crafted to order, built a dominant presence throughout its core markets through a strong guest experience and operational excellence. However, as the Florida-based brand set its sights on national growth, it needed a dedicated partner to craft a targeted expansion narrative.

To establish credibility and capture market share in competitive target regions (especially those far from home), Keke’s partnered with Mainland to execute a full-funnel franchise development marketing strategy.

As Keke’s prepared to expand beyond its established markets, entering the Midwest became a strategic priority. The goal was twofold: elevate the brand’s profile in competitive Midwestern markets and identify growth-oriented multi-unit operators well-suited to partner for local expansion. Doing this required immediate brand authority in a region where overall brand awareness was still growing. Keke’s needed to introduce its business model to experienced business leaders looking for their next major investment.

Breaking into a new territory is a classic franchise development hurdle. Brands must have both visibility and credibility among prospective franchisees, even without a long-standing physical footprint. To turn a target region into a productive development pipeline, Keke’s needed to build its presence across major metro areas like Dayton and Cleveland. Mainland needed to create an integrated strategy to elevate brand awareness, drive lead generation and demonstrate the potential of the Keke’s franchise opportunity to high-performing Ohio operators.

Marketing strategy execution

Mainland developed and executed a multi-channel growth strategy that combined storytelling, public relations and digital advertising to saturate target markets with news about Keke’s upcoming expansion.

Targeted storytelling started with coverage on 1851 Franchise, where Mainland highlighted Keke’s plans to develop 25 or more new cafes across the state. Then, public relations began. Mainland secured features across major business and news outlets, including Crain’s Cleveland Business, Dayton Business Journal, Dayton Daily News and local broadcast networks like WDTN.

Mainland also led a strategic digital campaign to drive high-intent prospects directly to Keke’s franchise development site.

Results and impact

Mainland’s campaign produced measurable growth in the franchise pipeline. Targeted digital advertising brought more than 3,100 new visitors and 523 repeat visitors to the franchise development website, giving Keke’s a stronger stream of high-intent traffic.

That engagement generated 20 qualified leads and two completed franchise applications, ultimately contributing to a five-unit development agreement in Cleveland.

“Mainland was instrumental in creating awareness of the Keke’s Breakfast Cafe franchise opportunity in Ohio. Their storytelling and public relations across several news outlets gave our brand statewide recognition, leading to a development agreement in Cleveland,” said Ardag Tachian, senior director of franchise development.

By pairing high-level visibility with targeted digital acquisition, Mainland demonstrated how an integrated franchise marketing engine builds brand authority and delivers tangible results, even for brands working to break into brand new markets.