<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[ApolloCMO]]></title><description><![CDATA[ApolloCMO]]></description><link>https://www.apollocmo.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 00:05:36 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.apollocmo.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The discount calculator I should have built years ago]]></title><description><![CDATA[Marketing and finance have the same fight in every organization. Marketing wants to run a promotion. Finance starts losing hair. Marketing calls finance a creativity killer. Finance calls marketing reckless. Nobody wins, and the promotion either dies in a committee or runs with no guardrails anyone actually agreed to. I've sat in both seats. And the thing I've learned is that this fight isn't really about creativity versus control. It's about the absence of a shared framework. When there's no...]]></description><link>https://www.apollocmo.com/post/the-discount-calculator-i-should-have-built-years-ago</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69f27f410284ed8464dfb5d3</guid><pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:36:01 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Katherine LeBlanc</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Does "Good" Look Like in a Franchise Advisory Council?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Let me start with what it's not . Many emerging brands make the same mistake when launching their first FAC. They hand-pick strong operators - franchisees they trust, respect, and enjoy working with. It feels logical. Surround leadership with the best people in the system. But here's the problem: when those members weren't elected by their peers, they often feel accountable upward  - to corporate - not outward  to the franchisees they're supposed to represent. And that changes everything...]]></description><link>https://www.apollocmo.com/post/what-does-good-look-like-in-a-franchise-advisory-council</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e258d943fd38a1bb6f8c7c</guid><pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:00:55 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Katherine LeBlanc</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Five Franchise Development Tactics Your Competitors Are Not Using Yet]]></title><description><![CDATA[Paid media is not going away. Portal listings, digital ads, and paid search still drive a meaningful share of franchise development leads for most brands. But if paid media is the only thing working, you are paying full price for every single lead and you are competing in the same channels as every other brand on the market. The brands growing their pipeline most efficiently right now are not spending more. They are activating channels their competitors are ignoring. Here are five worth...]]></description><link>https://www.apollocmo.com/post/five-franchise-development-tactics-your-competitors-are-not-using-yet</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d80fc6a51db32c14c38c61</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:45:41 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Katherine LeBlanc</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What CMOs Actually Want From Their Digital Agency]]></title><description><![CDATA[And why most agencies get it wrong. I've been a CMO in franchising for a long time. I've hired a lot of agencies. I've fired a few. And I've watched the same dynamic play out more times than I can count. The agency comes in strong. The pitch is polished. The case studies look great. Six months in, I'm showing up to every call feeling like I have to direct the strategy myself. The franchisees are calling me to complain. And somewhere along the way, the agency stopped being a partner and...]]></description><link>https://www.apollocmo.com/post/what-cmos-actually-want-from-their-digital-agency</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69cc28f1f7044e6cf7a3651d</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:06:34 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Katherine LeBlanc</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>