Local Marketing Playbook — Sunrise Social Franchisees

Version 1 — October 24, 2026 · Prepared by the Franchisor (Sunrise Social) for its franchisees
Applies to: Cherry Hill, NJ and Philadelphia, PA — and every future Sunrise Social market.

Why this playbook exists

The brand brings people to the door the first time. The local operator brings them back — and brings the neighborhood in. National-style brand marketing builds awareness; local marketing is what fills seats on a Tuesday.

This playbook is the franchisor's support system for that work: what the brand runs for you, what you run in your market, the rhythm to run it on, and how we measure it together at the monthly business review.

The split, in one line:

• The brand builds awareness, runs campaigns, coordinates creators and press, and hands you ready-made assets.
• You own your neighborhood: reviews, community, catering relationships, and in-store guest capture.

Neither side does the other's job. The brand never markets around you to your own guests, and local efforts always stay inside the brand guardrails in Section 7.

What the brand runs for you (already in place)

You do not pay extra for any of this, and you do not need to build it yourself:

Your job with brand assets: use them as supplied. Print the menus, post the campaign pieces in-store, and tell us what your guests respond to.

The five local levers (what you run)

Lever 1 — Google presence and reviews

The profile here is your store's Google Business Profile — the listing guests see on Google Search and Maps. It is the highest-traffic "sign" your restaurant has: guests choose the 4.5★ spot over the 3.8★ spot before they ever see a menu.

Review responses are handled for you. Your Sunrise Direct Gold package includes review responses plus profile optimization (AEO/GEO) — you do not write the replies, and you should not post your own alongside them. Your local job is the two things the package can't do:

• Generate the reviews. The best review engine is a server line at the table: "If you loved it, a Google review helps a local place like ours more than anything." Table-tent QR codes supplied by the brand link straight to your review page. Volume matters as much as rating — 10 fresh reviews beat a quiet perfect score.
• Flag the sensitive ones the same day. Any review alleging a health, safety, or legal issue goes straight to the brand office — those get a handled response, not a routine one.
• Keep the facts straight. Tell the brand office immediately about hour changes, holiday closures, or anything that makes the listing wrong; the profile itself is maintained under Gold, and fresh real photos of the room or new dishes are always welcome from the store.
• Target: both stores at 4.6★ with a steady flow of new reviews every week.

Lever 2 — Community roots (be the neighborhood's place)

Breakfast and brunch are habit businesses. Habits form around places that show up for the community.

• Spirit nights / give-back nights: partner with schools, youth sports, churches, and nonprofits — they promote a date, their crowd comes in, a percentage goes back. You supply the room and the welcome; the partner supplies the crowd.
• Sponsorships that show up: a youth team banner, a school play program ad, a charity breakfast — small dollars, constant visibility. Spend where your guests actually are, not where sales reps pitch.
• Be present: the owner at community events, chamber mixers, and school functions is marketing no ad can buy. One event a month minimum.
• First responders & neighborhood employers: know the firehouse, the hospital shift change, the big office buildings within 10 minutes. A tray of biscuits dropped at the right desk starts catering relationships (Lever 3).

Lever 3 — Catering and group business (the weekday multiplier)

Dine-in brunch peaks on weekends. Catering fills weekday mornings and lifts the average week more than any single promotion.

• Channels the brand has already opened: CaterCow, ezCater, and (Philadelphia) Fooda. Keep your profiles current, respond to inquiries fast, and execute the first order flawlessly — platforms re-rank on performance.
• The employer sampler drop: pick 20 employers within a 10-minute drive (offices, dealerships, medical buildings, schools). Drop a sampler with menus and a catering contact card. One morning a month, five stops. Track who orders.
• Standing accounts: offices that order monthly are worth more than any coupon. Assign them a name and a direct contact at the store.
• Hotel and event referrals: introduce the store to nearby hotel front desks and event venues — brunch is the meal visitors ask about.

Lever 4 — In-store experience and guest capture

Marketing that happens inside the four walls outperforms anything outside them.

• Capture every guest into Sunrise Direct. Every dine-in party that isn't on the guest list is a future email campaign that can't reach them. Servers offer loyalty signup at the table; the guest list is what makes brand campaigns pay off for your store.
• Sell the next visit before they leave. LTO cards on the table, the seasonal drink on the check presenter, catering menus visible at the host stand.
• Execute the brand campaigns fully. When the brand runs a promotion (welcome offer, lunch feature), the store team must know it, honor it fast, and never make a guest argue for it.
• Speed and warmth are marketing. A 30-seat room lives on turns and reputation; a two-top that waits 40 minutes costs you ten future visits.

Lever 5 — Local content and creators (with the brand)

• Creator visits: the brand invites and schedules local food creators; the store hosts — meal for the creator and a guest, team expecting them by name, best foot forward. If a creator or agency raises a fee, pause and loop in the brand office before agreeing to anything — paid arrangements are coordinated centrally so terms stay consistent across stores.
• Guest content: happy guests posting your food is free reach. Make the room and plates photo-worthy, keep the brand's food-spread standard, and ask permission before reposting guest content on any store channel.
• Your own social: store-level posting follows the brand guardrails (Section 7) and uses brand-supplied photography. When in doubt, send it to the brand office first.

The 90-day local launch plan (new operators and new markets)

For a new franchisee (or a store under new ownership), in order:

Days 1–30 — Foundations

• Google profile claimed, photos current, review-response habit started; table QR codes out.
• Guest capture live: every server offering Sunrise Direct signup.
• Meet your market: list your 20 nearest employers, 5 schools, 3 houses of worship, the firehouse and hospital. Walk in with menus.
• First employer sampler drop (5 stops).

Days 31–60 — Community ignition

• First spirit/give-back night booked with a school or nonprofit partner.
• Catering profiles verified on all brand-opened channels; first orders executed and reviewed.
• Host your first brand-coordinated creator visit.
• Second sampler drop; first standing catering account pursued by name.

Days 61–90 — Rhythm

• Monthly cadence below is running without prompting.
• Review rating and count trend reported at the monthly business review.
• One community sponsorship placed where your guests actually see it.

The steady-state monthly rhythm

Your local marketing spend: the 2% requirement

This is not optional budget guidance — the Franchise Agreement (§9.5) requires you to spend at least 2% of gross sales each month on marketing your restaurant, in the types the brand approves. Key mechanics from the FDD/FA:

• The floor: 2% of gross sales, measured across each calendar year. At current volumes that's roughly $1,700/month at Cherry Hill and $520/month at Philadelphia — and it rises as your sales grow (at goal volumes: ~$2,200–2,600 and ~$1,050–1,300).
• Monthly accounting: each month you provide the brand an accounting of what you spent and the local activities you ran the month before. This rides along with your monthly food & labor report (due the 10th).
• Shortfall: if you underspend the 2% in a calendar year, the difference is payable to the franchisor. Money left on the table buys you nothing — spend it in your market instead.
• Approvals: your own marketing materials need brand approval in writing at least 10 days before use. Brand-supplied assets (portal) are pre-approved — fastest path is to run those and put your dollars behind distribution.
• Co-ops: if a regional marketing cooperative forms in your market, cooperative contributions can offset your local requirement.

How to deploy the 2% (in priority order):

Rules of thumb: never pay for reach the brand already buys; never sign a marketing contract longer than 90 days without telling the brand office; every dollar should trace to a lever in Section 2 and appear in your monthly accounting.

How we'll measure it together

At the monthly business review, five local numbers:

1. Google: rating, new review count, trend vs last month.
2. Guest list: Sunrise Direct signups and list growth at your store.
3. Catering: orders, revenue, and standing accounts won.
4. Repeat behavior: returning-guest share where the platform shows it.
5. Local spend: your marketing accounting vs the 2% of gross sales requirement — deployed, on pace, or shortfall building.

If a lever isn't moving a number in 90 days, we change the lever — together, at the review.

Brand guardrails (non-negotiable)

• Logo: always the full Sunrise Social lockup (wordmark with "BREAKFAST • BRUNCH • LUNCH"). Brand office supplies files — never recreate or alter the logo.
• Photos: real food, real store. No stock or AI food imagery in anything public.
• Language: Sunrise Social is a breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant. No financial figures, investment talk, or franchise sales language in local marketing — that's the brand office's lane.
• Offers: only brand-approved promotions and codes. If a guest references an offer, honor the brand's current campaign terms.
• One voice: both stores run the same brand campaigns; local pieces add your neighborhood, never a different brand.
• Approvals: anything with the logo going to print, any press inquiry, and any paid creator arrangement — check with the brand office first. When unsure, ask; the answer is fast.

Questions or a local idea you want to run? Bring it to the monthly business review or reach the brand office any time — Support & contacts shows how to reach Alexis, your first contact. Local marketing works when it's a rhythm, not a rescue — this playbook is the rhythm.