Priceline has significantly revamped its approach to local area marketing (LAM) by streamlining how it provides support to its network of franchised pharmacies and owned stores. Traditionally, LAM involved promotional campaigns, materials, and assets designed to resonate with local communities and drive store traffic and sales. These could include tailored posters, promotional items, and community-focused campaigns. However, managing this process was challenging, as requests for marketing support were submitted through a shared email inbox, creating inefficiencies and communication breakdowns.
Jes Chalmers, the marketing manager for local area and B2B at Priceline, explained that the previous system was problematic. The team, consisting of just two to three people, was inundated with 70 to 90 requests per month. Requests were routed through email, and each task was assigned to a person who managed it individually in their inbox, creating a lack of visibility and accountability. This resulted in frequent miscommunications, lost requests, and delayed responses, straining relationships with franchise partners and affecting the team’s ability to manage the volume effectively.
Recognising the inefficiencies, Priceline decided to replace the email-based system with a more centralised, scalable work management platform, opting for monday.com. This new system allows stores to submit LAM requests through a dedicated LAM portal, where the nature of each request is clearly summarised. Once submitted, the local area marketing team can centrally manage, track, and fulfil the requests, ensuring better coordination and improved workflow visibility. This system also enables real-time tracking of each task, making it easier to see the status and progress of every request.
The shift to monday.com began in October of the previous year, with the internal setup completed by December. The store-facing LAM portal was launched in March, providing both Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy stores with easy access to marketing support. Chalmers noted that while both types of stores use the system, pharmacies particularly benefit, as they need to maintain strong connections with their local communities.
The new platform has proven invaluable in streamlining the process, providing greater insights into the types of requests being made. For example, Chalmers can track whether a store’s request is prompted by external factors, such as the opening of a competing store or leasing issues. The detailed reporting features of monday.com allow Chalmers to categorise requests, track resource allocation, and analyse trends. This visibility helps the team better allocate resources and manage the overall marketing workload.
One of the most notable improvements is the ability to quantify the local area marketing team’s workload. Before monday.com, the only metric available was the number of emails sent and received. Now, Chalmers can present a more accurate picture of the team’s output and demonstrate the value of the work being done. “We can show the volume of work we are delivering and have data-driven conversations rather than vague estimates,” she explained. This data transparency ensures that franchise partners and store managers know exactly where their requests stand, improving communication and satisfaction across the network.
Looking to the future, Priceline plans to expand its use of monday.com to offer more self-service options for stores, enabling them to request marketing materials or campaigns through the portal. The company is also leveraging the data gathered from the system to develop templates for frequently requested materials, allowing stores to easily generate the marketing assets they need. This automation will not only improve efficiency but also empower stores to take greater control over their local marketing efforts.
Ultimately, the overhaul of Priceline’s local area marketing process is a testament to the company’s commitment to better serving its franchise partners and owned stores. The move to a centralised, data-driven platform like monday.com has transformed the LAM function from a fragmented, email-based system into a streamlined, transparent, and measurable operation that is more responsive to store needs. By integrating automation and data analysis into its marketing processes, Priceline is setting the stage for even greater efficiency and flexibility in the future.