Goldfish Swim School Wins Top Honor from Franchise Update 2020 Innovation Awards

TROY, MI – Top honors of the Franchise Update 2020 Innovation Awards were announced during the Franchise Leadership & Growth Conference, with Goldfish Swim School named the recipient of the Franchise Marketing Leadership Award. After receiving Gold for Local Marketing Leadership initiatives, Goldfish Swim School presented as a finalist in the overall Marketing & Branding category to win this top honor. The prestigious achievement further validates Goldfish as a leader in the franchise industry, as well as a trailblazer in the learn-to-swim sector.

The Franchise Innovation Awards recognize the franchise brands that are creating and implementing the most original and successful business innovation strategies and tactics in the United States. These annual awards recognize franchise organizations that demonstrate the core values of business innovation to build market share and engage employees and customers for business sustainability. These brands instill the vision, strategy, and execution of innovation throughout their organization.

At the helm of Goldfish Swim School’s marketing team is Shana Krisan, Vice President of Marketing, who led the charge for growing the brand’s internal marketing department and building an infrastructure for its Local Marketing Consultants (LMC) program, streamlining and allowing for more hands-on and personalized local marketing support. The creation of this program simultaneously allowed Krisan’s internal team of subject matter experts to devote more time and attention to innovation projects, such as water safety partnerships, national PR, the launch of the brand’s first cause marketing campaign – which took silver within the Franchise Innovation Awards Cause Marketing category, and hosting their inaugural Vendor Partner Summit, bringing together all of the brand’s trusted partners to collaborate and innovate together. In addition, Krisan spearheaded the development of Digital Marketing Playbooks, which were designed with the primary objective to create a more efficient way to distribute marketing material for franchisees to easily execute both national and quarterly campaigns on a local level. This, combined with a dedicated LMC, has allowed each school and franchisee to better differentiate from their competition and make a splash in their local markets.

“Being recognized with Silver for our Cause Marketing Campaign, Gold for our Local Marketing Leadership initiatives, and to receive the overall award for Franchise Marketing Leadership is truly an honor – an honor I share with our dedicated Franchise Support Team, our hardworking franchisees and our loyal members who make the work we do incredibly impactful,” said Krisan. “Since implementing these marketing initiatives, our brand awareness has skyrocketed and I could not be prouder of the way we’ve prioritized marketing and innovation – the sky’s the limit for what’s to come!”

At no other time in recent history has innovation been more necessary than amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Goldfish Swim School remains committed and focused to meet the growing need for water safety education. This meant working tirelessly to build out a robust reopening plan for its 100-plus schools through its Safer. Stronger. Together. ™ initiative. While all its locations have safely reopened, the leadership team continues to lobby for essential business status alongside the Aquatics Coalition so that learn-to-swim facilities can continue to teach the lifesaving skill. Even when schools were closed, Goldfish Swim School was quick to adapt, creating ‘Goldfish At Home’ to provide free, virtual dry-land swim exercises to families nationwide, along with a variety of online and interactive water-safety focused initiatives and activities.

While accelerating innovation and providing premier support to its franchisees, Goldfish Swim School also remained steadfast and focused on growth. This year alone, the leading learn-to-swim franchise has signed 14 agreements and is on track to surpass last year’s 17 school openings by expanding to open a total of 20 by year-end.

The successful growth achieved by the brand has been touted in the franchise space, with several additional award wins. The brand ranked in the top 10 on Franchise Times’ Fast & Serious List, No. 28 in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500®, while also making an appearance on The Inc. 5000 list for the sixth year in a row, which ranks the fastest growing private companies in the nation. Consistently outranking its competition, Goldfish Swim School continues to prove itself as the largest and most established swim school franchise in the space. Its ability to go above and beyond to nurture a culture that provides a GOLDEN Experience! to its members is unmatched, and is what drives its members to continuously choose Goldfish.

Goldfish Swim School provides swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children ages four months to 12 years, teaching thousands of children each week how to be safer in and around the water. Each school offers swim lessons and programs using a proprietary philosophy, The Science of SwimPlay®, to build life skills both in and out of the water using play-based learning in a fun and safe environment. Each school’s number one focus and main priority is always the same – educating children on water safety while teaching them how to swim and respect the water.

About Goldfish Swim School

Founded by husband and wife team Chris and Jenny McCuiston, Goldfish Swim School provides swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children ages four months to 12 years. Classes are offered by specially trained instructors in a safe, child-friendly and fun environment using their research-based philosophy called The Science of SwimPlay®. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, Goldfish Swim School was established in Birmingham, Michigan in 2006, and opened its first franchise location in 2009. They are currently in the process of expanding franchise opportunities throughout North America, with more than 100 schools open, and 140-plus in development across the United States and Canada.

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