Sixteen years ago, veteran Triangle Marketing executive David Chapman was coaching a youth baseball team when another father mentioned his work as an executive at a franchise company. This chance encounter led Chapman to shift his business focus to the field that now dominates many industries in the United States.
Holly Springs-based 919 Marketing has been active ever since. For approximately 200 franchise companies in many business sectors, it helps increase revenue and attract franchisees. This includes restaurants, home services, auto repair, senior housing, and health care.
Many marketing agency owners value independence, but, Mr. Chapman concluded that selling a majority stake to a private equity group would allow him to have greater influence and expand the business. Working with a business broker, he contacted 300 companies before selecting the five finalists.
The winning bidders in November 2020 were Landon Capital Partners, a family-owned group based in London with an office in Boston, and Green Farms Capital of Westport, Connecticut. Terms were not disclosed. 919 is a cheese maker based in Wisconsin. A Virginia-based industrial parts manufacturer with 2,000 employees and a Connecticut-based mattress company listed on Landon's website.
Since the deal, 919's parent company, Big Rock Brands, has acquired marketing agencies in Florida and Virginia, as well as a data analytics company in the Sunshine State. The combined company will employ approximately 120 people and additional subcontractors.
Chapman completed a three-year non-compete agreement with investors last year and stepped down as CEO in March. He continues to serve as chairman of 919, and the business is based in its Holly Springs office. His son Graham remains chief growth officer, and his wife Sue Yanello, who Chapman credits with being the driving force behind the company's success, serves as a consultant.
The company's new CEO is Lorne Fisher, whose Fort Lauderdale-based company, Fish Consulting, was acquired by Big Rock Brands in 2023. He previously worked at Ketchum Advertising Agency and Visa..
Chapman was born in Winston-Salem, but lived in many places, including the Bahamas, Canada, and Guam, as his father took another job at AT&T. After he graduated from Appalachian State University in 1980, he worked for several companies including the Long, Haymes & Carr advertising agency in Salem. It is currently affiliated with Interpublic Group.
He founded 919 in 1996 and has led other companies including Greensboro-based Apex Analytix and Hosted Solutions, a Cary-based data center company that was sold for more than $300 million in 2010 after less than 10 years in business. Together with our customers, we have built a traditional marketing company.
The company decided that the growth of its business model would accelerate and shifted its focus to the franchise business. Longtime restaurant customers include Golden Corral and Wayback Burgers.
“Franchise companies do better during economic downturns, in part because laid-off executives want to own their own businesses,” he says. “A good franchisor will provide training and support in exchange for a portion of the revenue. That can be more advantageous than starting a business from scratch.”
Mr. Yanello is a former television journalist from Raleigh who helped recruit a team skilled in writing, video and social media. “Having a veteran storyteller was really important,” she says. “We have former TV reporters in Dallas, Miami and other cities who know how to shape our clients' stories and bring in customers.” We have developed a local TV feature that allows you to identify different types of coughs.
“Throughout his tenure as CEO, David has leveraged market trends and provided franchise brands with actionable marketing data, analytics and world-class content creation,” said Big Rock, which owns Green Farms Capital. Director Michael Kessler said.
The biggest change Chapman has seen in his career is the marketing industry's obsession with metrics for analyzing results. “Clients need to know what works. Patience is much lower than in past years.” ■
