From national campaigns to local community events, these franchises are using collaborations and partnerships to further brand awareness
By Alyssa Thulmann
A core benefit of opening a franchised business is the access one gains to an established brand’s name recognition. Franchisees profit from the national marketing efforts of the larger franchise system, including partnerships and collaborations with other famous brands—and even celebrities. Here’s how three brands, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Nova, and Wendy’s Canada have capitalized on partnerships to market their products and pass on the advantages to their franchise owners.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Today, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is an international brand with tens of thousands of locations, but it all started in 1930 in a Kentucky gas station where Harland Sanders served meals to the hungry travellers. Six years later he became a Colonel, and by 1940 he had perfected his famous recipe made with a blend of 11 herbs and spices.
Since then, the brand has continued to franchise and grow throughout the world and across Canada as well, creating jobs and business opportunities in local communities.
“With a legacy spanning more than 70 years in Canada and nearly a century globally, KFC offers franchisees the strength of a globally recognized brand, a proven business model, and a distinctive position in the restaurant category. That legacy continues to evolve to meet the needs of Canadian guests,” says Katherine Bond-Debicki, chief marketing and digital officer at KFC Canada.
Bond-Debicki adds that “KFC has a responsibility to continually evolve and stay relevant for the next generation of Canadians. While our food is the heart of the brand, partnerships allow us to stay modern, show up and celebrate Canadian culture, and connect with fans across the country.”
One of these partnerships includes a collaboration with Matty Matheson, a Canadian chef and actor who’s opened various restaurants across Ontario, published three cookbooks, and collected a myriad of acting credits including a recurring role on the HBO series The Bear.
“Our collaboration with Matty Matheson was rooted in a shared passion for food and unapologetic authenticity,” explains Bond-Debicki. The menu of comfort food classics (fried chicken sandwiches and sliders, a cheesy poutine, and more) resonated with diners because of its generous portion size, quality, and pricing, Bond-Debicki says. “Across the campaign, details like the packaging, social, and overall creative made the collaboration feel distinctly Matty and like a natural extension of his world.”
KFC also collaborated with Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets, playing on the shared initials between the brand and the NHL star’s fan-given nickname “Kyle F#@%in’ Connor” after the Jets made the 2025 playoffs. “Combined with the Jets’ Whiteout tradition and the Colonel’s iconic white suit, it was a cultural moment KFC couldn’t pass up,” Bond-Debicki says. They designed all-white buckets, swapped out the Colonel’s face for Kyle’s, and distributed the buckets to fans to wear on their heads, filling the arena with a “sea of KFC branding.” They even rebranded a restaurant to put Kyle’s face where the Colonel’s had been, and in 2026 introduced the Kyle F#@%in’ Connor Meal during the playoffs.
“It was all about showing up big for hockey fans across Canada and making game night feel even more crave-worthy,” Bond-Debicki explains. “We are always looking for new ways to surprise and delight guests, whether through menu innovation, partnerships, or experiences that bring people together.”
When considering potential partners for these campaigns, KFC ensures that they make a good cultural fit, aligning with the brand’s personality while demonstrating a genuine connection with Canadians. From there, the collaboration involves both teams and spans across marketing, menu concept development, system-wide execution, and launch planning.
As a franchisor, KFC gets to pass on the positive effects of these campaigns to the entire system. “Campaigns like the Matty Matheson and Kyle Connor collaborations allow franchisees to benefit from national marketing efforts that build awareness, relevance, and excitement among guests across the country.” Bond-Debicki adds, “that means franchisees can focus on delivering a great guest experience while benefiting from the scale and expertise of a global restaurant brand.”
Knowing that consumers today are looking for innovation, value, authenticity, and culturally relevant experiences, KFC plans to keep showing up in bold and exciting ways. They recently launched KWENCH, a new specialty drinks menu, as well as a long-term value platform titled Good Cluckin’ Deals.
Bond-Debicki says, “The goal is always to create something that feels authentic to the partner and KFC, exciting for consumers, and true to the Finger Lickin’ Good experience.”
Pizza Nova
Pizza Nova was founded by the Primucci family in Scarborough, Ontario in 1963 with a goal to honour Italy’s heritage and culinary traditions by serving its customers authentic food made with homestyle care.
From the early days of a single store in Scarborough to the more than 150 locations across Ontario today, Pizza Nova has bloomed into an esteemed Canadian franchise system. Domenic Primucci, the brand’s president and the son and nephew of the original founders, is carrying on Pizza Nova’s legacy while forging new partnerships that continue to grow its presence in the quick-service restaurant space.
In 2014, Pizza Nova first partnered with a Canadian Major League Baseball team to become the Official Pizza of the Toronto Blue Jays. At the beginning of this now 12-year partnership, the Blue Jays approached Pizza Nova with the opportunity, looking for a premium-quality product for their fans as they embarked on an overhaul of their stadium and food service operations. “It’s about the fan experience,” says Primucci, “and they wanted the fans to enjoy a great product—a great pizza product in our case.”
This partnership includes marketing campaigns as well as Pizza Nova locations stationed inside the team’s home base of Rogers Centre. Hungry fans can drop by Pizza Nova’s locations inside the stadium, providing them with mouthwatering pizza and a look at what the franchise has to offer.
Primucci explains that with these kinds of brand partnerships, stadium and arena locations are primarily run by the venue itself or, if they have one, their food service provider. “It’s important that we continue to have the best quality product in the stadiums and arenas as we do our stores.” This ensures that the experience customers have with the product aligns with that of each franchise location and the overall brand itself.
Positive interactions between the fans and the brand trickle down to benefit the local franchise owners. Next time the customers decide they’ve got a craving for some pizza, they’re able to recall their experiences at the game and Pizza Nova becomes top-of-mind. Primucci explains that the thought process becomes, “‘I had pizza at the Blue Jays. Pizza Nova supports the Blue Jays. Well, I’m going to support Pizza Nova’ … And that in turn supports our franchisees.”
The franchisees love it, says Primucci, because the brand awareness is increased exponentially when the brand—and product—are placed in front of such a mass of happy fans.
Pizza Nova’s brand collaborations don’t stop there though, this past year they’ve embarked on partnerships with other Toronto venues as well, first with TD Coliseum and then Rogers Stadium. This expands the brand’s presence even further, catching more visibility from fans attending other sports events and concerts.
TD Coliseum sees concertgoers and those attending the AHL and PWHL hockey games that will be hosted there. Rogers Stadium is a temporary, summer venue, but even with just 20-or-so concerts a year, the 50,000-person capacity stadium sees massive crowds. “It’s a lot of people coming in, and you know, people need to eat. It’s been great so far. It’s been really fun being part of concerts today.”
Pizza Nova was also present at the recent FIFA Fan Festival at Fort York and can be found at the Sports Village sport and recreation facility in Vaughan.
Not only do franchisees continue benefitting from these many major partnerships, but the nature of the franchise model allows them to capitalize on smaller events in their own local communities as well. Primucci highlights that those smaller events are just as important, “There’s hundreds of them happening every season. So it’s great that the local franchisee can get involved too. We encourage that.”
Wendy’s Restaurants
It all began with Dave Thomas, who founded Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969 with a vision to serve fresh, high-quality food and to never cut corners. In fact, corners have become a sort of centrepiece for the brand, with its fresh, never frozen square beef hamburgers making them stand out in the market alongside other signature menu items such as their Frosty® dessert.
“Canada became an important part of the Wendy’s story in September 1975 when the first international restaurant opened in Hamilton, Ontario,” shares John Mulvihill, vice president – managing director, Wendy’s Canada. In the more than 50 years since, Wendy’s Canada has grown to over 470 restaurants, each one owned and operated by a local franchisee. Mulvihill adds that “the country remains the brand’s largest international market and a key driver of future growth and innovation.”
With Canada being such an important part of the Wendy’s system, partnerships with brands that are important to local Canadians can provide meaningful opportunities for the franchise. The Toronto Blue Jays were a natural fit for one of these partnerships. “As Canada’s Team, the Blue Jays unite fans from coast to coast, much like Wendy’s serves communities across the country. Both organizations share a commitment to quality, community, and creating memorable experiences,” says Mulvihill.
When considering potential collaboration opportunities, Mulvihill explains that they look for brands that have shared values and authentic connections with Canadians. Once the partnership has been agreed on, both brands work together to create value for their customers through experiences, promotions, and storytelling.
The Win With Wendy’s promotion offers fans a free Junior Cheeseburger Deluxe with a $5 purchase following a Blue Jays Win. This attention means more brand exposure, more opportunities for consumers to try Wendy’s products, and more visits to the locations that are locally owned and operated by Canadian franchisees.
“We see the Blue Jays partnership as an opportunity to strengthen our connection with Canadians in a way that extends beyond traditional advertising,” says Mulvihill. “Beyond the numbers, we’ve heard positive feedback from our franchisees who see the value of connecting Wendy’s with a partner that has national reach and strong community ties. It’s a great example of how the right partnership can create value for customers, franchisees, and the brand.”
Seeing such success with the Toronto Blue Jays, Wendy’s remains open to more partnerships in the future. Mulvihill notes that the brand collaborates outside of sports teams as well, with delivery service providers and supplier relationships, and community organizations like the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – Canada™. “Collaboration plays an important role in how we grow the business, serve customers, and support our franchisees,” he says.
“We know that Wendy’s success starts with our franchisees’ success,” adds Mulvihill. “Our role is to provide franchisees with the training, tools, and support they need to thrive, while also creating opportunities for expansion and long-term success.” Franchisees benefit from comprehensive onboarding and operational support, local marketing guidance, leadership training, business planning, and continued innovation from the brand. One such example is their new Future Fresh restaurant design, a concept that balances modernization with staying true to the brand’s heritage.
“In short,” says Mulvihill, “Wendy’s is a brand built on quality, powered by local franchisees, and constantly investing in the future while remaining true to the values that have earned the trust of Canadians for more than five decades.”
