Champion Management

What Champion Management does

Champion Management is a privately held, full-service public relations and digital marketing agency founded in 2002 by Ladd Biro and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with a secondary office in Los Angeles. The firm specializes in the restaurant and hospitality sector and operates as the second-largest restaurant PR agency in the United States and the fourth-largest PR agency overall in Texas, according to its own positioning. It runs an integrated six-service practice — Media Relations, Digital & Social Media, Local Store Marketing, Franchise Development, Influencer/NIL Marketing, and Crisis Management — delivered by a team of roughly 50 professionals to enterprise and mid-market franchise brands. Champion makes money through professional services engagements structured as retainers and project-based work, with no publicly disclosed rate cards and pricing determined per engagement via direct sales; revenue, ownership, and funding history are not publicly disclosed.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and enterprise-oriented, leveraging direct outreach to franchisor marketing leadership, industry events, and referrals from long-standing client relationships such as Raising Cane's (since 2012), Dog Haus, Golden Corral, and Bobby's Burgers by Bobby Flay. Operationally, Champion differentiates through vertical depth — 2,305+ restaurant openings facilitated since 2012, 375+ crisis engagements, and 1,600+ influencer partnerships created in 2025 — and through outcomes that are tied to measurable client metrics such as franchise lead generation (4,300+ qualified leads in 2025) and earned media value. The technology layer is intentionally human-capital-centric; Champion does not operate a proprietary platform, and there is no disclosed investment in AI/ML tooling, data products, or software-as-a-service offerings. The firm has received sustained industry recognition including Entrepreneur's Top Franchise Suppliers award in Public Relations for five consecutive years and a PRSA Silver Anvil Award, and it carries a roster of more than 30 named franchise brand clients concentrated in restaurants, with select forays into beverage and adjacent consumer services.

Name

Champion Management

Legal name

Champion Management Group LLC

Website

https://championmgt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Champion Management is a privately held, Dallas-based PR and digital marketing agency founded in 2002 that serves enterprise restaurant and franchise brands with media relations, franchise development marketing, influencer/NIL partnerships, and crisis management. It ranks as the second-largest restaurant PR agency in the U.S. with a team of roughly 50.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Relations Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Guidelines, Governance & Brand Management (BPAFAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athlete Brand Management & Public Relations (Image, Media, Crisis) (MPAKAMAD)

Keywords

• Public relations services
• Franchise development marketing
• Local store marketing
• Crisis communications agency
• Influencer NIL marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Addison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. PR and Media Relations Services: Professional services revenue generated through retainer-based or project-based engagements for public relations, media relations, and earned media coverage for restaurant and hospitality brands.
2. Digital Marketing Services: Revenue from digital and social media marketing services including paid social media campaigns, organic social content management, and digital advertising for franchise brands.
3. Franchise Development Marketing: Specialized services for franchise lead generation including trade-focused PR, thought leadership, digital advertising, candidate pre-qualification, and real-time lead funnel tracking for franchisors.
4. Influencer/NIL Marketing: Services connecting brands with digital influencers and college-athlete NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals, often structured as trade/ barter arrangements with comped experiences or food in exchange for social content.
5. Crisis Management: Crisis communications services for brands facing reputational challenges, including media management, stakeholder communications, and crisis response strategy.
6. Local Store Marketing: Services for new restaurant openings including local market activation, community partnerships, influencer activations, and grand opening event coordination.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Champion Management is a full-service public relations and digital marketing agency that delivers integrated earned media placement, paid and organic social media, local market activation for new restaurant openings, franchise lead generation, influencer and college-athlete (NIL) partnerships, and crisis communications to restaurant, hospitality, and franchise brands. The agency combines traditional media relations with digital campaign execution and a franchise-development specialty, supplying creative strategy, writing, media outreach, paid social buying, community partnerships, and on-the-ground local store marketing through dedicated account teams.

Product overview

Champion Management is a full-service PR and digital marketing agency that operates as a unified service offering rather than a modular software product. The agency's core portfolio consists of six integrated service lines: Media Relations (earned media placement), Digital & Social Media (paid and organic social management), Local Store Marketing (new location openings and community activation), Franchise Development (lead generation for franchisors), Influencer/NIL Marketing (creator and college-athlete partnerships), and Crisis Management (reputation protection). These services are delivered by a team of nearly 50 professionals and are designed to work together as an integrated marketing solution for restaurant and hospitality brands, with the agency recognized as the second-largest restaurant PR agency in the U.S.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Media Relations Public relations service leveraging over 20 years of cultivated media relationships to secure earned coverage in national broadcast (CNN, TODAY Show, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America), print (USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal), and trade publications for restaurant and hospitality brands.
• Local Store Marketing New-location opening service that supports 100+ restaurant grand openings per year with customized local market activation, community partnerships, school and charity tie-ins, influencer activations, and buzz-building tactics to drive traffic and build local brand awareness.
• Franchise Development Integrated franchise marketing service delivering trade PR, thought leadership, website analysis, digital advertising, conference speaking, candidate pre-qualification, and real-time lead funnel tracking to attract financially qualified franchisees for franchisor clients.
• Digital & Social Media Full-service digital marketing including data-driven strategy, paid social media advertising with precise audience targeting, and organic social content management across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Threads.
• Influencer/NIL Marketing Influencer partnership campaigns working with top digital creators across the U.S., including college-athlete Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, celebrity alliances, and non-cash barter collaborations designed to deliver social content and consumer engagement on behalf of brands.
• Crisis Management Crisis containment and communications service handling reputation issues ranging from employee misconduct and food-borne illness outbreaks to viral social media complaints and pandemic response, including pre-crisis preparation and ongoing media management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,305 new restaurant openings facilitated since 2012
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• French West Vaughan: Mid-size U.S. PR and marketing agency with a long-standing food, beverage, and restaurant practice. Directly comparable to Champion on enterprise restaurant vertical focus and integrated PR/digital services for franchisors and national restaurant brands.
• Pollack PR Marketing Group: Boutique food, beverage, and restaurant PR agency serving national and emerging CPG/restaurant brands. Comparable to Champion on restaurant vertical specialization and integrated earned-media-plus-digital service model.
• Fishman PR: PR agency with deep franchise and restaurant industry expertise. Directly comparable to Champion on franchise-development marketing and restaurant brand PR, including local store marketing and grand opening support.
• Marketing Maven Public Relations: Mid-size PR and digital marketing agency serving consumer and restaurant brands. Comparable to Champion on integrated PR, social media, and franchise marketing engagements for mid-market and enterprise accounts.
• FoodMinds: Food and nutrition-focused PR and communications firm serving food, beverage, and restaurant clients. Comparable to Champion on restaurant and food-brand communications, though more oriented around nutrition and ingredient narratives.
• MorganMyers: Food, beverage, and agriculture-focused PR agency. Comparable to Champion on restaurant and food brand PR with integrated earned media, crisis communications, and thought leadership work for established CPG and foodservice brands.
• Jackson Spalding: Mid-size integrated marketing and PR firm with a recognized restaurant and hospitality practice. Comparable to Champion on restaurant vertical depth, franchise marketing, and full-service brand building across earned and digital channels.
• 5W Public Relations: Top-20 U.S. PR agency with consumer, food, and restaurant practices. Comparable to Champion on restaurant and franchise PR engagements and influencer-led consumer brand work, though broader and more diversified.

Emerging players

• Barkley: Independent Kansas City-based ad and marketing agency with restaurant and QSR clients. Partial overlap with Champion on restaurant brand work, though more on creative/advertising than pure PR services.

Broad incumbents

• Ketchum: Global top-tier PR firm with a dedicated food and beverage practice serving multinational restaurant and CPG brands. Comparable to Champion on food/restaurant PR work but with global scale and resources Champion cannot match.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/champion.management
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/championmanagement
• Instagraminstagram.com/championmgt
• Xx.com/championmgt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Champion Management