Article Source: Franchise Times
Bill Leibengood’s approach to marketing efforts is driven by what he calls disciplined marketing: “Data and facts inform strategy,” he said. This belief has followed Leibengood through decades of marketing experience, working for advertising agencies before taking on marketing roles at Wingstop, Applebee’s and Houlihan’s.
Three months into his new job as Shipley Donuts’ chief marketing officer, Leibengood’s strong-willed approach isn’t going away anytime soon. “I have been blessed in my career to have partnered with some amazing people in IT and finance, and I’ve seen the power of what really great customer data and business intelligence can do to inform marketing strategy and execution,” he said. “That is something I am eager to bring to this brand because it has such an amazing foundation. Our ability to sharpen our strategy and improve our execution only pushes us forward in that space.”
Leibengood is all in on the brand’s untapped opportunity, looking to build upon the brand’s recent expansion. Shipley opened 35 units in 2025, contributing to its 385-plus unit count across 13 states. The brand opened units last year in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
The brand changed hands in 2025, as Levine Leichtman Capital Partners acquired Shipley from Peak Rock Capital last summer. As Shipley continues national expansion, Leibengood and the marketing team see an opportunity to revisit how the brand introduces itself to new markets.
“Getting in and seeing how much opportunity there is to build on that foundation and expand the brand, whether it’s into new markets or new product categories or customer segments—there’s just so much opportunity,” he said. “It is a 90-year-old brand, but in a lot of ways, there’s still a lot of space to develop, which is kind of unique when you have a heritage that’s that long.”
Local marketing is the avenue Shipley’s looking to take, working with franchisees on developing and executing programs while leveraging the brand’s differentiators. With that, he said, comes the responsibility of staying true to brand values that got Shipley to where it is today.
“It’s that craft, it’s that authenticity, it’s commitment to doing things the right way that customers love about us and then extending that into new product categories,” Leibengood said. “We’re making sure we highlight that in our messaging so that people really understand our commitment to those values and understand how they translate as we open in new markets, pursue new product categories and look to expand in digital channels.”
While the company declined to comment on projected openings for 2026, Leibengood sees product development crafting an opening for profitable growth this year. “Marketing is at the center of that,” he said, noting Shipley’s plans to grow digitally across various channels and delve into additional categories like the ever-popular beverage space.
“I’m incredibly excited about how much untapped opportunity there is within this brand and this business model to build on amazing donuts and kolaches,” Leibengood added. “To expand that brand love into new product categories, into new dayparts, into new customer segments—it gives me goosebumps when I think about how much runway’s ahead of us.”
