Brittany Leffler: ‘Future Leader of Convenience’
Break out the awesome sauce: Brittany Leffler (B.A., visual communication, advertising, 2015) has been named a Future Leader in Convenience by Convenience Store News. The honor celebrates Leffler as part of the next generation of convenience industry leaders, and provides a forum for the further development of leadership skills. Leffler, loyalty and brand manager for convenience store chain Parker’s, is one of 25 industry professionals age 35 and younger honored in 2021.
“Brittany is extremely creative and excels at looking at the big picture when it comes to brand management, loyalty, and customer engagement,” said Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker. “A strategic thinker and tactical professional with a ‘can-do’ attitude, Brittany is the heart and soul of our company’s loyalty program and a rising star in the convenience store industry.”
“I feel my hard work has paid off, which is fantastic,” says Leffler.
Since its founding in 1976, Parker’s has grown from one store in Midway, GA to an award-winning company with locations throughout Georgia and South Carolina. It is a convenience destination of choice for SCAD students, many of whom arrive in Savannah unfamiliar with the chain. As an undergraduate student, Leffler — who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts — was no different.
“My first experience as a Parker’s customer was downtown at the market on Drayton Street,” she says of the location nicknamed “Fancy Parker’s.” “We see that as our flagship store, but we still make the Parker’s experience as consistent as we can. If I’m driving on I-16 and I see a Parker’s, that’s where I’m stopping because I know I’m going to get a great experience.”
As loyalty and brand manager, Leffler manages and executes member communications to more than 210,000 Parker’s Rewards members, loyalty program logistics, and digital content on the Parker’s website. She also oversees digital menu boards, mobile menu ordering, and the Parker’s Rewards app.
“I started with Parker’s in 2016 as the graphic designer and marketing assistant,” Leffler says. “I handled digital content and in-store signage across 50 stores. Over my three years as the graphic designer, I started to identify needs we had in terms of digital and advertising. Parker’s recognized that I had a knack for communication with our customers and brand consistency, and my position as loyalty and brand manager grew out of that.”
Leffler sees her SCAD experience as a key to her professional success. “My SCAD degree in visual communication means I got the best of both worlds — my focus was advertising, with lots of graphic design classes. Arlene Distel was one of my favorite professors. She really helped me hone my creative thinking skills. That means not only design but copywriting and the creative brief and the mechanism behind the marketing.”
It’s to this Future Leader of Convenience’s credit that Parker’s was also named the 2020 Convenience Store Decisions Chain of the Year, the industry’s highest honor. One question remains: What Parker’s snack keeps Leffler going? “That’s hard,” she says. “I’d say the chicken sandwich. With extra Parker’s sauce.”
