Tag Archive for: Franchising

New register for franchise operators

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While the general economic performance of Australian franchising is positive, the sector is still vulnerable to reports and often distorted perceptions about the credibility of the franchising business model.

Franchising is one of Australia’s most robust and successful sectors, boasting over 1,100 franchise systems, 70,000 franchised businesses and a contribution to gross domestic product of $131 billion annually. However, the cloud of uncertainty that persists over franchising because of a small but vocal minority who disregard the Franchising Code of Conduct continues to impact the wider sector and unfortunately there has been limited independent and reliable information available to disperse it.

This week Federal Small Business Minister Bruce Billson officially launched Australia’s first registry for franchise operators in front of founders and leaders of prominent Australian franchise brands, senior bankers, professional advisors, sector regulators and senior officers of the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) – all of whom have directly or indirectly driven the demand for a franchise registry.  In fact, such a concept has long been mooted including parliamentary inquiries into franchising.

The Franchise Registry requires franchise brands to provide a current Disclosure Document and current Franchise Agreement each year, and also to confirm these documents comply with the Franchising Code of Conduct, in order to register. It’s this industry leadership and practice of transparency that will enhance the credibility of Australian franchising, improve franchisor compliance and give greater confidence to those looking to invest in franchising.

We were delighted to see Minister Billson support the initiative and its ability to aid decision-making in the franchising sector. The Federal Government has long had an appetite for better indicators of stability in franchising and the registry will be able to generate more meaningful data that they can use to enhance their support of the sector. The ACCC can also use more detailed information on the sector to focus resources on the real issues in franchising and justify its legislative forbearance.

With some of the lowest rates of franchisee disputes in the world, the FCA will also be able to use the broad and insightful data on the sector to put issues into context by highlighting credibility and strength in Australian franchising.

As a former finance lender in franchising, I know the registry will also improve a franchise brand’s finance lending potential by evidencing their commitment to closing the current information gaps that hinder the identification and assessment of key lending risks, helping both franchisees and franchisors access finance.

This is a real opportunity for franchise brands to protect and enhance the reputation of their industry and disperse the tainted views of franchising. It’s the opportunity to bridge the information gap in the sector and make it easier for potential franchisees looking to invest in franchising, and their advisors, to identify genuine and responsible franchise brands.  And fundamentally it’s about raising the standards and transparency in a sector that has grown into such a significant part of the Australian economy.

Darryn McAuliffe is CEO of objective information and analysis provider FRANdata, which administers The Franchise Registry
This article originally appeared at SMH.com.au.

What goes into the perfect PR stunt?

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Mangogate

Source: couriermail.com.au

How do you raise awareness and drive trial of something as simple as a new mango and lime flavoured chicken? You nick a giant mango from the tropics of Queensland and days later, once the story has borne its fruit in the media, you bring it to Federation Square for the world to see, of course.

This is exactly what Nando’s Australia did recently, resulting in mass media exposure and the heist dubbed #mangogate spreading like wildfire across social channels.

Morning shows picked up a story on the theft of Bowen’s famous Big Mango first up on Monday, with news outlets across the globe catching wind of the fruity robbery over the coming days. Needless to say #mangogate was trending on twitter. By Thursday, the mango popped up in Melbourne’s Federation Square, along with Nando’s accepting culpability for the gimmick and promo staff handing out pieces of chicken. Introduce: round two media reports.

While media exposure continues to be calculated in the wake of mango madness at Nando’s HQ, and the video revealing the heist on their official Facebook page continues to soar past 270,000 views, we can be certain of one thing. Stolen fruit really is sweetest. This was a well-executed stunt.

So what goes into a PR stunt these days? In few words: good idea, #talkability and content.

1. Good stunts start with a good, memorable idea. Mangogate was built upon a very clear, simple and brilliant connection between highlighting the mango flavour of the new product and stealing Australia’s most famous mango.

2. Everyone could #engage with the drama. The hashtag #mangogate was quirky and gave people the ability to easily talk about the top story of the day. Memes were uploaded by people to Bowen’s Big Mango Facebook page, and one guy even posted an image of the Big Mango on Gumtree for sale.

3. The stunt included content that never expired. With Nando’s filming the entire heist for the ‘big reveal’ and posting photos of the product trials in Federation Square, the creation of the #mangogate hashtag and countless user-generated posts, and hundreds of news stories now seeded across the inter-webs, this stunt won’t be quickly forgotten.

Here are some other good stunts in recent years from Australian franchises:

McDonald’s Australia “Macca’s” – for Australia Day 2013, McDonald’s name-changed thirteen stores to “Macca’s”, all with new signage. The gimmick was part of an integrated campaign supported by ABT and BTL activities.

KFC goes green and gold – what better way to engage Australia in the fight for the Ashes Urn, and leverage your sponsorship of Cricket Australia, then to give five flagship stores a green and gold face-lift and put Aussie and English burgers on the menu.

Jim’s Mowing “MoAthon” – in November 2013, 150 Jim’s Mowing franchisees took part in “MoAthon” from Hobart to Brisbane as part of the franchise’s national Push for Change campaign. The year before they mowed the world’s biggest grass moustache. We love a world record attempt!

Ignite PR works with Australia’s leading franchise brands to both increased brand awareness and improved franchise development. Contact us today. 

PR’s role in modern day franchising

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CEO Champions: boosting visibility of senior leaders

CEO Champions: boosting visibility of senior leaders

Franchising and small business is a pretty dynamic sector of Australia’s economy, and that’s why we’re pretty excited to hear our clients speak of increases in consumer confidence. It means franchisors can start investing more in communications, to explore new ways to cut through the diverse and ever-changing media landscape.

While we’ve been exploring the following elements with our clients over the past few years, here are our thoughts on some trends we believe are shaping PR’s new role in modern day franchising in Australia.

  • Storytelling – Beyond boasting average sales growth or profit margins across the network, the prospective pool of candidates wants to know who your successful franchisees are, how long they’ve been with you, why they are successful and what skills they came with. These stories are far stronger than your product, and PR people will unearth those that are strongest separating your proposition from that of your competitors.
  • CEO Visibility – The very best franchise leaders will be those who dedicate time to helping PR succeed. This might mean making themselves available to offer industry business insights, or validating why their organisation supports its chosen causes. The leadership communicated to stakeholders through high CEO visibility, as we like to call it, also proves invaluable in attracting new franchise recruits, because passion attracts passion.
  • Visual Communication – While the press release is far from ‘dead’ in Australia, the point is brands using interesting and engaging multimedia such as videos and infographics are ahead of the rest. There’s more to media than printed news stories, and modern day PRs are multi-skilled with the ability to put together a video, from scripting to filming, editing and distribution with the same strategic thinking.
  • Thought Leadership – Leading franchisors have the unique opportunity to establish thought leadership in their respective industry. The right communications professionals have a strong understanding of what makes media tick, allowing them to create the thought leadership on your behalf.
  • Social Media – You may have a social presence, but it’s not merely enough. If your social activity doesn’t include strategies for energising and engaging your fans and followers across the key platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you’re stuck in the past.

PR communications is one of the most powerful ways to do something that is so fundamental in the franchising industry – sharing your company’s story and success with the right audience. Understanding it and utilising it to achieve your corporate goals will be a worthy investment in 2014.

Ignite PR works with Australia’s leading franchise brands providing strategic communications advice leading to both increased brand awareness and improved franchise development. Contact us today. 

CSR and reputation in franchising

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CSR

CSR is fundamental in managing reputation

Over the past decade, more and more companies have turned to corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies to manage their reputation. Ignite PR has helped many Australian franchises leverage CSR initiatives to not only build stronger consumer awareness of their brand but also to attract suitable franchise recruits who share the same values.

However, gone are the days of simply supporting a cause – be it training, employment, or sustainability – and leveraging it for reputation gain. Add-on CSR strategies don’t establish long term credibility and in some cases may even do the opposite. Changing social attitudes also spark new consumer expectations around CSR meaning companies have to address these changes.

So what does this mean for Australian franchising?

The first challenge is how to use CSR as a means to differentiate from competition while still maximising business benefits. Franchises will need to develop their own way of doing CSR that is consistent with both their core values and unique position in the industry. It needs to go beyond a food franchise educating people around healthy eating or coffee franchises supporting ethically and sustainably sourced coffee beans. An effective CSR program will make consumers feel good beyond the product or service they’ve purchased by supporting a company that supports a cause they believe in.

CSR can also be the difference when it comes to franchise recruitment. In a period when finding suitable franchisees is more difficult than ever, the reputation of a franchise is crucial. It’s about giving prospective franchisees another reason to invest in your brand beyond income potential or support offered. The culture that exists within your franchise and your corporate behaviour provide a great indication of the values you hold, helping to attract the people you actually want in your system.

The challenge is how to tackle CSR into the future.

CSR needs to be consistent with your franchise’s core values and supported by the entire network. It also needs to be a long term program – add-on CSR strategies won’t do much for your reputation if elsewhere you’re perceived to be contributing negatively. CSR should start at the boardroom table and be included in your business strategy, setting the tone at the top and incorporating CSR into business objectives and responsibilities of franchisees.

As franchises strive to become closer to their customers – whether through old and new media or digital marketing – CSR will bear greater importance in managing reputation as expectation of your corporate behaviour also increases.

The franchise tug of war – maximising PR for franchisee and franchisor

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 Ignite PR & Marketing works with a wide variety of franchises and one of the key elements of support we provide is generating publicity for franchisees at a local level.

Specialising in providing public relations for franchises is at times a difficult task due to the complexities involved with managing the relationships and expectation of both the franchisor and franchisee.

A common issue we come across involves managing media for individual franchisees. Sometimes this process is laboured as franchisees may not deem a PR project a priority over the day to day running of their business. Sometimes they don’t return calls, approve press releases promptly or assist us in providing the right information to make a strong story. The franchisor will still expect strong results but we have found they can help the relationship, and maximise the power of PR for franchisees.

The most successful franchise companies let their franchisees know the value and importance of media coverage. They hold media training days, Q&A sessions and brief franchisees on the importance of wearing correct uniforms during photo shoots etc. They inform the network of media releases going out on their behalf and assist them as much as possible. It is crucial the franchisor communicates what public relations campaigns they are running with franchisees so they know how to deal with media when they call.

So what can be done to ensure both parties get the most out of utilising a PR agency for franchising development?

Franchisees can inform the PR department of any interesting community events they may be sponsoring, return calls and enquiries to the media or agency promptly and assist in developing or sourcing information for stories. They can make sure they represent the brand and company well (ie. keep logo/brand in shot in photographs etc). And be willing to be involved in any media opportunities thrown their way.

Franchisors can keep all current contact details up to date for franchisees, ensure that they have accurate and current high resolution photographs on file of each owner, inform franchisees of the PR company they are working with and also email out appropriate media releases to franchisees so they are across all media opportunities. It is also a good idea to hold some basic media training at your national conference so franchisees understand what is expected of them and are aware of how effective media coverage can be.

Ignite PR & Marketing specialise in providing PR for franchises and can help raise awareness of your brand. If you have any questions about franchise PR, please feel free to contact us on 07 3368 1650.

 

Ignite PR & Marketing talks PR for franchises

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Trina McColl MD of Ignite PR & Marketing was recently asked to share her experience and advice to help franchises maximise the power of PR. We work with a number of franchised brands across Australia and it provides a really rich foundation for generating awareness as franchised business are always active and growing. Check out the link below for the full article.

Brand Ignition