Franchise Advice Good
relations
Louise Bruce on raising a positive profile for your franchise
others say about you. It is the discipline that looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its public.”
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So how does it apply to you, a franchisee, and your business? The role of a franchisor is to train and support you in running your business, and helping you with PR comes under that umbrella, but it’s delivered in different ways by different franchise models. Some models may have a central marketing fund that delivers PR to the entire group. Others may include a PR launch when you start with professional photos and a press release to
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Businessfranchise.com | June 2012
he CIPR, Chartered Institute of Public Relations defines PR thus: “Public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what
target publications in your local area. Some may offer you discounted rates with an agency already doing their group PR, and will therefore be already familiar with the business and well-versed in communicating the brand and its message to the media. Whichever package you are offered, you
can always do some extra PR yourself, to raise awareness of your business in your own local community. Let your franchisor know what you plan to do before you start, make sure you observe the franchisor’s guidelines of how to use the brand and messaging and you’re ready to go.
Get involved in a local charity Identify a local charity/group that’s close to your heart. People will find your story more credible if you can demonstrate a valid reason why you chose to support that particular cause; then contact the charity and ask them in what ways you can get involved. If you print T-shirts you could offer to
provide branded shirts for a local children’s
football team. If you make pizzas you could offer to provide free food for a fundraising disco at a youth group. Don’t worry if you can’t provide a tangible product, your time will be just as valuable; getting your team together to help tidy up the garden of an old people’s home will be just as gratefully received. On the day or at the event make sure you
hire a professional photographer to take some terrific images of you and your team, hard at work and getting involved. I stress professional because publications simply won’t use bad images and rarely does a ‘home-made’ photo make it into print. It really is worth spending the money to ensure you have powerful images that you can use again and again; on your website; in a newsletter; on Facebook etc. On the day make sure everyone is wearing
fully branded clothes, shirts, hats etc; editors love to crop out branding if they possibly can, but it’s very hard to do that when it’s on your chest or head! Make sure you have permission from everyone before you take
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