Marketing and PR advice
Don't dilute your brand
Don't dilute your brand
How to maintain your brand across your franchisee network
The key to maintaining your brand is to have clear and simple brand guidelines for franchisees and the franchisor.
If it's done well, the customer will feel an immediate familiarity. If guidelines are open to interpretation, there won't be a consistent look and feel across the estate. A franchised business such as a hotel might have 100 touch points where the customer comes into contact with the brand: the menus, the door hangers, the business cards, the notices on the walls, the type of paper that bills are printed on, and so on.
To get all of these consistent would need very detailed guidelines with hundreds of dos and don'ts. However, to include too much detail runs the risk of over-complicating things. My advice to franchisors is always to keep things as simple as possible while leaving no room for doubt.
For example, one franchisor had a different logo for stationary and signage because the main logo didn't work small. This made things confusing and open to interpretation because franchisees had to decide when to use each logo. So it's no surprise that each interpreted the logo differently, diluting the brand with each misuse. The secret was to create a single logo that looked good large or small, and cut out the room for error.
Another company we worked with had an over-complicated colour palette. In addition to the primary shades of their logo, they had four secondary colours that could be used alongside it, four neutral shades and one metallic colour. Some of the secondary colours clashed with others, so franchisees could make mistakes. We simplified the options, so there was no confusion over which to use.
If the franchise is global, there are new challenges in creating branding that works and is recognisable worldwide, while remaining sensitive to individual cultures and tastes. A particular signage style may be acceptable in one country but practically offensive in another.
McDonald's and Subway have created hugely successful global franchises taking into account small differences to suit different cultures around the world, while retaining a very consistent brand. The look, feel, the tone of voice and over-arching principals are identical wherever you go in the world.
These principals hold true whether your franchisees are cleaning windows, grooming pets or making sandwiches. If franchisees are guided on everything from what to wear and how to greet staff to the colour of their stationery and the level of service, the brand experience will achieve continuity and the customer will know what to expect.
The ultimate test of the consistency of branding is customers' experience. If you're getting it right, customers will assume that the business is part of a chain with the great service usually associated with an owner-managed business.
Jamie Watson is joint managing director of design and marketing agency Pixel8.
