Free Publicity through Franchise PR

Unfortunately, all too often, public relations and marketing efforts take a backseat to other pressing obligations. However…

Franchise PR is a critical piece of your pipeline.

The truth is that in order to provide top quality products or services to your customers, you have to have franchisees to distribute these products or services locally. And to get franchisees, you have to (you guessed it) market your franchise.

At TopFire Media, we understand the importance of generating quality leads in a cost-efficient manner through a variety of effective marketing and public relations channels.

Public relations is one of the most cost-efficient methods to attract new clients, but few franchisors understand the very specific (and often tricky) PR process, which involves everything from creating content to targeting media outlets to placing pieces.

Our research has shown that if a prospect Googles your franchise name and does not see current content and the free publicity of being featured in news stories, he or she is three times as likely to end their search right there and then.

From crafting standout PR pieces to garnering media publicity, TopFire Media works with established and emerging franchise brands every day through targeting, attracting, and driving your target audience to your brand and making sure that your franchise stays current and relevant.

Consider some recent experiences:

• A New York-based Mediterranean restaurant (with no franchise locations under its belt) kicked off its franchise program and needed assistance generating headlines. At TopFire Media, we engaged in an intensive research process with the client in order to discover the client’s differentiating factors. In this case, one of the key factors was highlighting their executive chef who was responsible for creating fine-dining quality QSR meals. Our efforts resulted in over 15 media placements in outlets with an online readership of over 20 million, including several franchise publications, thus increasing their brand presence with both potential franchisees as well as future customers.
• A cleaning company ranked #52 on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list found themselves in need of more name recognition. (After all, how many people know the brand name of the company who cleans their offices?) They were seeking franchise PR and free publicity in the markets of their 40 master franchises as well as for the brand itself. In less than six months, we earned the company almost 20 media stories, including a CEO byline in a leading franchise publication, a mention in a story in Reader’s Digest, and several placements in local business journals and publications in key franchise markets. Combined, the stories generated over 2,000 social shares and countless brand impressions.
• An art school sought to position both its brand and CEO as transformative figures in the art education space. At TopFire Media, we crafted and rolled out campaigns to increase the company’s reputation in franchise, art, business, education and parenting media outlets. The results were successful and the brand received a significant amount of local coverage as well as noteworthy art press and placed the CEO on several business and entrepreneur-focused podcasts. The results? Almost two dozen media clips, with a combined online readership of 80 million and about 1,000 social shares in the first five months.

At TopFire Media, we know that franchising a business can be both rewarding and exhausting at the same time. While we can’t add an hour (or ten) to the day, we are still committed to making the most of your time and getting maximum exposure. Through our public relations management programs, we are committed to working with media outlets in virtually all industries to get our clients’ messages across to the people who matter.

Whether your concern is name recognition, securing customers, winning social shares, or to enhance your brand reputation, TopFire Media has the tools, the experience, and the contacts to create a customized program that fits your brand and budget.

To learn more, call 708-249-1090 or complete the form.