Posted:19-November-2008
The bfa is Building Franchising Through PR
The bfa has today announced the appointment of Ascent PR to assist in the launch of a targeted PR programme aimed at raising the profile of the franchise industry while communicating the benefits to both consumers and investors of best practice, ethical franchising.
Tom Endean, marketing manager at the bfa, said: “Those individuals already familiar with the industry understand the advantages of franchising as both a secure business model and a beneficial supplier to the consumer and corporate markets. The appointment of Ascent PR will help us to extend our outreach and communicate outside of our own industry, educating people about the many opportunities that franchising brings while dispelling those out-of-date myths.”
Natalie Sanderson, director of Ascent PR said: “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with such an esteemed organisation. The bfa has appointed us to help raise its profile in the media and to help it to penetrate new markets outside of its traditional grass-roots. A targeted issues-based campaign aimed at educating both consumers and businesses about the concept of running a franchised business as well as communicating the benefits of ethical franchising will be a key element of our overall PR strategy.”
Endean continued: “Breaking into new markets outside of our own is a real challenge for us and one which will involve a consistent and widespread message across a multitude of media. As a result we are confident we’ll see an improvement in general awareness of the franchise industry and the work that we do, to accredit those that meet the strict ethical standards. A beneficial bi-product is that our members gain credibility and may even see an increase in the number of investor enquiries.”
The members of the bfa will also have some involvement in the PR programme to provide an insight into the industry by supporting a structure of educational and opinion pieces.
