The 8 | September 15, 2017

1. Frantastic: If there’s one brand that stole the spotlight this week, it’s Apple. The tech giant announced the highly anticipated iPhone X, which will be available for pre-order starting October 27. The 5.8-inch OLED display—with glass on the front and back—is a step forward for Apple’s technology. The device is ditching the home button for Face ID as a way to unlock the phone, and also boasts an improved camera, battery and wireless charging capabilities. However, this type of technology will cost you—the iPhone X will retail for $1,000.

2. Franlebrity: This week’s Franlebrity is the man behind one of the industry’s top suppliers, EZ CERT. Founded by Doug Groves, EZ CERT was established with a mission to fill the gap that the industry’s certificate tracking systems were missing. He realized that there was an opportunity to make insurance compliance more intuitive across franchise systems. Instead of franchisors being overwhelmed with tracking compliance for all of their franchisees, EZ CERT provides a certificate tracking system and maintains contact with local owners to bump up compliance rates.

3. Frash Money: One way for brands to drum up buzz is to give away some of their hard earned Frash Money. These giveaways are made easy with social media—platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram lend themselves to this type of consumer engagement. But Whataburger is launching a new kind of giveaway on Snapchat. Not only will the winner walk away with $1,000 for a charity of their choice and 1,000 taquitos, but they’ll also get to take over the brand’s Snapchat account.

4. Frant of the Week: In his latest Frant, No Limit Agency* CEO Nick Powills is tackling one of the most important parts of the franchising process: validation. He argues that franchisors typically don’t evaluate validation the same way they evaluate franchise sales budgets—but they should. That’s why, together with 1851 chief development strategist Sean Fitzgerald, Powills listed the five biggest mistakes franchisors are making when it comes to validation. From thinking a system’s validation is much better than it actually is to seeing validation as a temperature check on the likelihood of existing franchisees expanding, these are things for brands to keep top of mind.

5. Franch Forward: It’s not easy for emerging franchise brands to break into the industry. But that’s exactly what Idolize Brows & Beauty is doing—the brand has officially brought its first franchisee on board and is Franching Forward in the Southeast. Right now, Idolize has locations in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina in addition to Richmond, Virginia. Its plan is to saturate the East Coast before eventually moving West.

6. Fran Funny: “The glass is not only in the front. It’s in the back, so now you can break both sides. It’s for those of us who cracked the front and thought, ‘I can do better.’” – Ellen Degeneres on the iPhone X

7. Franspiration: “It’s up to all of us to be advocates for this industry. It’s not the Republican way or the Democratic way—it’s the American way.” – IFA president and CEO Robert Cresanti on the fight for franchising

8. Franemies vs. Frands: There’s been no shortage of Franchising Frands coming forward in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. From restaurants donating food to environmental services concepts sending in experts, people across the industry are looking for ways to help out. Now, there’s a new Frand lending a helping hand—Lightbridge Academy*. The brand has donated over 2,000 “I Care” backpacks to be filled by Lightbridge Academy staff members, parents and children that will be donated to those impacted by the storms. The backpacks will be filled with school supplies, comfort and care items and encouraging letters and pictures from students.