How Do I Prepare for a Franchise-Scale Brand Refresh?

BooXkeeping's rebrand took more than a year from conception to completion. For co-founder and CEO Max Emma, much of that time was spent figuring out what needed to change without losing the identity the company had already built.

As BooXkeeping grew, the company had learned more about it’s franchisees, customers and employees. The challenge was making sure the brand reflected what the business had become.

"As every brand grows, you learn more," Emma said. "You want to relay this information to your franchisees, customers and employees."

Start With Research, Not Design

Before BooXkeeping settled on a new direction, the team spent more than a year studying competitors and questioning its own assumptions about the brand. That meant resisting the urge to jump immediately into new visuals or other changes before deciding what the rebrand needed to accomplish.

“Research, research, research,” Emma said. “We took our time to see what other brands were doing and answer hundreds of questions, challenging ourselves by asking, ‘What else are we missing?’”

The length of that process created another challenge: deciding when enough work had been done. There was always another question to ask or another potential change to consider, making it important for the team to eventually settle on a direction and move forward.

Bring Franchisees In Before Decisions Are Made

BooXkeeping also sought input from franchisees before beginning the design work. Emma and his co-founder sent questionnaires across the system to understand how owners viewed the existing brand and where they thought it should go.

“Their list of questions was not as deep as ours, but it really helped us understand how they see the brand and in what direction they want the brand to go,” Emma said.

Getting that feedback early allowed franchisees to influence the direction rather than react to decisions that had already been made. For a franchise system with owners operating in different markets, that gave BooXkeeping another perspective on how the brand was being experienced outside the corporate team.

Know When to Let the Professionals Work

Emma's biggest lesson came from his own involvement in the process. As a founder, he had strong opinions about a company he helped build, but staying closely involved in the day-to-day work sometimes made it harder for the professionals handling the rebrand to do their jobs.

“Let the professionals do their job before founders get involved in trying to change everything,” he said.

If he were approaching another rebrand, Emma would give the team more room to develop its ideas before reviewing the work later in the process.

Practical Takeaways for Franchisors

• Research Before Making Changes: Study the competitive landscape and question your own assumptions before deciding what a refreshed brand should look like.
• Ask Franchisees Early: Gather franchisee feedback before design decisions are made so their perspective can help shape the direction.
• Know When the Work Is Finished: A rebrand can always generate another question or potential change, so establish a point when the team is ready to commit to a direction.
• Give Outside Experts Room to Work: Founder involvement can provide valuable context, but the professionals handling the rebrand also need space to develop their recommendations.

For more information on franchise brand identity and consistency, check out these related articles on 1851 Franchise:

• How Do I Build a Strong Franchise Brand Identity That Sticks?
• How Do I Ensure Franchise Brand Consistency? A Guide For Prospective Franchisees
• How Do I Protect My Brand as a Franchisor? A Guide For Prospective Franchisees