Building a Modern Franchise Brand in 2026: Crisis Comms and Brand Protection

Building a modern franchise brand isn't simply about creating a recognizable identity and replicable customer experience. In 2026, franchisors also have to think about what happens when something goes wrong.

A customer complaint can become a viral TikTok, or a franchisee's actions can suddenly become associated with an entire system. For franchise brands, the challenge is amplified by the structure of the business itself. A growing system may have hundreds of owners, managers and employees interacting with consumers under one shared name. The franchisor may not control every interaction, but consumers rarely make that distinction.

That means crisis communications and brand protection can't simply be emergency functions. They have to be built into the brand's infrastructure.

Modern Franchise Brands Have to Prepare for Speed

The reputation landscape has changed dramatically as social media and artificial intelligence accelerate the spread of information.

Edelman's 2024 Connected Crisis Study found that 78% of business executives believed AI represented a fundamental shift in how companies need to prepare for crises. Eight in 10 were concerned about AI-driven misinformation and disinformation affecting their businesses.

For franchisors, preparation means deciding in advance who monitors emerging issues, who verifies information, who speaks publicly and when franchisees should escalate a problem to corporate.

A food safety incident, inappropriate social post, data breach, franchisee dispute or lawsuit can quickly create consequences beyond one location. The goal isn't necessarily to respond first. It's to have systems capable of establishing the facts and communicating accurately before speculation fills the vacuum.

Dirty Dough's Crisis Arrived Before Its First Franchise Opened

Bennett Maxwell, chairman of Dirty Dough, learned this lesson unusually early. Maxwell acquired the cookie concept with plans to franchise it around a simplified operating model. Rather than making dough from scratch at individual stores, the company centralized production and shipped dough to franchisees.

“The vision was about buying it, franchising it and creating a centralized production, ease-of-use model,” Maxwell said. “We wanted to do the most simplistic franchise model.”

But before Dirty Dough's first franchise location opened, the emerging brand found itself in litigation with Crumble, a much larger competitor.

Crumbl sued Dirty Dough in 2022, alleging, among other claims, misappropriation of trade secrets. In August 2023, a federal judge denied Crumbl's request for a preliminary injunction that would have restricted Dirty Dough's expansion. The court also addressed the return of information belonging to Crumbl that Maxwell's brother, a former Crumbl employee, had obtained. The companies eventually settled the dispute.

For Maxwell, the lawsuit created a communications challenge before Dirty Dough had significant national brand awareness. “We got in a lawsuit with Crumbl that gave us national attention,” Maxwell said. “They sued us before we had our first franchise open.”

Instead of disappearing from the conversation, Dirty Dough leaned into it. “Nothing really happened until a local news article picked it up,” Maxwell said. “I did an in-depth breakdown on everything that they had alleged and how it wasn't true.”

Dirty Dough then adopted a deliberately irreverent tone, including billboards joking that its cookies were so good the company was being sued.

“That was a fun, more lighthearted approach that got us on CNBC and Good Morning America,” Maxwell said. “Crumbl brought us up to their level in a sense because they had so much more attention.”

Of course, depending on the circumstances, turning a lawsuit into a marketing campaign could be entirely inappropriate. Instead, Dirty Dough's response illustrates the importance of knowing a brand's voice before a crisis begins.

Brand Protection Starts Before the Crisis

When a company hasn't defined how it communicates, finding that voice under pressure becomes much harder. Legal teams may prioritize limiting exposure, marketing teams may want to defend the brand, franchisees may be fielding customer questions and executives may want to respond personally online.

Without a predetermined structure, those competing impulses can create inconsistent messages precisely when consistency matters most.

For franchise systems, a modern crisis plan should establish clear escalation procedures so franchisees understand what they can handle locally and what needs to reach corporate immediately. Operators should know who is authorized to speak with reporters, how social media should be handled and where they can find verified information.

That preparation is becoming even more important as AI introduces new risks. A fake executive statement, AI-generated video or fabricated customer image can circulate rapidly. Franchisees shouldn't have to determine on their own whether something is authentic.

Protect the Search Result, Not Just the Headline

Brand protection also extends beyond the immediate news cycle.

According to Edelman's 2025 Brand Trust research, 91% of consumers who use generative AI platforms reported using them for shopping-related activities in some capacity, including researching brands, comparing products and summarizing reviews.

That means a controversy can continue shaping perceptions through search engines, social platforms, review sites and AI-generated answers long after the original story disappears from the headlines.

Modern franchise brands therefore need to continuously build a credible digital record. Franchisee stories, executive interviews, community involvement, development news and transparent information about the franchise opportunity all help establish what the company is and what it stands for.

Earned media isn't just an awareness tool anymore. It's part of reputation management.

Don't Let the Crisis Become the Brand

Perhaps the most important part of Dirty Dough's response was that the company didn't allow the lawsuit to become its entire identity. Maxwell continued communicating the operational differences behind Dirty Dough while emphasizing the company's broader mission.

“Part of Dirty Dough is finding joy and fulfillment despite life's dirtiness,” Maxwell said. “It has unintentionally attracted a lot of franchisees who want to be a part of a brand that is more than a bottom line, who want to be a part of the community.”

That distinction matters during any crisis. Defending the company may be necessary, but constantly responding to a critic or controversy can allow someone else to define the brand.

Strong crisis communications require both addressing the problem and continuing to communicate what the company wants to be known for.

A Modern Brand Is Built to Withstand Pressure

No franchise system can eliminate reputational risk. In fact, growth inherently creates more potential points of vulnerability.

Maxwell acknowledges that Dirty Dough's rapid expansion created challenges of its own. “We had to grow quicker than expected and build the plane while it was flying,” he said. Looking back, Maxwell added, “I would go slower if I could.”

As a franchise system adds locations, it becomes harder to control every interaction that could affect its reputation. Franchisors need to account for that risk as they expand, establishing clear communications procedures and strengthening oversight before a problem at one location draws attention to the entire brand.

Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit www.1851growthclub.com and see what we can do for you.