Five years ago, Nick Powills threw out a single question to his team: What are some of the biggest issues facing franchisors today? The answers started flowing in: Creating meaningful brand awareness. Getting your brand’s story told. Tracking fruitful leads. Targeting the right audience.
As he wrote these problems down, one thing became abundantly clear—there was a shift occurring in franchise development, and feet could no longer be propped up on a desk as leads simply poured in from portals. The franchising world was changing, and it was time to adapt.
As the Chief Brand Strategist for No Limit Agency, a public relations and marketing firm representing more than 50 franchise brands, Powills crafted a unique solution. What if he could create a single platform that combined public relations, marketing, social and digital all into one package? Could he influence due diligence, generate leads and spark brand awareness by presenting a franchise in the best light possible? As these ideas started to circulate, Powills connected the dots. It was time to develop something different—something that’s both results driven and measurable. And with that, a new form of content marketing was born—1851 Franchise.
“Great ideas start because of some sort of unfilled hole. 1851 was no different. When we decided to create this platform, we did so because we saw a gap. Sure, there are content resources for franchising, but nothing that could fill our minds on a daily basis,” Powills said. “By creating strong, third-party content where a brand’s story could be told in a controlled atmosphere by someone else in the exact way they want it, the brand becomes the story instead of the storyteller. And by giving them a platform to tell their story, we’re helping to drive awareness to their franchising opportunity—they’re gaining that much-needed outside validation.”
But telling the story was just part of the equation. Powills wanted to ensure that these articles were also getting in front of the right people.
“The AMPD technology behind 1851 was developed to make targeting the right audiences a reality. If a new burger place was opening in town, you probably wouldn’t want to direct that news toward vegans and vegetarians. Only a small fraction of people would react to that news,” Powills said. “By targeting certain regions, demographics and interests, 1851 is giving franchisors an opportunity to get their story broadcasted to the right people who will truly care.”
Today, 1851 has grown to represent nearly 50 brands. It’s producing its own revenue stream and has grown from a single staff member to a team of 10. The platform is also backed by success stories, too—including JAN-PRO, one of the nation’s leading commercial cleaning franchises.
With more than 11,000 franchise units worldwide, JAN-PRO has consistently been named one of the franchising industry’s fastest-growing brands. But still, even the best in the business will recognize that there’s always room for improvement. So when Scott Thompson, the vice president of development for JAN-PRO, approached No Limit Agency in October 2014, the goal was two-fold: Create more interest in open master franchisee markets and create buzz for unit franchisee recruitment. This would be accomplished through a blended approach—leveraging both traditional and digital media to attract the precise audiences they needed.
“The disruptiveness of No Limit Agency immediately stood out to me. Here was a company not accepting the status quo of what’s always been done. They aren’t afraid to think outside the box. They took a look at new marketing strategies, and figured out how to leverage the changing landscape to generate quality leads rather than simply utilizing traditional methods and portals,” Thompson said.
JAN-PRO had always utilized brokers to grow in targeted areas. But Thompson knew there had to be a better way to get the brand’s message across to potential Master Franchisees without having to spend a tremendous amount of money. JAN-PRO turned to 1851, where they were able to produce and promote localized content through the website’s AMPD feature to a target audience that met their selected demographic criteria. Through this original content, 1851 created buzz about the brand, highlighting the benefits of the unique franchise model, business successes and human interest stories, and the company’s financial strengths. In doing so, JAN-PRO was positioned as a strong, profitable and rewarding franchise—one that potential entrepreneurs could be captivated by.
Within the first six months of the relationship, No Limit Agency and 1851 helped JAN-PRO generate an important lead for an untapped territory—Boise, Idaho. By 2015, JAN-PRO solidified a $300,000 Master Franchisee signing that will represent more than $20 million in royalties over the next 10 years.
“We wouldn’t have the momentum we have right now without No Limit Agency and 1851, and we certainly wouldn’t have the traction that we currently have. No Limit Agency brought us into the 21st century from a digital standpoint. Now, the company has helped position JAN-PRO to be a positive, strong culture that a lot of people want to be a part of,” Thompson said. “1851 may be a legend in this company. It’s like we were revived from this 25-year-old brand to be a little sexier and a lot more intriguing.”
