When Opening a New Franchise Location, Local PR and Marketing is Key

Local. Timely. Relevant. These three words serve as the foundation for a successful PR campaign. As franchisees are preparing to open their new location, there are a lot of moving parts, and developing a comprehensive PR and marketing plan to support the new opening might not be top of mind. 1851 spoke with two PR experts, as well as a franchise owner, to provide best practices to approaching PR and marketing ahead of a new opening.

“The first question any journalist working for a local publication will ask in response to a pitch about a new opening is why it’s relevant to the local community,” said Brian Jaeger, Vice President of Media Relations for No Limit Agency*. “Anyone who’s involved in the public relations outreach for a new franchise opening needs to frame their pitch around the local tie, play up the opening date to show it’s timely and provide a compelling reason that makes the business relevant to the readership of the publication.”

Lamont Johnson, CEO and Founder of the Art Department, adds that to get the attention of the local press, it’s essential to understand and to communicate to the media how your franchise business will impact the community. Johnson also suggests that franchisees host a private media event, to which they can invite key members of the media to get a sneak peek of their location ahead of the grand opening.

The responsibility to secure press for a new franchise opening doesn’t necessarily fall on the franchisee, though. Most franchise brands hire PR firms to support the brand on the national level, or give franchisees resources to find a local firm to handle media relations on their behalf.

In fact, Brian Mazzone, ServPro and Lawn Doctor* franchisee, points to the support provided by the corporate team as a deciding factor in choosing to diversify his portfolio with Lawn Doctor.

“Franchise owners should utilize the support that the corporate office offers,” he said, noting that Lawn Doctor helps its franchisees with PR, local digital marketing and social media support for the opening and beyond.

To continue building buzz in the local community after the initial opening, it’s important to create ongoing, newsworthy programs.

“New menu items or programming, partnerships with local organizations and nonprofits, stories about your employees and tying your brand to current news and events are great ways to keep the PR story going all year,” said Jaeger. “It’s important to realize that to get news coverage, you have to create news. You aren’t going to get press for simply existing.”  

Johnson suggests tying the brand into the national holidays as another strategy to get press for your location. “For example, for National Hamburger Day, your restaurant’s chefs should be doing cooking segments on local TV. Do your research. There’s virtually a day, week or month for just about everything!”

When approaching media relations for a new franchise opening, it’s important to focus on timeliness, relevancy and the local tie. To secure press on an ongoing basis, these still hold true, but it’s just as important to think outside the box and come up with creative angles to capture the attention of the local media