Wild Birds Unlimited Hosts Its First Virtual Franchise Convention

Like so many franchises in 2020, Wild Birds Unlimited had to reimagine how it would host its annual convention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of cancelling the event altogether, the brand, which has over 345 locations in the U.S. and Canada, successfully hosted its conference virtually to bring its system together while also prioritizing everyone’s health and safety.

The initial step in planning Wild Birds Unlimited’s virtual conference was finding a solution to hosting both vendors and franchisees virtually — a process Pat Perkinson, chief operating officer of the brand, said she initially thought to be nearly impossible.

“‘Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.’ Francis of Assisi said that, and it’s become my mantra through these challenges,” Perkinson said. “And the most fitting part of it is that ‘Brother Francis’ is a bit of a bird-feeding mascot.”

After taking a step back and putting a plan in place for what was necessary to host a successful event, Perkinson said things got a little easier. The brand contracted a partner to develop a portal that would host pre-recorded content from 88 vendors and other educators. Even though there was a set schedule and start time for each day of the conference, attendees of the event could engage with the content at their own pace.

“The platform our partner was able to develop was very attractive,” Perkinson said. “The portal looked like you had walked into a convention center. From there, guests had the option to click through to what they wanted to engage with. Vendors set up different options for how franchisees could ‘interact’ with their booths, sharing videos or downloadable brochures. Some recorded webinars; others would schedule one-on-one meetings with franchisees.”

Perkinson also noted that hosting this event virtually created the opportunity for more of the brand’s franchisees to consider attending. Without the added expense of travel and admission fees — or having to account for time spent away from their business — the attendance of franchisees was higher than in past years.

“Our owners were very receptive and just grateful to have a conference at all,” Perkinson said. “Normally we have about 80% attendance, but this time around we had close to 100% of franchise owners attend who interacted with the platform at some point throughout the conference. This really became an opportunity to get people more engaged.”

The hardest part about the event, according to Perkinson, was the lack of in-person connections. However, even without the small talk, the strong sense of community that runs through Wild Birds Unlimited’s network of franchisees was not lost.

“Some of our owners have been attending this event for years, so of course, that in-person connection was missed. But our owners are such a tight-knit community regardless,” Perkinson said. “Being able to reach our owners virtually in their homes meant that we had the opportunity to meet pups and grandkids, and that certainly helped make things feel closer.”

An added bonus of hosting a virtual event that was pre-recorded has been the extended lifespan of its shared content. Perkinson said that one of the reasons that Wild Birds Unlimited chose the virtual platform was because owners could access content from the conference for up to four months after the conclusion of the event.

“One major piece of feedback we received from our franchise owners was that they were excited to be able to drop in and access an educational session or webinar multiple times throughout the conference,” Perkinson said. “With that in mind, we want the access to this information to be ongoing, and once this new platform is built, franchisees will be able to revisit these educational sessions for the next four months.”

Looking ahead to 2021, Perkinson said there have already been talks about whether future conferences will be hosted in person or virtually.

“Next year’s event is the brand’s 40th anniversary, so it’s a big deal,” Perkinson said. “For now, we’re considering doing a hybrid of in-person and virtual events. We received such positive feedback from both vendors and our franchise owners that it seems important to consider. Plus, because things surrounding COVID-19 are still so uncertain, we want to address safety concerns as best we can. Overall, it’s been gratifying to sort of pioneer this whole virtual franchise conference experience, and, if anything, it’s prepared us to come out even stronger next year.”

Wild Birds Unlimited is the original and largest franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores with more than 345 locations throughout the United States and Canada. The investment level to open a Wild Birds Unlimited location is $170,382 to $281,606. To learn about franchising opportunities with Wild Birds Unlimited, please visit www.wbufranchise.com.