How 1851 Created Disruption in the Franchise Industry

In May 2012, Nick Powills had an idea. He bought a giant white board and 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. Feet could no longer be propped up on a desk as leads poured in from portals. The world—the franchise 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 fill up his whiteboard, 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 were content resources for franchising, but nothing that could fill our minds on a daily basis,” Powills said.

Initially, 1851 was going to be a little bit of Entrepreneur magazine, blended with a portal. This way, he could educate, inform and inspire those interested in franchising with real, moving content on a daily basis. But Powills quickly realized that the gap he was trying to fill was much wider than what he first anticipated. This website couldn’t just be about lead generation—prospects were much smarter and more committed to their due diligence these days. Instead, Powills shifted 1851’s trajectory, molding it into a platform that would create more awareness for brands while simultaneously spiking change.

“We realized that we could take Entrepreneur’s model of writing three to four stories a month, but instead, we would create content daily. We would produce 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. In doing this, 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 this franchising opportunity, and they’re gaining that much-needed outside validation,” Powills said.

But telling the story was just part of the equation. Powills wanted to ensure that these articles were 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, right? 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.”

By 2014, the concept for 1851 had fully come to fruition. Now, it was time to test it out. Powills decided to start with a brand that had its fair share of struggles in 2013—Buffalo Wings & Rings. That year, Buffalo Wings & Rings had spent $120,000 on franchise marketing and netted 60 leads, of which, zero closed. So he introduced them to 1851. His editorial team wrote the perfect brand story, and to disseminate that content, he launched the AMPD program. Within a few months, Buffalo Wings & Rings awarded 13 locations.

“As humans, we’re often trained to believe that more is better. That quantity outdoes quality. But that conditioning is false. Less is more. Why spend tons of money to go after 10,000 people when you only end up with five buyers? Why not instead go after 20 people and end up with the same amount of buyers?” Powills said. “For franchise brands with smaller budgets, 1851 puts them in front of people who can decide for themselves if they’re influential. 1851 doesn’t make your sales process anymore more complete. But what we are doing is giving your brand the best shot at getting its story to the right people. And up until now, that has never been done before.”

Today, 1851 has grown to represent nearly 50 brands. It’s producing its own revenue stream. And it’s grown from a single staff member to a team of 10. The platform is also backed by countless success stories, too. Showhomes, a brand that wasn’t selling any franchises before engaging 1851, saw the closing of five new units. JAN-PRO wanted to expand their international footprint in Panama and target Boise, Idaho for development—but they had a tough time localizing their communication. With the help of 1851, they sold both territories. And Buffalo Wings & Rings saw nearly half of their new leads come primarily through this platform.

“As the pilot brand for 1851, we were able to award five times the amount of franchises in 2014. This platform has significantly increased our web traffic, and it’s helped our incoming leads multiply by nearly 10 times the original number we were at before becoming a part of 1851,” said Buffalo Wings & Rings Chief Development Officer Philip Schram. “Combining the world of content marketing and public relations into one digital platform has proven to be incredibly valuable. It serves as a vetting process for prospective franchisees—it’s putting your brand out there and it’s enabling people to do their homework. In the end, it’s resulting in better information, better expectations and better leads. It’s truly one of the biggest breakthroughs that I’ve seen in this industry.”

As the world of franchising continues to change and evolve, Powills believes that the key to success is to not be afraid of creating a little disruption. It’s that same principle that lead Powills to 1851 in the first place, and it’ll remain at the core of the platform in the years to come.

“Throughout the past few decades, there has always been franchise tradeshows; there’ve been brokers; and there have been portals. These things are still prevalent, but the amount of people who are truly satisfied with those tools is dwindling. At 1851, we’re mixing people, technology and storytelling—and that’s something that is truly disruptive in this industry,” Powills said. “The time for something new is now. As long as we’re willing to admit mistakes and constantly focus on innovating, then I believe that this platform has a shot to be the norm for anyone looking to develop a brand.”