New Awareness Campaign Highlights Economic Importance of Franchising
Thursday, July 31st, 2008The International Franchise Association has officially launched the first phase of an integrated awareness campaign designed to educate Beltway opinion leaders about the importance of franchising to the U.S. economy.
The franchising industry has seen record growth in recent years. A new economic analysis released last month shows that franchising expanded by more than 18 percent from 2001 to 2005, adding more than 140,000 new businesses and 1.2 million new jobs to the nation’s economy. Direct economic output of franchises grew by more than 40 percent to $880 billion during the five-year span.
“The growth we have seen in the franchising industry is expected to continue, even during the current economic downturn,” said Matthew Shay, IFA president and CEO. “As policymakers address laws that impact the small business community, such as immigration and health care, we want them to consider the impact that potential reforms would have on franchised businesses’ ability to contribute so significantly to the economy in the future.”
A key component of the campaign is print and online advertising to educate opinion leaders about the franchise model, the product support and training it provides and the many diverse options and opportunities for people to own their own business through franchising.
The testimonial ad series will introduce actual franchises and franchisors and feature the campaign’s theme: Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time. The brand was developed through extensive opinion leader testing to communicate how franchising helps build businesses comprised of local owners who support communities all across the country.
The first ad that appeared in Roll Call and National Journal features Dunkin’ Brands CEO Jon Luther and Duke Carvalho, who owns 14 stores in the greater Boston are. With the headline, “America Runs on Dunkin’. Dunkin’ Brands Runs on Franchising,” the ad calls to action support for franchising and the dream of business ownership.
A new Web site, www.buildingopportunity.com, was developed to support the campaign and provides additional information about the economic impact of franchising, including access to the “Economic Impact o Franchised Business” report, which can be searched by congressional district. In addition, the Web site includes a copy of the Dunkin’ Brands advertisement.