Each time I go to the franchise expo I run into tons of Franchise owners who are frustrated with not being able to target specific states. They are also fed up with having to waste their advertising dollars hitting the whole country. This can become especially painful for their budget when their advertisements are being seen in states/regions where they have no open territories. What many owners may not realize is, there is regional advertising for franchises available to them.
A few years ago I helped USA Today implement a regional remnant program for franchises to have the ability to only advertise in certain state by state regions where they’ve seen interest or need to expand their franchises. The reason this works so well is that it helps to minimize their advertising spend and take a more direct approach to their future franchisees.
This year I am ready to hit the ground running as I prepare for this year’s Expo and I have come up with several goals for myself to keep me focused as I speak with Franchise owners at this year’s event. I am always the most eager to meet new franchises as well as established franchises and figure out ways to help them out at the beginning stages or to help them get re-energized about advertising. It is most exciting for me to be able to help them learn new things about advertising for their industry’s needs, and for myself, it is most exciting to learn new things from each person I speak with.
My first priority is to spread awareness about the availability of regional advertising for franchises through the USA Today remnant regional program. I really take great pride in the role that I’ve played in helping establish and getting the USA Today remnant regional program off the ground and into the “hands” of the Franchise owners that I have to opportunity to speak with. My main goal is to increase awareness that there is an affordable advertising program available that target specific states, but bought on a nationwide scale.
The biggest benefit that the franchise owners get is more exposure as well as a reduced cost. By reducing cost but covering a larger area they are able to spread out their advertising budget even more while growing their exposure. There is no other regional program that is able to do this. USA Today has the most targeted regional program out there. This is beneficial in only targeting specific state by state regions where they have either seen interest in their franchise or where they need to further expand their franchise locations.
Over the years I have found that regional advertising is hard to find and it is so exciting to be affiliated with such exciting regional opportunities with such credible and well-known publications across the country. The USA Today Regional program includes 37 “local” papers in some of the largest markets across the country, including the Tennessean in Nashville and the Cincinnati Enquirer. By incorporating USA Today into these regional markets they are able to expand their readers by an additional 1.5 million on weekdays and another 2.5 million on Sunday.
I am always encouraged when I see the eyes of a franchise owner light up at the prospect of being able to capitalize on a wider market or broader reach without the wasted dollars. In many cases, they might have thought there weren’t any opportunities available to them that existed either in their price range or perhaps even in their region. It can be very exciting for me to be able to provide something that helps provide a solution to both regional advertising as well as national advertising. For Franchise owners that are looking for additional ways to advertise Nationally online sites offer additional ways for Franchise owners to list their sites on reputable online forums. Franchise Go offers potential Franchises the ability to go to one site and look at multiple franchise opportunities that are listed based on interest and start-up costs.