NEW YORK - Franchisor Weight Watchers wants to go viral by helping motivate computer fatties to lose weight. To do so its ad agency, McCann Erickson, has hired a 24 year-old heavy-weight vlogger. Faint Starlite, a Milwaukee resident, lost pounds at Weight Watchers and wants to tell the world.

Starlite will post video blogs or vlogs weekly, interacting with the myspace online community. McCann will screen all her video postings.

"We want her to be a brand apostle," said Joyce King Thomas, CCO, McCann, New York. "We built her a place to live and we're going to let it spread virally."

Texas Retiree Buys Pre-Owned Franchise in Wisconsin

John Hiatt concluded a long career in radio about 18 months ago when CBS Radio sold the four stations he was running as a senior vice president in Austin, Texas. At 57 year old and 16 years with CBS, he approached franchisor Valpak, a franchise system that sends out envelopes of coupons each month to households across the country. There were few good-sized territories open in Texas so Valpak suggested Hiatt buy a franchise in Madison, Wisconsin. The franchisor had taken back the Madison franchise from a previous owner of some 18 months ago and needed a buyer.

"I had never been there so I started looking at the market and it's very similar to Austin," Hiatt said.

Check Into These Hotels This Halloween But You May Not Check Out

From Glenn Haussman, Hotel Interactive's Editor in Chief, writes, "Those hotels that are haunted are right now either busily dialing the Ghostbusters or turning it into a marketing angle." Here are eerie haunted hotel stories just in time for Halloween. Here's one that is from a franchise.

"The Dapper Disappearance
Fran Carter is a long-timer employee of the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore in Baltimore, Md. Fran has experienced several encounters with other-worldly guests through the years. One night, she was approached by a co-worker who informed her three visitors were standing in the dark in the hotel’s ballroom. Fran entered the large, dark room and proceeded to the three guests who were illuminated only by moonlight. A woman and two men, one of whom was outfitted with an elegant blue blazer and ascot tie, were looking out the window. Fran inquired whether they would like some light, walked within feet of the group and turned on the lights. The three visitors immediately vanished."

Read more at Hotel Interactive

Says Will Direct "All of Management's Future Attention" to Supporting Franchisees

BALTIMORE - Sylvan Learning, Inc. has announced that it will sell its problem corporate education centers to franchisees. It will sell 200 corporate units and retain 10. As it pushes to increase local franchise units, it will also expand its national online tutoring program.

"The moves come as the private tutoring business that Sylvan once dominated is saturated with competitors. And it follows a year in which a Sylvan strategy to buy back centers from franchise operators faltered as costs rose and sales fell at some of those locations."

"...Sylvan's President, Peter Cohen said local ownership is more effective in decision-making and staff retention because franchise operators have a personal stake in the business. Local owners also can better meet demands of their customers and community."

The company is also now piloting a model in which tutors go to individual homes, a departure from its 27-year tradition of teaching students only at its learning centers.

By Franchisors Taking Over For a Few Weeks So Franchisees Can Vacation

Samantha Hellen, specializing in operations and recruitment Down Under, has this tid bit on how to help retain franchisees by managing their burn-out from working such long hours.

"One of the frequently quoted hardships of running a business is the hours needed in the business. Work-life balance suffers and burn-out is a risk, particularly in a retail or personal services franchise. (Franchisors should) Ensure franchisees take holidays. Introduce a formalised relief program whereby a bank of approved and experienced managers can readily step into franchise for two to four weeks each year." (via InsideRetailing)