A customers' credit or debit card now can be combined with loyalty program cards for restaurant chains so that payment, purchase history, product preference, and promotional offers

Robert Purvin, Chairman of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers, gives an interview about trends and events that should concern franchise owners in 2008. Formed in 1992, the AAFD represents more than 50,000 franchised businesses in 50 states and represents more than 100 different franchise systems. Purvin, a franchise attorney by training, sees franchisee-friendly bills proliferating at the state and federal level for the first time in many years, a growing desire by lawmakers to change the ability of franchisors to enforce mandatory arbitration and franchisee's pushing for growth in more independent franchisee associations to represent their needs in 2008.

BMM: What are the major trends that franchisees should keep an eye out for in 2008 and why?  

Purvin: 2008 can potentially be a watershed year for franchisees and prospective franchisees, and for several reasons.

Most obviously, the revised Federal Trade Commission's Franchise Disclosure Rule becomes mandatory in July, 2008, and with it, franchisee associations gain a valuable tool to establish recognition and viability. Franchisee associations may now compel franchisors to disclose their existence and contact information in the franchise disclosure document for their respective franchise systems. This was a provision that was strongly supported by the AAFD and other franchisee advocates, and is expected to be a major boost to the effectiveness of independent FOA's, especially as it increases visibility and legality of such associations.

The Akron Beacon Journal posted a couple of stories on franchising today.

The first one mentions some franchise trends to watch for in the coming year taken from Joel Libava's article on the award winning Small Business Trends website.

The second franchise story is about a candidate of Joel's.....Mike Whelan, a former Officemax executive, who used Joel's services, and ended up investing in a Huntington Learning Center franchise, which he opened near Akron, Ohio.

The marketer in me is always on the prowl for cool ideas, and how the franchise industry can utilize them. About 2-3 times a year, an internet stunner is found by myself.  I found this yesterday, after  following a link to someone who commented on one of my blogs.

I suggest you take 10 minutes or so, and watch and interact with a bit of cool marketing from our techy friends in Japan. It will take a few minutes to figure out what is being "marketed."  But I trust you will.....Take a 10 minute break..today!

Directions:

Go to- http://thefranchiseking.typepad.com  

Scroll down until you see the WOW! in my sidebar.

{Before you look and click it, please subscribe to the blog-upper right side-Thanx!} 

Take a 1 minute look at it, and then click the WOW! box.

Enjoy, and comment.

Cheers,

Franpro 

But Independent Experts Say Study Misleading

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Blue MauMau) - A study concludes that SBA loans given to franchises had a higher rate of repayment failure than loans to non franchises (see chart). Franchises had a 6.5% charge-off rate, the amount that the lender has to dismiss or charge off for having a nonpaying bad loan, which was more than the 5.9% for the average small business.

Chart provided by permission of the International
Franchise Association's journal, Franchising World

The International Franchise Association's Education Foundation contracted with Frandata Corp., a franchise industry research firm, to compare Small Business Administration (SBA) non-franchise loans to franchise loans from 2001 through 2006. Lenders can receive a guaranty of payment by the SBA if they structure their loans according to the Administration's requirements.

A Franchisee Satisfaction Survey Has Many Benefits for a Prospective Franchise Owner, But Be Careful . . .

LINCOLN, Neb. (Blue MauMau) - Just three years ago, franchise buyers would have traveled coast to coast and from one Internet site to another in vain to find out which franchisors had highly satisfied franchisees. But in the last couple of years that information (see an example in the chart below) has now become more readily available.

There’s a huge upside for the buyer in being able to know which franchisors have the most satisfied franchisees, with at least three major benefits. A franchisee satisfaction survey can:

Marketing: Freelance Advertising from Consumers Continues To Be A Growing Trend. Best Western To Be an Early Pioneer.

PHOENIX (Blue MauMau) - Best Western International becomes one of the first hotel chains to jump in on the advertising trend of having consumers design corporate ads. "Freelance advertising" first came into force in the 2007 Superbowl commercial of a Doritos corn chips (see television commercial below).

From now until June 24, the hotel franchisor, in conjunction with family travel expert Emily Kaufman, aka "The Travel Mom", has launched a competition through YouTube in which viewers submit a 30-second video to the Best Western Group site describing why they are in dire need of a vacation. Visitors will be able to vote for the Top 10 Finalists. Then a Best Western panel of judges will determine the best video the week of July 23.

KFC, Cold Stone and Others Tap Into Online Customer Ad Creativity

Remember Pizza Hut advertising through YouTube to find its VP of Pizza, a Pizza Hut pizza gourmet?

KFC is using ad agency Draftfcb, to up the interactive ante. Draftfcb has organized an ad created entirely from existing consumer generated video. The advertisement, a celebration of having menu items that have zero grams of trans fat, is scheduled to debut during the American Idol finale on Tuesday night, May 22. It features 13 clips showing people caught in mid-celebration. The 15-second commercial continues KFC's new campaign, "The Bucket's Back,"

James O'Reilly, chief marketing officer for KFC, says, "The people who love KFC are the heroes of our brand, so how better to bring that excitement to other consumers than by showing the celebrations of real people?"

A financier for the restaurant franchise industry, G.E. Capital Solutions, Franchise Finance, released its annual report on trends in chain restaurants.

CEO Darren Kowalske noted, "the industry experienced record activity for mergers, acquisitions and IPOs in 2006. These trends combined with other factors like rising costs in commercial real estate and gasoline have a ripple effect that cascades across the economy."

This amazing 5 minute video link was sent to me this morning.
It was so powerful, that it actually caused me to stare at it, and shake my head in amazement.
{It takes a LOT to slow me down enough to watch a 5 minute web-video.}
This link WILL affect you, and get your juices flowing.
It is suitable for General Audiences.

Shift Happens 
 
Franpro