Mar 19, 2008 | Coconut in the Media
A new affiliate relationship has been announced this week between leading franchise consultants, Franchise Your Business (FYB) and marketing and PR specialists, Coconut Creatives.
This talented exclusive alliance has been formed to promote and support franchisors in their quest for growth.
Sarah Dyer, founder of Coconut Creatives, began working with FYB consultant Mike Gratwick early last year. Sarah headed up marketing and media campaigns to launch his new franchisor clients. Due to the success of this, the relationship has been formalised and rolled out across the FYB consultancy network.
“Franchise Your Business are delighted to be working closely with Coconut Creatives, we know that both our business and that of our clients will benefit greatly from this alliance and the superb service provided by Sarah and that of her team,” says Tim Mott, Director – Franchise Your Business.
The clients are the ones to truly benefit from this relationship. Success so far has resulted in eye catching headlines, a press trip to India, national and regional newspaper coverage, targeted magazine features, online recruitment campaigns and a trip to Spain planned next month. All achieved through projects between Coconut Creatives and Franchise Your Business.
The most recent success was seen this week after Coconut Creatives launched brand new Spanish franchisor and FYB client, Murcia Villas onto the UK market. “The campaign kicked off on Friday, just in time for the weekend. By Monday afternoon, Murcia Villas had 46 quality leads for their lifestyle based franchise,” explains Sarah.
The relationship is circular with FYB assisting former clients now working with Coconut Creatives on such activities as Discovery Days. “Affiliations are valuable to all businesses,” Sarah adds.
“Having a professional and customer driven PR and Marketing Company working with us is key to our development and critical to the success of our clients,” concludes Tim.
Case studies can be found on coconutcreatives.co.uk and www.franchiseyourbusiness.co.uk
Feb 19, 2008 | Coconut in the Media
Coconut Creatives were guest lecturers yesterday at Bournemouth University. The aimed to give students an insight into marketing for small businesses and being a small business.
The presentation included some background on the Coconut directors, two client case studies and information on what it is like running your own business. The highlights of the event included a short clip from a James Bond film that client Livett’s Launches managed on the River Thames and a clip from the Coconut’s recent India press trip with client, Shared Earth.
The Coconuts made the session interactive by taking along a range of Fair Trade products bought in India during the press trip and also a range of magazines which included client editorial and features.
The event also highlighted to students the positives and negatives of owning and running a business and concluded with a question and answer session which gave the students a chance to get some advice for their future careers.
Feb 11, 2008 | Coconut in the Media
Bournemouth University have invited Coconut Creatives marketing specialists Sarah Dyer and Christopher Cook to give a presentation on managing and running their own business.
The event is to take place on Monday 18th February on Bournemouth University’s Talbot Campus between 4 – 6pm. Students attending will gain information about Coconut Creatives recent press trip to India with client, Shared Earth, as well as having an opportunity to ask questions about running a business.
Sarah and Chris will also be talking about the Chartered Institute of Marketing and their role on the South West Regional Board. The event will end with an opportunity to network with nibbles!
For further information go to Bournemouth University’s Business Mania Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=8621898239 or visit Bournemouth University’s website at http://www.subu.org.uk/businessmania/events/index.php?page=event&event_id=17881
Jan 31, 2008 | Coconut in the Media
I’m often asked about tactics which can fit into a marketing strategy, so this month’s tips focus on a few different ideas that can be done alongside your existing 2008 campaign.
Often the temptation is to focus all efforts on recruitment when in fact, your existing franchisee network is capable of much more than you think.
Franchisees at Exhibitions
Taking a franchisee to an exhibition with you gives two very clear messages to prospective franchisees. That you are happy for prospects to chat with an existing franchisee and that you have happy franchisees. So much time is spent on the lead up to an exhibition in the preparation of the stand, signing off final artwork and sorting last minute freebies to tempt prospects onto your stand. The best possible attraction that a franchisor can have on their stand is a real life franchisee (even if they wear a t-shirt saying “I’m a Franchisee”) the message will be strong, clear and powerful. So make sure you take a franchisee with you and get them talking to the visitors
Franchisee recruitment questions
Franchisees are the best possible advocate for your brand and franchise package. It has been proven that when prospects are given a chance to talk to or visit and existing franchisee, they ask better questions and therefore find out at an earlier stage if the franchise is for them. After all, the franchisee is doing the job that they hope to do. They will have many questions and will want to find out what it is like in their shoes. This may require some training and agreement from a particular franchisee and is well worth the effort.
Marketing collateral
Use your chosen franchisees on marketing materials, within press releases and on your website. People like to see people and their testimonials will aid your franchise success for the future. All franchisees should be encouraged to report on positive feedback, gain comments from their own customers and to take photos where possible. You never know when this material might come in handy saving time and money when a promotional opportunity requires such materials. However, be choosey on which materials you use as they must meet your brand standards and give the right message.
Research for future development
Your existing franchisees can offer valuable insights into the future development of the franchise package. A system for capturing their feedback on everything from initial training to newly launched products is essential for continual improvement to maintain a competitive advantage in the future.
Useful Tips
1. Try to build a bank of franchisee case studies which ideally cover several key market areas. Such market areas can include women in franchising or couples in franchising. This allows you to have marketing collateral at your disposal to target specific market segments.
2. Always take a franchisee when you attend events and exhibitions to recruit new franchisees
3. Ideally have a franchisee that is available for serious prospects to talk to.
4. Encourage a marketing focus within your network and reward your franchisees for offering customer case studies that you, as the franchisor, can use.
Jan 25, 2008 | Clients in the Media, Coconut in the Media
The India trip 5 – 18th January 2008 was organised by Fair Trade UK based retail company Shared Earth as a buying trip and to gain images of the manufacturing process to use in their marketing materials. Sarah Dyer and Chris Cook from Coconut Creatives accompanied the group to undertake interviews and gain images for press opportunities.
During the trip the Shared Earth team visited many different suppliers in Delhi, Agra, Saharanpur and Kolkatta. These suppliers are working with hundreds of Indian producers to offer fairly traded products world-wide.
The Shared Earth and Coconut Creatives team were taken to a slum, orphanage, villages, cities and funded schools travelling right across India to discover the real positive impact that Fair Trade is making on the workers and their family’s lives.
What we discovered…
Fair Trade projects have been set up by the Indian suppliers throughout India to give back to the community. Details of many of these projects can be found on www.sharedearthnewsandmedia.co.uk. A sample can be found below:
1. A school slum which provides funded education for 60 children from 400 families living in Delhi
2. A funded orphanage which cares for and educates former child workers, child prostitutes and abandoned children from the Delhi region
3. An E-Academy to teach children necessary computer skills in Kolkatta
4. A self sufficient project for deaf and dumb adults giving them a fair chance to work making handicrafts which are sold internationally
5. Many, many workshops that provide consistent employment, fair wages, pensions, healthcare schemes and safer working conditions for master craftsmen and workers throughout India
Dec 12, 2007 | Clients in the Media, Coconut in the Media
A trip to visit some of the poorest parts of India has been planned to expose the truth behind Fair Trade between 5 – 18th January 08. Coconut Creatives Directors Sarah Dyer and Christopher Cook will be accompanying Jeremy Piercy and a small team of his staff to New Delhi, India to see what impact Shared Earth’s Fair Trade work has had on developing areas.
On our return the full story will be featured in national, regional and green/ethical magazines.
Key Story Features include:
· True Stories; from children who were reduced to selling their bodies at train stations
· Fair Trade survey – what people in the UK understand about Fair Trade
· Facts & figures from the International Fair Trade Association
· Indian Artisan Interviews; life before Fair Trade and how it has changed them
Follow the India Trip Live!
To follow the India trip live visit the Shared Earth blog site through www.sharedearthnewsandmedia.co.uk. Gain access to daily interviews, images and quotes.
To receive a full report pre & post India trip please email sarah@coconutcreatives.co.uk or call 01963 31030 for further information.
Why is this trip so important?
Because we are reporting back on the positive impact Fair Trade has had on the lives of so many people world-wide. Examples of what we will be reporting on are:
1. Reducing Begging & Prostitution of Children
There is an orphanage for street children near New Delhi, where women from local villages come in to make bags and other products to fund the orphanage. Recently, 3 of those children, who had formerly just begged and sold their bodies on railway stations, had grown to the age of 18 and were confidently in charge of 3 of the craft workshops. “It was a real joy to see them looking so happy and fulfilling such responsible roles,” expresses Jeremy, Fair Trade campaigner and founder of national retail organisation Shared Earth.
2. Fair Trade Philosophy
Jeremy would like to see a change in our society away from its materialistic attitudes to life, “I’d like people, especially young people, to understand that it’s what you do and the way you work that matters, not just how much you earn. If people actually started to realise that caring about other people makes YOU more happy, as well as those other people, then attitudes might change and society could only be the better for it.”
Watch this space!
