The hybrid marketing model: central control with local freedom

Central control in brief

• The hybrid marketing model combines central control of brand and quality with local freedom for franchisees.
• Central: brand, house style, accounts, standards, budget rules and reporting.
• Local: stories, offers, photos, events and contact with customers in the area.
• The basics for every location are arranged centrally; the location chooses extra local activities from a menu.
• The model only works with clear agreements in the franchise manual and one report per location.
• We carry out the central part and support franchisees with the local part.

What tension does the hybrid model resolve?

With fully centralised marketing, franchisees do not feel seen: the campaigns do not suit their town, and they have no influence. With fully local marketing, the brand fragments: every location has its own style, its own ads and there is no overview. Both extremes cost customers. The hybrid model chooses the right level for each task.

What do you arrange centrally and what locally?

As a rule of thumb: everything that affects the brand or offers economies of scale is arranged centrally. Everything that requires local knowledge is done or supplied by the location, within central frameworks.

How do you give local freedom without chaos?

With a menu of options. Every location receives the basics (profile, reviews, location page) centrally. On top of that, a franchisee chooses from a menu of local activities: an opening promotion, an event, a seasonal campaign or extra ads. Each menu item has a template, a price and a fixed way of being carried out. That gives the franchisee freedom while keeping the brand intact.

In our experience, this works better than a list of prohibitions. Franchisees who can choose take part more often. See also protecting the brand in local social media.

How do you formalise the hybrid model?

In the franchise manual, not just in the agreement. A manual is easier to adjust when channels change, and in online marketing that happens every year. Discuss changes in advance with the franchisee advisory council, so there is support for them. Also set out how the marketing budget is split between central and local; that is covered in splitting the marketing budget.

How do you measure whether the hybrid model is working?

With one report in which every location has the same KPIs, plus an overview for the franchise brand. You can then see whether the central basics are in order everywhere, and which locations are making good use of their local freedom. You use those locations as an example for the rest.

Who carries out the hybrid model?

Your own team can handle the central part, but it takes a lot of capacity. We take over the central part and act as the point of contact for franchisees for the local part. That keeps your team focused on strategy and brand. You can read the full trade-off under outsourcing your franchise marketing; how to combine national and local online activity is covered in splitting budget between head office and locations.

What does the hybrid model look like for a franchise brand with thirty locations?

Head office determines the brand and the national campaigns. We manage the Google Business Profile, the reviews and the location page for all thirty locations, according to one standard. In addition, each location chooses every quarter from a menu of local activities, such as an event or an extra ad campaign in its own neighbourhood. Franchisees send in photos and news via WhatsApp. In the monthly report, head office can see whether the basics are in order everywhere, and every franchisee sees their own results alongside the average. The franchisee advisory council evaluates the menu twice a year.

Who is behind this approach to central control?

The approach on this page comes from our team's day-to-day practice. Gijs Bodenstaff built up a franchise brand himself and therefore knows both sides: the head office protecting the brand and the location that has to attract customers with it. With Stanley Leijnse (chair of Stichting LODAK), he studied 500 Google Business Profiles of the 100 largest Dutch franchise chains. Angela, Elisabeth, Peter and ten trained freelancers carry out the work per location, using one method and with weekly training on changes at Google.

You can read more about the team about Franchise-Marketing.nl; the author's background is on the page about Gijs Bodenstaff.