When it comes to digital asset management for franchises, many believe a central repository for brand assets is all you require.  If that's your view, you’re missing a trick.
Yes, you need a place where franchisees can find all their brochures, business cards, social media artwork and email templates.
But what you really need is a solution that tells franchisees what they should access and when. One that lets users edit and customize the assets, while still preserving the brand. Then finally, after campaign execution, you'll want clear reporting on campaign effectiveness across all your locations. It’s the difference between a shared drive and a legitimate marketing solution for multi-location businesses. And it’s the difference between a stock digital asset management tool and Digital Stack. Let’s look at an example to see how it works.

Digital Stack in action

Here’s how Digital Stack recently enabled a national franchise with 200+ locations to replicate and amplify one location’s viral social media post.

• • Digital Stack reporting identified the best performing Facebook posts for the month. This is based on reach and engagement.

• It reveals a viral ‘Member of the Month’ post. It has organic reach of over 28,000 people via Facebook reaction voting.

• • A short education article deconstructing the success of the post is created. It links to the editable asset in Digital Stack so other locations can turn learning into action right away.

• • Users receive a mobile app notification linking them to the article. and in turn the editable social media asset. 

• Users customize the linked editable asset. As instructed they include their own members’ photos and stories. Then they post to Facebook, replicating the success of the viral post.
  caption id="attachment2909" align="aligncenter" width="550" Brand approved editable assets allow for customization and localization./caption

• The reporting section then gives a detailed breakdown of the post’s reach and engagement. And the process starts again.

caption id="attachment2910" align="aligncenter" width="463" Reporting shows the top performing posts across your locations./caption

The alternative: standard digital asset management for franchises

Compare that experience to a standard digital asset management solution used by many franchises and multi-location businesses. The asset, a one-size-fits-all Facebook graphic, sits there waiting to be plucked off the shelf. It’s a glorified shared drive. Usually with permission-based access, some file format options and a way to search via category. But it’s essentially a shared drive. As it houses only fixed assets there’s no ability to customize any of the design elements. Franchisees can’t adapt offers, hours, or include photos of staff or customers. Not providing franchisees with editable assets will almost always have ugly consequences. Without the tools to create their own professional-standard communications, they’ll  improvize and create their own substandard alternatives. Finally, without any instruction on when and how to use the digital asset, all direction will have to be manual via head office email.  Assuming one is sent (and read).

Keep franchisees informed, empowered and accountable

Local managers can only be held accountable for local area marketing if enabled with everything they need to effectively execute it. For this reason standard digital asset management for franchises will fail here on several fronts. That's because franchisees and local area managers can quite fairly say they didn’t know the assets were there. They didn’t know how to use them. The assets weren’t editable and didn't suit them as they were. And they couldn’t access the custom artwork they needed. On it goes. And there’s no performance reporting at all. Just the most basic activity indicators of who’s accessed the assets and when. That's it. As a result, you have a half-baked solution.  No reasonable person could say the franchisees are supported in executing their local area marketing. So don't expect accountability.
caption id="attachment2911" align="aligncenter" width="450" The average franchise manager has enough on their plate. They need direction and the right tools./caption

Digital Stack dictates the behaviours that get results

Digital Stack launched just over three years ago and is now in 15 countries. And in all those markets the platform has encouraged a positive behavioural shift in its users. But it’s not because there’s better reporting and therefore accountability. It’s because it’s fun and effective. Ultimately, there’s nothing like seeing results to reinforce the right behaviours. That’s what happens when you enable local managers and franchisees with flexible brand assets and smart capabilities around learning and execution.  You ingrain best practice local area marketing. And that's something a standard digital asset management solution will never do.