Constantly changing trends can make it difficult to maintain a modern image. Rebranding can keep your franchise’s look, feel and values fresh, being the key to keeping your franchise at the cutting edge of your industry.

Rebranding offers a number of benefits including:

1. Differentiation

Set your franchise apart from your competitors, showing potential franchisees and clients that you are the experts and that your products and services are unique. By rebranding your franchise to its own strengths, will help establish it as an industry leader and will appeal to the perception of your target market.

2. Stay Current

Staying relevant in changing times is one of the most common reasons for a franchise to rebrand. By rebranding, the perception of your potential and current clients will be enhanced, showing them that you understand the trends within your industry.

3. Reach New Customers

Refreshing the look and feel of your brand, has the potential to reach new customers. Rebranding can be just the thing a franchise needs to shake things up to create new growth, in an ever-evolving market.

4. Reflect a Shift in Franchise Focus

As your franchise network is growing, does brand reflect this? Rebranding is a great way to show that your franchise is evolving and while it’s important to focus on your core business, updating your services and the way you promote them, can help you get more business.

5. Boosting Your Bottom Line

Together, these benefits of rebranding will help make your franchise more profitable. Reaching new potential clients, standing out from your competitors, showcasing your expertise, expanding the influence and reach of your products and services are all incredibly effective ways to increase profits.

Rebranding is an option that franchisors often overlook and is extremely valuable when it comes to expanding your brand and to build brand awareness.

Does your franchise brand need an overhaul?

Take inspiration from the benefits of rebranding your franchise and get to work on your brand strategy!

WE DID – SEE OUR NEW LOGO ABOVE AS PART OF OUR REBRANDING STARTEGY!

Kevin Antonie

CEO

SA Franchise Brands

The post THE BENEFITS OF REBRANDING appeared first on SA Franchise Brands.

Corporate Social Investment (CSI) has evolved in leaps and bounds since 1994 with CSI programs in South Africa having developed from purely charitable programs into strategic investment activities directed towards the social development of the country. Managing Executive of The Fish & Chip Co, Marcel Strauss, shares some insights on the concept of CSI and why companies need to be more strategic about it.

CSI can no longer be viewed as a simple charitable donation. It’s more than PR spin to ease the corporate conscience and enhance the brand’s image. All the more companies have noted that social stewardship is a crucial aspect of being responsible leaders in business. By contributing to the real needs of communities that companies operate in, we are able to make a sustainable contribution to the development and economic growth of the country and in the end, play an increasingly vital role in the democratisation of societies.

However, the charitable deeds that we do cannot be executed without proper planning. Even though all companies aim to effect maximal change in the communities that they operate in (whether they do so for their own gain is always debatable), does not mean that they are effective in their approach. CSI involves strategic actions that need to form part of the strategic environment within the company. This will ensure that more sustainable development can be delivered, contributing to real social development and economic growth. By merely being another ‘flash in the pan’ sponsor, what are you really achieving, aside from good PR?

The following needs to be implemented to ensure CSI initiatives are strategic:

• Initiatives need to be aligned to business objectives to ensure that it is in line with the company ethos, vision and mission.
• A formal strategy with objectives and deliverables needs to be in place that serves as a reference point to ensure activities correspond with what the company stands for.
• Internal and external reviews of programs and funding initiatives need to be conducted on an ongoing basis.
• Funds need to be managed responsibly and need to be monitored closely to ensure sustainability of projects.
• Management needs to be actively involved and participate in the planning as well as the execution of initiatives.

All CSI initiatives will of course only be effective if it is driven by the corporate mission and regularly measured, evaluated and adjusted. Lastly, it is vital that there is a good fit between the services of the company and the needs of their beneficiary. As we are in the business of food, we know it is our responsibility to use it as a tool to ease the hunger of the less fortunate in our communities. Whether it is by donating food to a feeding programme, such as the Deo Gloria House in Krugersdorp, or the sponsorship of meals to soccer clinics around Gauteng, we know that our collective efforts will make a sustainable difference in the lives of our communities who also serve us.

Opinion piece shared by PR Worx.

The post The (corporate) home is where the heart is. appeared first on SA Franchise Brands.

Small and large businesses should pay special attention to selecting a business name and trade mark/s and obtaining proper statutory protection for such names and marks, before adopting such names and marks for use in trade. If proper steps are not taken before adopting trade marks, entrepreneurs and start-up businesses are often hit hardest as legal costs to deal with such possible conflicts are high and usually unexpected.

Large and corporate businesses are usually more educated on these matters and most corporate businesses have large trade mark portfolios, because they have a larger budget and more product names to protect.  Unfortunately, entrepreneurs and start-ups are often poorly educated on these aspects and can find themselves in a “David and Goliath” battle for survival, if they unknowingly adopt a business name or trade mark which is the same or similar to a product name or trade mark of a corporate business.

The truly large corporations can often afford to instigate and pursue litigation as strategy to hinder new role players and exclude competition. This occurs because litigation, even if the law is on your side, creates uncertainty and unpleasantness.  In practice, some of these Goliaths often litigate on might, and not necessarily on their right.

How then, can the start-up business avoid such legal battles and uncertainties?  The best practice, before adopting a business name, trade mark, slogan, logo or domain name for use in trade, is to instruct a trade mark attorney to conduct an availability search of the Trade Marks Register. This is imperative in order to furnish you with an expert opinion as to whether your proposed mark is likely to be available for use and registration in relation to the specific goods and services of interest to you.

Although CIPC offers basic search and report services, it is best practice to obtain a full legal opinion on the availability of a mark in view of the following: possible obstacles, possible measures to try to avoid or overcome such obstacles, and proper filing recommendations.

The Trade Marks Register is divided into 45 classes, each class covering a specific category of goods and services. For instance, class 25 covers “clothing”, while class 35 covers “retail and wholesale services”.  The classification of our Register is based on the International Nice Classification which is generally reviewed and updated every 5 years.

The purpose of a trade mark registration is to obtain exclusive and monopolistic rights in your mark as represented on the Trade Mark Register.  Such rights can endure for as long as the trade mark is renewed every 10 years from filing.

It should further be understood that the scope of a trade mark registration extends to the identical mark, and any mark which is similar thereto, covering the identical goods or services in the specification, and any goods and services regarded to be similar to those listed goods and services.  Trade marks are compared on a visual, phonetic and conceptual basis and any one of these levels is sufficient.  For example, if you have a registration for the trade mark BELLA-BO in class 25 for “clothing”, you could have grounds and remedies to object to the unauthorised use of the mark BELLE-BOU by a third party in relation to use of cosmetics covered by class 3.  The reason for this is that the marks BELLA-BO and BELLE-BOU are visually and phonetically similar and that “clothing” and “cosmetics” are often regarded as being “similar goods”, as they are often sold to the same consumers, in the same chain stores, through the same trading channels.

Apart from searches on the Trade Marks Register, searches on Domain Name Registers and the Companies and Close Corporation Registers should also be considered, even if you are not considering starting a website or forming a company or closing a corporation at that time.  The reason for this recommendation is that there is no cross-referencing between the Trade Marks Register, Companies and Close Corporation Registers and the .CO.ZA Domain Name Registers.

Theoretically speaking, even if you conduct appropriate searches on the Trade Marks Register, your proposed name may already have been registered as a domain name or company name. This could result in another business obtaining prior and vested rights in the name, and possible grounds to object to the registration of your trade mark on the Trade Marks Register.  It is therefore not sufficient to start trading under a business name, thinking that you can obtain monopolistic rights in your name and have grounds to prevent others from infringing your rights, if you managed to register the name a domain name alone.  Similarly, it is not necessarily safe to adopt a mark or business name, if you obtained a successful name reservation on the Companies and Close Corporation Registers.  The lack of cross-referencing between these various relevant name registers, often leads to litigation and conflicts. To avoid these conflicts, it is best practice to check these various name registers, before adopting or registering a trade mark.

Emmie de Kock from De Kock Attorneys can be contacted at info@dekock.co.za, or www.dekock.co.za.

Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved. De Kock Attorneys

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