From “Paid Search for Big Sites, Big Brands,” with Chris Sherman, sponsored by iProspect:

Q) How would you recommend handling a search for a brand with hundreds of franchisees? The brand is running campaigns on state, market, and local levels. Franchisees want to run local campaigns as well. Is it possible to co-exist without competing?

Chris Sherman: That’s a really good question. The answer is yes. But it’s such a cultural issue, it really depends on how much control do you want the franchisees to have – that’s a fundamental issue that has to be answered first.

Also consider, do the franchisees have the creative people who can actually handle that kind of messaging? How much are you willing to let the overall management of the brand be delegated?

There are lots and lots of questions like this that you need to consider.

If you can answer these questions then you’re alot farther along on the road to saying whether it’ll work or not.

It’s going to be a huge challenge to take on something like this to make sure things don’t get out of hand — and to make sure that there’s no competing messaging. But I’ve seen situations where it can work.

It just requires a really thorough understanding of what the goals are…and it gets back to the fundamental issue I mentioned earlier – leadership. Especially in this context, 360 degree leadership is critical. It’s got to be very very clear who owns what, who is responsible for what and how people are evaluated.

So yes, it’s do-able, but it’s a major challenge. Good Luck!

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