Cold Rock leading the way for franchises

The Cold Rock Ice Creamery franchise , a franchise chain that is taking real form in Australia, offers more than just the traditional scoop of ice-cream in a cone. As the tagline promises, customers become part of the “Choose it. Mix it. Smash it” experience, in which they can choose as many “mix ins” as they want to create their own personalised flavour. According to Australian director Norm Hunt, customers enjoy the “theatrics of seeing the product being mixed up in front of them on a refrigerated granite Cold Rock slab”.

The concept, which originated in Boston, is marketed with the slogan “if you can dream it – you can ice-cream it”. Stores even hold the occasional competition in which customers are challenged to add the most mix-ins to their ice-cream. To date the record is apparently 60 – and that’s all in one cone!

There are currently 43 Cold Rock Ice Creameries Australia-wide, with plans to open 10 new stores by the end of this year.

Juice machines are grinding away, the music is pumping, upbeat staff clad in black, groovy t-shirts are throwing ice into a jug pub-style. You can smell the freshly squeezed oranges, hear names being called out when customer orders are ready and the atmosphere is charged and energetic.

Even without seeing the brand, you can close your eyes and know you are part of the ‘Boost experience’.

Welcome to the world of experiential retailing, or, in this case, franchising. At least insofar as Australia goes, it is probably fair to say that few franchises do it better than Boost Juice . This emerging concept reflects a shift from merely buying a product and/or service to also getting a positive experience, one for which consumers seem happy to pay a premium.

The question is: does adding another layer to the provision of goods and services – the promise of a unique and memorable experience – sit well with the concept of franchising, which has traditionally been associated with systemised business models that can be reduced to formulas capable of reliable and predictable replication?

Given some Australian franchising experiences to date, it would appear that with careful planning experiential marketing can be a valuable strategy to cut through clutter, differentiate a system and create long-term brand value.

What, exactly, is experiential franchising?

Michael Morrison, research director at the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS), has been closely monitoring the growth of experiential retailing in Australia and around the world. Morrison describes experiential retailing as a concept that concentrates on certain senses to closely link up with a brand. By using the senses of smell, sound, taste, sight and touch, he says franchisors can make their target market feel a sense of comfort and belonging in the store. Customers feel good, want to stay longer, and then become ambassadors for the brand.

Boost Juice, he claims, is a prime example. The Australian fruit juice franchise has a recipe for success in which customers get drawn into the ‘Boost culture’. This encompasses much more than fruit smoothies, or even the brand – what you get is a sense of community. Customers, particularly the 18–35 year-old target market, appear perfectly content to wait patiently in line for their Boost juice – in fact the waiting has probably become part of the experience in its own right.

According to Boost Juice CEO Janine Allis, the bars “hit more senses than just taste”. The vibrant signage – green (for nature), yellow (for fun) and orange (for appetite) – stands out and the smell, music, atmosphere and fruit displays are all integral parts of the Boost experience.

Allis also places high emphasis on the importance of customer interaction with staff, and therefore considers the recruiting process vital. Every three to six months, Boost holds staff auditions that involve singing, dancing and acting. Boost, she says, also encourages customer feedback, to which the company is proactively responsive.

Allis describes the “theatre of food” that goes on at Boost bars.

“We are very much into defining and demonstrating,” she says. “Our customers get involved in the whole juice-making process. We have blenders at the front of outlets and staff love practising their ‘Boost-antics’ – ice thrown into the air and caught in a blender and backward cup flips are all the go”. There is also a Boost Olympics, with one ex-circus staff member able to juggle up to six oranges at a time.

Boost is a case of more than a good quality product selling itself. It is the experience that the bars offer that also attracts. The numbers speak for themselves, with over 140 Boost Juice bars having mushroomed around Australia and more on the way.

McDonald’s vamps up

McDonald’s, long one of the biggest franchise restaurant chains in Australia, is now placing far greater emphasis on the in-house customer dining experience – so much so that after launching its ‘Salads Plus’ menu, its fresh focus is on the look and feel of actual stores. By introducing neutral tones, interesting finishes and various themed graphics, it aims to make customers feel more comfortable and relaxed.

According to a McDonald’s spokesperson, in response to customer feedback the fast food giant is in the process of abandoning immobile plastic chairs and going in a “completely new direction”. This includes upholstered booths, communal tables with stools and more subdued lighting, which McDonalds hopes will markedly boost sales. The plan also includes the addition of McCafes to more stores. The move follows a McDonald’s strategy in the European market, with renovations already completed in 10 outlets in and around the Sydney CBD.

Other industries

While food and beverages lend themselves particularly well to the experiential retail model, it can extend to almost any industry, with the fitness sector a prime example.

The Fernwood Women’s Health Club model is far from the traditional ‘sweat and slog’ gym. Indeed, its website boasts a “special women’s club environment” in which members can experience a full gamut of complimentary services.

Members are greeted by name and can enjoy a complimentary light breakfast, hire a video, go to the library and chat with a friend over a coffee. Special add-ons are designed to further enhance the Fernwood experience – the calming aroma of aromatherapy burning slowly in club rooms, elegant flower arrangements and chilled lemon-scented face towels are “all part of the special atmosphere that sets Fernwood clubs apart from other gyms,” says managing director Di Williams.

In some clubs, additional services might include personal training, regular fitness assessments, physiotherapy sessions and beauty therapy. Clubs also host special activities such as fun runs and day trips.

What gives?

In their recent book, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore surmise that the rise of technology and ongoing search for differentiation in an increasingly competitive business environment makes the ‘experience’ offering an important factor. Rising affluence has also had a large impact: “We are going out to eat more frequently, at increasingly more experiential venues,” the authors observe. They also make the analogy of selling as theatre, with customers being the audience. The theory is that by engaging with the customer, you can charge more.

New challenges ahead

Experiential franchising challenges the traditional concept of the franchise business model as a system that speaks for itself.

By adding features that enhance the customer experience, whether through the strategic use of in-store music, aromas, themed shop displays, special lighting, open spaces or well-trained staff that promote a franchise’s ‘brand personality’, the mood and atmosphere in a store can be totally transformed. As mentioned, customers want to linger, are prepared to pay more and, perhaps most importantly, become ambassadors for the brand.

Bernd Schmitt, David Rogers and Karen Vrotsos in their book There is no business that’s not show business: Marketing in an experience culture, strongly endorse the idea of leveraging the value of experience in a business context.

Assuming the theory has substance and there is, in fact, “no business that’s not show business”, poses new challenges and opportunities for franchise operations that have traditionally limited their focus to the delivery of quality goods and services.

Indeed, engaging customers by providing them with new sensory and creative experiences is a worldwide trend in retail, and one that would seem to offer enormous potential for franchise models to broaden their appeal.

The audience is waiting.

The Franchise Council of Australia is a not for profit membership organisation that is the peak body representing the franchising sector in Australia.