The Park Playground
Building sustainable growth across markets
The franchise model is designed to enable brands to unlock massive scale. The temptation to run as fast as possible can be irresistible. The secret to steady, long term success across markets, however, is franchising at a “responsible” pace.
That’s according to Bill Painter, Head of Franchise at The Park Playground.
From Mask of the Pharaoh to The Heist, The Park is in the business of making one-of-a-kind memories with VR experiences. Launched in 2018, its experiences are now available in 12 cities with more locations in development in Europe and Asia.
In our latest conversation with franchise leaders sharing knowledge and inspiration from across our community, Bill shares his learnings taking a super technical product global.
Structure, structure, structure
“Some brands franchise too quickly. You can franchise responsibly and you can franchise irresponsibly,” says Bill.
Part of his role is to ensure that the structure and resources like best-practice playbooks are in place to enable local teams to build new franchises with confidence from the ground up.
Although franchisees often come on board with little marketing experience, it’s a fragile thing to provide support where franchises need help, without crushing the excitement that brought them on board in the first place.
Bill suggests implementing structure the earlier the better to provide the frame in which franchises can bloom.
“There is a reason people are franchising. Keep reminding them about that.”
Bill built up a huge amount of experience in this space in his previous role at a fitness brand overseeing 100+ locations in the UK and EMEA.
Bill Painter
Head of Franchise at TheParkPlayground
His role there was focused on transforming the psychology of franchise operations, moving away from simply selling licenses without support to developing a more relationship-based approach. This is now at the heart of his strategy.
By fostering close and supportive relationships with local teams, and encouraging a culture of asking questions and “what ifs” he can ensure local teams have overview of their franchise growth journey, from start to scale.
Open door policy
Bill tells us what drives local marketing is culture and an open door policy.
“You can't be elitist and snobby. Be thankful for new ideas and don’t be dismissive. Foster the culture.”
While franchise leaders need to ensure brand continuity amongst their franchisees, they should make room for new input to come from local teams.
“The odd time that someone tries something outside brand standards, don't dismiss it. Better to beg for forgiveness than permission.”
“Trust is important for the local franchises. Everyone is trying to do a good job. Champion your champions,” says Bill.
Thinking long term
Each franchise’s growth story is different and while The Park is a super specific, very physical and technology-based business, the advice Bill shares is universal. While the potential for franchises to scale is almost infinite, you won't get far if the foundations upon which each individual franchise can grow are not cemented early on.
The secret to long term growth is investing time, resources and energy up front to make sure local franchise owners have all the resources they need to help grow the bigger business.
