Traditionally the busiest time for franchises who are recruiting is the autumn, so the Coconuts have been very busy helping our existing clients prepare, as well as signing up some lovely new clients who want us to help them with all things marketing related. As we get ready for this busy time of year we’ve been thinking about some of the great things that have been happening for our clients over the last few weeks.

Musical Minis have been having a wonderful time organising the celebrations for their 21st anniversary. The fun musical classes for children were set up by founder Karen Sherr 21 years ago, and she decided to celebrate this splendid milestone by setting up a national photo-competition based around Musical Minis ethos of “learning made fun.” The lucky winner will take part in a photo shoot AND receive a canvas of their favourite photo!

Rosemary Bookkeeping has been doing superbly well at recruiting, with two new teams of franchisees launching their bookkeeping services in their areas this week!

Another one of our clients, CNA International, have been so successful in the UK and Europe they have decided to expand around the whole world! They are now offering “master franchises” whereby people can become the master franchisee and create their own network of executive search franchise partners for their region or country.

The Coconuts have just started working with Just Shutters, who supply beautiful plantation shutters of the highest quality. Based in Bournemouth, Chris Rocker and his team are offering Just Shutters as a franchise opportunity all over the South of England, and we’re delighted to be helping them with their marketing.

If you’d like to meet a Coconut please email caroline@coconutcreatives or call us for a chat on 01963 360896.

Following the success of Chris and Sarah’s presentation at the BFA Specialist seminar, the Power of Marketing, Coconut Creatives has been busy finalising their plans for their own series of workshops.

Sarah and Chris are both Chartered Marketers and experts in franchise marketing, while Coconut Creatives is the only marketing agency to be accredited by the BFA. The workshops are suitable for both new, inexperienced franchisors as well as those seasoned franchisors looking to refresh their franchise recruitment marketing.

The workshops will cover a wide range of topics and will be tailored specifically to the needs of each group. Topics will include how to start successfully with your franchise recruitment marketing, knowing your audience and how truly understanding your competition will give you a greater competitive advantage. Budgeting and implementing your marketing plan will also be covered. At each workshop there will be a range of guest speakers from key areas of the franchise industry, including the top ten tips from successful franchisors and creative ways to differentiate your marketing communication tools from that of your competitors.

Coconut Creatives has built a solid reputation for achieving fantastic results for their clients franchise recruitment goals. Hugh James, owner and director of Murcia Villas and Coconut Client, says “It was absolutely the right decision in the appointment of Sarah Cook and her team. Her knowledge and experience of the franchise market has resulted in the likely awarding of the second franchisee within four months of launching the franchise programme with two further likely candidates arriving in Murcia in the next 3 weeks!”

Coconut Creatives will carefully place franchisors together on courses so that there are no direct competitors attending on the same day. New franchisors will be encouraged to network with their Coconut workshop peers as additional support to each other, to swap hints and tips on growing their business through franchising.

Dates for the first Coconut workshop are currently being confirmed, however demand for this event is expected to be high, so for more information or to reserve your place please email caroline@coconutcreatives.co.uk or call us on 01963 360896.

Following the success of Sarah and Chris’s presentation on branding at the BFA Annual Conference last month, they have been invited to speak again at a BFA Specialist Marketing Seminar on successful franchise recruitment marketing in August.

The event, entitled the Power of Marketing, will be held on the 4th of August at the De Vere Hotel, Wokefield Park near Reading. Presentations will be specifically tailored to increase understanding of the necessary marketing components for successful franchise recruitment. As well as Chartered marketers Sarah and Chris Cook, there will be a number of other speakers including case studies of successful franchisees.

This event is ideal for anyone who would like to improve their franchise recruitment marketing strategy, as well as those who are starting out and looking for some helpful tools and tips of how to begin! To find out more about this exciting event please click here.

To attend this seminar you must be a BFA member, however Sarah and Chris will be running a number of other dedicated marketing workshops for franchisors who cannot attend on this date or do not qualify.

If you are interested in attending this event, or other forthcoming Coconut workshops please click here, or email caroline@coconutcreatives.co.uk.

The two boss Coconuts, Sarah and Chris Cook, recently returned from the Annual BFA (British Franchise Association) Conference feeling very happy with the time they’d spent there, and quite rightly too; not only had they met lots of great franchisors and other affiliates, they also ran a fantastically well received seminar on ‘Brand Power’.

The Coconut’s morning session focused on the importance of consistency, guarding your brand, passing your brand values through your franchise network and ways of affecting changing brand values.

The seminar audience was made up of some powerful brands including; Dominos Pizza, Shopper Anonymous, Burger King, Gas Elec, Laptop Learning, Select Appointments, Snack in the Box and Wiltshire Farm Foods amongst others.

The second half of the session was a lead debate between the franchisors and other seminar attendees. This gave everyone the opportunity to discuss what had worked for them and their franchise networks. A great morning and appropriate conclusion to the two day conference.
The Coconut’s ended with ideas on further books and articles to read. These included; Brand Sense by Martin Linstrom and Tribes by Seth Goodwin. Sarah also presented her own white paper.

If you missed the seminar and would like to request your free white paper titled ‘Love, War and the Future of UK Businesses’ please email caroline@coconutcreatives.co.uk

The Coconuts are experts in marketing franchises, and they are currently the only BFA Accredited Marketing Consultancy. Their long awaited book on Franchise Marketing titled ‘Dream, Plan, Reduce Risk & Take Action‘ is due to be published in July this year.

Coconut Creative’s client Myakka attended the Grand Designs Live show last week with outstanding success! Myakka, the Wincanton based furniture supplier, were absolutely thrilled with the huge level of interest the design conscious audience showed in their product lines. To impress at Grand Designs Live is no mean feat; it has been voted Consumer Show of the Year and is considered to be THE event for design and inspiration for your home.

Us Coconuts were so happy that Myakka had done so well we decided to spread the word a little further and on their return launched a small press campaign. Everyone else seemed to be very interested in Myakka’s great products too and the Blackmore Vale Magazine and the Western Gazette both decided to let all their readers know about them by publishing our press release.

Myakka’s products are designed for the British market and produced in India using the latest computer controlled machinery to ensure consistent quality. The company is dedicated to sourcing its products in an ethical way, using only wood from sustainable plantations and negotiating prices which are profitable for their suppliers.

Myakka’s commitment to ethical products has been recognised with a host of awards including the Ethical Award in 2009 which places Myakka in the top 33% of British companies for demonstrating corporate social responsibility. Since 2006 they have been recognised as an importer and retail member of the British Association of Fair Trade shops (BAFTS) and are proud to say that over 90% of their products are sourced in a Fair Trade manner.

Coconut Creatives have been working with Myakka for almost two years now and we love the fact they care so much about being fair to all the people they work with, while still providing great products for all their lovely customers.

To find out more about us please go to www.coconutcreatives.co.uk

Visitors to Grand Designs Live enjoying Myakka's new ranges

Rosemary Bookkeeping has headed into 2010 with roaring success! The bookkeeping franchise (supported by all of us here at Coconut) is doing so well they are looking to recruit even more franchisees.

The franchise was set up only a few months ago and provides a friendly and efficient outsourced bookkeeping service to small businesses. The franchise has been inundated with enquiries from people eager to find out more; in fact in only a couple of months over 600 people have expressed an interest in joining!

This may seem like a lot, but when you take into account the fact that Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisees enjoy profit margins of around 70% month on month it seems like a very sensible (and profitable!) career choice. There are several other benefits too including totally flexible work times to fit in around family and social life, working from the comfort of your own home – imagine that long boring commute becoming a thing of the past. Being your own boss with the security of using a tried and tested system and tailored support to help you whenever you need it is something new business owners rarely have.

Here’s a quote from one very satisfied franchisee “With a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise, a lot of the hard work has been done for you and the support and knowledge is already there and ready to use. If anyone wants to buy a bookkeeping franchise I would highly recommend Rosemary Bookkeeping.”

Another big advantage is you don’t need any formal qualifications to join the Rosemary Bookkeeping Franchise; anyone who is logical, friendly and prepared to work hard can make this a success!

Here at Coconut Creatives we specialize in helping franchises just like Rosemary Bookkeeping grow bigger and better by offering support and advice on how to attract the best people for their businesses. Phew, it’s a good job we love what we do so much or we’d definitely be signing up too!

Coconut Creatives has now achieved the ultimate confirmation of its success by becoming the very first marketing company to attain accreditation from the British Franchise Association.  Coconut Creatives, founded by marketing specialist Sarah Cook, responds to the needs of owner managed, SME and franchised businesses that need outsourced marketing expertise. Having already taken many businesses forward over the last five years, this honour will be certain to take the Coconut business forward for 2010!

The British Franchise Association acts as the governing body of the franchise industry and has recognised Coconut Creatives as THE specialists in the field who add value to businesses through expert marketing for franchise recruitment, franchisee marketing and progression of the core business and its long term strategic direction covering the areas of advertising, PR and promotional activities.

Brian Smart, Director General of the BFA, says: “Marketing is both a structured discipline and a creative art.  Building the one into the other is a continuing process that Coconut Creatives do, and do well.  Franchising is a similarly a structured discipline and a creative art which you need to understand to get right.  Coconut Creatives do understand franchising and we are delighted to welcome them to the BFA.”

Coconut Creatives’ service combines the benefits of employing an in-house Marketing Manager with those of a Marketing Consultant, without the disadvantages of either; this means franchisors benefit from a complete service from marketing planning right through to implementation   ensuring the delivery of the key activities and tracking return on investment.
“We are thrilled to be welcomed as a member of the British Franchise Association. Having worked with many franchisors over the last few years, it seemed like a natural step for us to take,” says Sarah Cook, founder of Coconut Creatives.
For more information about Coconut Creatives or to arrange a free consultation, please contact Sarah or Chris Cook on 01963 360896 or email info@coconutcreatives.co.uk

Christmas cookies make wonderful gifts and cookie baking and decorating is a special event for many families.  We invite you to add a bit of Coconut to your Christmas this year and join us in making these delicious Coconut Christmas Cookies:

The Coconut Christmas Cookie Recipe:    Makes 60 cookies

Ingredients
8oz (225g) unsalted butter; softened                       

½ tsp coconut extract
6oz (170g) granulated sugar                                      

¼ tsp salt
16oz (450g) all-purpose flour                                         

1 large egg                                            

8oz (225g) sweetened shredded coconut               

4 tbsp (2fl oz) milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract  

8oz (225g) red and/or green candied cherries, coarsely chopped

Cookie Coating:  16oz (450g) sweetened shredded coconut

Step 1: Preheat oven to 175°C.
Step 2: In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg, milk, vanilla extract, coconut extract, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until blended (may look slightly lumpy).
Step 3: On low speed, gradually add flour until combined.
Step 4: Stir in coconut and cherries.
Step 5: Place shredded coconut for coating into small bowl.
Step 6: Drop teaspoons of dough into coconut; turn gently to coat. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Step 7: Bake for 15 minutes or until coconut is toasted and cookies are set. Cool on cooling sheet for 15 minutes and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy cooking with Coconut Creatives this Christmas!