Recruiting qualified and motivated candidates is a key factor in the success of any franchise network. As a franchisor, you are constantly looking for potential partners who share your vision and passion, and who will contribute to the growth and expansion of your business.
However, finding the right candidates can be a real challenge. Fortunately, franchise-focused media outlets offer unique opportunities to promote your network and attract the attention of future franchisees.
In this article, we will review and compare several well-known franchise media outlets — such as Toute la Franchise, L’Observatoire de la Franchise, and Franchise Directe — in order to determine which one could be the best choice to recruit the ideal candidates for your franchise network.
Franchise media play a crucial role in the recruitment process by allowing franchisors to present their concept, opportunities, and advantages to potential entrepreneurs.
Each media outlet offers a unique platform to reach a specific audience and share targeted information. Understanding the differences between these media is essential to choosing the one that will maximize your chances of recruiting the most qualified candidates.
Which franchise media to choose?
Toute la Franchise
Created by franchisors in 2005, Toute la Franchise is a website connecting franchisors and franchise candidates. The platform was acquired in 2013 by Infopro Digital, which now organizes Franchise Expo Paris. This unmissable European franchise event brought together 480 French and international brands and welcomed 30,000 visitors last March.
Toute la Franchise stands out for its strong natural SEO and an audience of 400,000 monthly visitors. The site attracts 4.8 million visits per year and generates 180,000 applications, which are carefully reviewed and selected before being forwarded to franchisors. In 2022, 15,000 candidates were connected with one or more of the 650 client brands.
Franchises benefit from free listing in the site’s directory; there are also subscription plans available for those seeking greater visibility and additional features.
- Founded: 2005
- Number of visitors: 4,800,000 per year
- Number of candidates: 15,000 per month, i.e. 180,000 per year
- Number of clients: over 650 clients
L’Observatoire de la Franchise
L’Observatoire de la franchise was founded in 1997 and now belongs to RX France, a leading player in the event organization sector. It is historically the first media outlet in France specialized in franchising and the first to create a directory listing all brands expanding through a network model.
The site attracts 250,000 visitors per month, totaling 3,000,000 visitors per year, and has sent out 52,000 applications annually, i.e. over 4,000 per month. Their strong reputation secures them a leading position among franchise media outlets.
With several hundred paying clients, L’Observatoire de la Franchise is one of the main players in franchise media. Each franchise network can register for free in the directory. There are different subscription plans available, offering features such as brand promotion, unlimited candidate connections, news distribution, editorial support, and access to performance tracking tools.
- Founded: 1997
- Number of visitors: 3,000,000 per year
- Number of candidates: over 4,000 per month, i.e. 52,000 per year
- Number of clients: Several hundred
Number of clients: Several hundred
Choisir sa Franchise was founded in 2009 by former franchisors, with the goal of offering a more affordable alternative to existing media outlets and one better suited to emerging franchise networks.
With over 15,000 visitors per month, the site attracts 200,000 visitors per year and, in 2022, sent nearly 10,000 verified candidates to franchise networks.
The prices are listed on their website and range between €300/year and €10,000/year. The most affordable plan already includes several services, such as a detailed technical profile, presence in one or more business sectors, and no sector limitation. Applications received are reviewed by a human moderator before being forwarded to the franchise network. The higher-tier plans offer greater brand visibility and unlimited communication on the brand’s profile. Choisir sa Franchise also shares franchise news across its social media channels.
- Founded: 2009
- Number of visitors: 200,000 per year
- Number of candidates: 10,000 per year
- Number of clients: around one hundred
Franchise Magazine / AC Franchise / Indicateur de la Franchise
Franchise Magazine and AC Franchise belong to the Franchise Plus group. The website L’Indicateur de la Franchise is the only institute that measures franchisee satisfaction. It is a unique tool that allows franchisors to carry out an objective assessment of their network through 50 targeted questions.
The print magazine was founded in 1982 and therefore has a very rich editorial content, thanks to a team of professional journalists holding official press credentials.
AC Franchise is a more traditional directory that began in the 1990s on Minitel, under the code 3615 AC Franchise!
Together, the two sites attract over 160,000 visitors per month, or nearly 2,000,000 visitors per year. The strength of the Franchise Plus Group lies in its presence across perfectly complementary media outlets.
- Founded: 1982 (Franchise Magazine), 1998 (AC Franchise), and 2006 (L’Indicateur de la Franchise)
- Number of visitors: 2,000,000 per year
- Number of candidates: N/A
- Number of clients: N/A
L’officiel de la Franchise
L’officiel de la franchise is a monthly magazine dedicated to the world of franchising. It is also a website where you can find the latest franchise news and a comprehensive directory featuring 1,500 brands through the site annuairedelafranchise.fr.
The two sites attract 150,000 visitors per month, which represents 1,800,000 visitors per year. L’Officiel de la Franchise does not disclose the number of candidates referred to franchise networks, so no data is available on this aspect. The monthly magazine is read by approximately 75,000 readers.
- Founded: N/A
- Number of visitors: 1,800,000 per year
- Number of candidates: N/A
- Number of clients: N/A
L’Express Franchise
L’Express Franchise formerly What The Franchise, was created in June 2022 and acquired by L’Express in December 2022. It is the newest player in the franchise industry.
The newcomer to franchise media already attracts nearly 600,000 visitors per month, totaling around 7,200,000 visitors per year. Unfortunately, no data is available regarding the number of candidates generated for franchise networks in 2022.
L’Express Franchise aims to modernize the world of franchise media. They seek to help brands become more attractive by enhancing their visibility and reputation. Their offer remains fairly similar to other media outlets, featuring a dedicated showcase for each brand, as well as news articles, interviews, and videos produced by their team.
We do not have information about their pricing, but we know they offer several packages that adapt to your needs and the size of your network.
- Founded: 2022
- Number of visitors: 7,200,000 per year
- Number of candidates: N/A
- Number of clients: around 100
Franchise Directe
Franchise Directe was founded in 1998 and quickly became one of the leaders in franchisor–franchisee relations. It is one of the franchise media outlets established before the 2000s and currently operates 15 dedicated portals across different markets around the world.
With multiple websites, Franchise Direct attracts a total of over 2,000,000 annual visitors and records 40,000 monthly visitors on its French site, amounting to 480,000 visitors per year.
Its main strength lies in the quality of the leads it generates, combined with a very high conversion rate. However, no information is available regarding the number of candidates sent to franchise brands in 2022.
The services offered by Franchise Direct include high-quality lead generation, maximum visibility through its well-ranked Google portal, and international exposure, with a website available in 4 languages and presence across 5 continents.
- Founded: 1998
- Number of visitors: 480,000 per year (France); 2,000,000 per year (worldwide)
- Number of candidates: N/A
- Number of clients: 120 franchise networks
Franchise media: an asset for the development of your franchise
The goal of this article is not to steer you toward one media outlet over another, but rather to provide you with as much information as possible so that you can make an informed decision with all the necessary insights.
Our advice is to be present, in a simple way, on as many directories as possible. Listing your brand in a directory is often free and allows you to share valuable information about your network (investment required, number of locations, etc.). Then, we recommend choosing at least two media outlets on which to create content, share your news, and above all, highlight your franchise (through interviews, videos, etc.). You are, of course, free to choose the media that best fits your needs — or to be present on several platforms to maximize your visibility.
Remember, it’s always better to focus on quality rather than quantity — one good candidate is worth more than a hundred poor ones. With Cerca and our comprehensive reporting tool, you can instantly see your conversion rates, cost per candidate, and cost per franchisee, allowing you to manage and drive your franchise’s growth more effectively.
We hope this article will be helpful to you, and we would like to thank the media outlets who kindly agreed to share their insights and provide us with more information about their operations and unique features.
We will regularly update this article and publish a new one each year to provide a comprehensive overview of the various media channels available to franchise networks to support their growth and development.
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