For the first time since travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited international travel in the spring of 2020, members of the Stagecoach Performing Arts support team made a mammoth 12,000-mile round trip to meet with international franchisees in person. Travelling from the group head office in Woking, UK, to Toronto, Canada – before making another stop to see franchisees in Germany – the team took time to meet with franchisees new and old during a momentous reunion.

Celebrating the Canadian launch of the brand’s ‘In the Spotlight’ initiative, the visit offered the Canadian network the chance to meet with key support staff – Ross Millington, Head of Global Franchise Development, and Dijana Radišević, Head of Marketing – in person.       

“It was wonderful to meet so many of our Canadian franchisees,” explained Dijana. “They’ve all worked tirelessly to implement our post-COVID strategies over the course of the last two years and – despite the fact that the impact of the pandemic is still significant in many provinces across the country – really insulated our franchise. Their dedication and perseverance have certainly paid off, with some of our Canadian franchisees even having invested in new territories in recent months. Ross, the rest of the team and I were proud to celebrate those achievements during the visit.”

As well as meeting with franchisees to discuss plans for continued growth specific to the Canadian child development market, the team took time out to enjoy some creative pursuits with franchisees – including a social painting experience that carried on late into the evening.

“I haven’t actually met all of our Canadian franchisees in person before, so putting a face to a name was a real highlight,” added Dijana. “And with such vast, rural provinces in Canada, it was the first time that many of our Canadian franchisees met in person themselves! It also provided a fantastic opportunity to announce the Canadian rollout of our ‘In the Spotlight’ initiative which initially launched to the UK franchisees earlier this year. Franchisees had the opportunity to make enquiries in person and really work with us to come up with solutions that worked for them in their respective regions.”

At its core, ‘In the Spotlight’ is a new format for how regional meetings are delivered. It is designed to allow franchisees to come together and share their knowledge, network amongst their peers and collaborate in a way conducive to the improvement of the entire network.

The initiative is a fresh innovation on the brand’s previously held regional meetings, in which franchisees would ask questions to the management team and hear about business initiatives and updates. The new forum has introduced numerous different aspects to the meetings, including the sharing of best practices, discussion of important topics, networking amongst peers and celebrating business achievements and success stories. There will also be a dedicated ‘Spotlight hour’ where franchisees will take to the stage for training and development, intended to give every attendee key takeaways that will influence their business for the better.

Amanda Mariani, franchisee and Principal of the Westmount territory in Montreal, thanked Ross and     Dijana for taking the time to travel to Canada to meet with her and the rest of the network in person, calling the event “a beautiful day” and “a great way to bring Canadian Principals together”. Another franchisee said, “”Meeting Ross and Dijana and learning about some of the progress on things I had been working towards like Diversity and Inclusion practices was a real benefit to me. I liked the fun icebreakers, the food, and the paint idea was fun to bond!”

Following the trip to Toronto, Dijana then made the onward journey to join other members of the support team in Frankfurt to continue with the international in-person meetings with the German network.

For more information about the new campaign, or to find out more about franchise opportunities with Stagecoach Performing Arts, visit https://stagecoachfranchise.com/canada/