Franchises and the American Dream

In the 1700's people came to America because of the symbols they recognized as American that made the country attractive. Religious freedom, new enterprise, adventure and perhaps just having no where else to go were all some of those signs. Although slower now the US still experiences high rates of immigration by people who are attracted to the symbols of our nation.

Some of the same reasons exist, but their faces are more recognizable. Today if you were to ask a foreigner what America is no doubt some of the things that would come to mind are many of the world changing franchises that have come from our free economy.
McDonalds, Subway, Wal-Mart, Starbucks and many others have virtually become the trademark symbols of our country that denote our success as a nation. And with good reason, these large businesses have changed the world. They supply goods and services to people all over the globe on a rate and scale never before seen by mankind.

The genius behind a successful franchise is that everything is standardized. You can order a whopper in Paris that will be exactly the same as one ordered in Indiana. The logo on the outside of the building will be identical, the employees will be dressed the same, the restroom might even have the same odor. The point of all of this is brand recognition, and successful franchises strive for it. Without it customers would have no idea what to expect from each respective store and may be more apt to try the nearest mom and pop place while traveling.

Outward appearance is not the only advantage franchises have. Larger corporations can take advantage of much more expensive advertising media such as national television commercials because it will be much more effective. Consider the small business owner who gets a wild hair and decides to spring for a 30 second spot in the middle of prime time programming. Many of the viewers of that commercial may not even live near the business he owns and with only one location the return on his investment is likely to be small at best if not a loss altogether.

On the other hand consider the large franchise that takes out a TV add during the same programming. The amount paid is the same but it has just advertised for hundreds and perhaps even thousands of stores or locations across thousands of miles. With the expense of that investment spread among all the franchise owners the return on that investment is sure to be very large.

In these and many other ways franchises have become the way that we as a local, national and global community all relate to each other. They are present in our media, we shop at them daily and most of what we use on a daily basis has, at one point or another been handled by a successful franchise. They are symbols that we all recognize and despite our opinions of them few would argue that they are not a product and symbol of the American dream.