For immediate release
Contact:
Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770
aharrison@franchise.org
mhaller@franchise.org
twitter.com/franchising411
Forum Amps up Social Media Dialogue to Share News & Information
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5- The International Franchise Association Supplier Forum announced today that it has recently adopted a new functional structure designed to gain clear direction, improve coordination and streamline operations of the Forum’s various efforts.
Created by the Supplier Board of Directors, along with the Supplier Executive Committee and IFA staff support, the goals of the new system are to increase engagement, distribute responsibilities and improve communication at the board level of the Supplier Forum.
The newly structured Supplier Forum will now be comprised of four Operational Groups – Membership, Communication, Business Solution Roundtable and Seminars. Each group will have specific roles, responsibilities and goals that will collectively work toward maximizing the Supplier Forum’s benefits to all members of the IFA and the franchise industry.
“By breaking down into the specialty groups, meetings will be more productive and allow members to more proactively contribute to the discussion,” said Scott Pressly, chair of the IFA Supplier Forum. “With the restructure, each member now has a more specific role directly impacting the committee, which increases productivity and involvement from the supplier board.”
The Supplier Forum has also embraced social media as a means to communicate the benefits of being a member, promote its news and events, highlight the achievements of its members and distribute valuable information about the IFA and the franchising industry. The Forum’s Social Media initiatives are still in the development stages. A full launch is expected within the first weeks of 2012.
“When we were officially introduced in 1984, the Supplier Forum and its members were perceived as trying to sell their services to franchisor IFA members,” Pressly said. “Today, suppliers are viewed as experts offering knowledgeable advice and guidance to help franchisors develop, promote and grow their systems. Through social media, we can extend the invaluable wealth of information found among the top industry leaders and professionals who are part of the Supplier Forum.”
###
About the International Franchise Association
The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme,
Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the franchise industry, which represents over 825,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.