With three stores, the owner knows every screen by heart. With thirty, they find out by accident that one location is still showing last year’s promotion. Governance is the set of rules that prevents that kind of discovery.
The four roles in a network
| Role | May do | May not |
|---|---|---|
| Network marketing | Publish campaigns to any group | Change a location’s operational details |
| Regional | Adjust pricing and availability for the area | Alter the campaign identity |
| Franchisee / manager | Publish in the local slot | Remove mandatory content |
| Store staff | Switch on, check, report faults | Publish any content |
Permission by role, not by personal trust. Trust does not survive manager turnover; permissions do.
The rules that must be written down
- What counts as mandatory network content and how much of the loop it occupies
- What the location may publish, and in which slot
- What is forbidden under any circumstances (unauthorised promotions, third-party brands, personal content)
- The maximum time to remove a finished campaign
- Who is named as responsible per screen in each location
- How to report a screen that is off or out of date
Auditing: what to check and how often
Auditing screens does not have to be complicated. Three questions cover it: is the screen on? is it showing the current campaign? is there anything expired on air? A monthly sweep on those three answers eliminates most deviations.
Signs that governance is loose
- Locations frequently asking for exceptions — the rule does not fit their reality.
- Pieces made in a word processor turning up in stores.
- A national campaign going live days apart across locations.
- Nobody able to say exactly how many screens the network has.
Expansion: what to prepare before doubling in size
Region, format and screen position defined before the new locations arrive.
One clear page in the franchisee manual, not a 40-page annex.
How a new location joins the screen network on opening day.
One person per location, with name and contact on record.
With governance defined, running campaigns becomes simple — covered in centralised campaigns across locations.
Governance is not bureaucracy
The aim is not to create process; it is to reduce repeated decisions. Every time a franchisee has to ask “can I publish this?”, the network spends time on both sides. A written rule answers once and holds forever.
Define who publishes what
Centralise mandatory content and release the local slot per location. 30 days free, no card.
Try it freeFrequently asked questions
At how many locations does this become necessary?+
It usually starts to bite between five and ten locations — the point where the owner can no longer check everything personally and the WhatsApp group starts to fail.
Will franchisees not complain about losing autonomy?+
They complain when they lose autonomy and gain nothing. When the system also removes the work of producing artwork and swapping USB sticks, the conversation changes.
How do I audit without visiting stores?+
By recording what each device displayed and when. Without that data, auditing depends on a visit or on a photo sent by the very person being audited.
Is content by time of day worth it across a network?+
It is, and it is usually the first refinement after standardisation: lunch and evening have different audiences and different offers in most formats.
