X-Press Legal Services
From Franchisees to Brand Advocates
TMC have worked with leading franchise, X‑Press Legal Services (XLS) for over a decade, delivering successful PR and marketing activity that has supported all 27 franchise territories.
XLS operates a franchise network across England and Wales delivering property data and search reports to conveyancers, playing a vital role in supporting successful property transactions. From the outset, the franchise has adopted a hands‑on approach to helping franchisees market their services effectively at a local level.
In late 2025, TMC and the team at XLS recognised that the market was changing. With economic conditions becoming increasingly challenging, competition intensifying, and clients more cautious in their decision-making, this franchise rightly recognised that ‘business as usual’ was no longer enough. To continue driving growth, franchisees would need more structure, more consistency, and more support, not just from a central marketing perspective, but in how marketing was activated locally. XLS wanted to go a step further: to ensure that every franchisee was fully invested in marketing activity, confident in the brand message and equipped to use marketing proactively to attract and retain clients during the year ahead.
This marked the beginning of a new approach, one focused on turning franchisees into on message, active brand advocates. In 2025, the foundations for this shift were laid, culminating in the launch of a franchise-wide, 2026 quarterly campaign model designed to unite the network behind clear themes, shared objectives and tangible commercial outcomes.
The Results
27 Franchise Territories Supported
100% Franchisee Engagement
121k Highly-Targeted Q1 Impressions
Building the Quarterly Campaign Model
The concept was introduced during the 2025 X‑Press Legal Services Franchise Roadshow. The network was presented with a structured marketing framework for 2026 designed not just to promote the brand, but to help each franchisee attract new business locally while speaking with one unified voice.
XLS’ leadership team committed to working with TMC to deliver a new PR and marketing strategy for the year ahead. This would see the timely activation of fully supported quarterly campaigns, each focused on a distinct aspect of the XLS proposition.
Each quarter would include:
- A clear campaign objective
- Defined messaging and tonal values
- Paid marketing activity driven centrally
- PR and local activation opportunities
- A comprehensive toolkit for franchisees
This structure ensured that every franchisee, regardless of size, experience, or capacity could participate meaningfully.
Launching Q1 – ‘Actual Intelligence’
The first campaign, launched in Quarter 1, was titled “Actual Intelligence.” The theme was intentionally designed to challenge the UK’s fixation on AI, emphasising the human intelligence XLS’ team delivers to clients that can’t be automated.
The theme was designed to position XLS at the intersection of human expertise and technology, highlighting how legal insight, client understanding, and intelligent systems work together across the brand.
Central Creative and Digital Delivery
Working with the team at XLS, TMC’s in-house creative and digital teams developed a suite of campaign assets that could be easily deployed by franchisees, including:
- Email signature banners
- LinkedIn header graphics
- Campaign messaging templates
Alongside this, a paid LinkedIn campaign was run centrally, targeting conveyancers and legal professionals, driving traffic to the main X‑Press website. From there, enquiries were intelligently routed to the relevant local franchise office ensuring tangible value at a local level.
Bringing the Network With Us
Before the campaign launched publicly, the PR team hosted a franchise-wide webinar alongside the franchises leadership team to introduce the theme. This session included:
- The strategic rationale behind the campaign
- Key messages and language to use
- Guidance on tone and positioning
- Creative assets
- How franchisees could activate the campaign locally
A professionally designed slide deck was shared, giving franchisees complete clarity and confidence before activity began, and to ensure engagement, every franchisee received a full quarterly marketing toolkit, including:
- Sample organic social media posts
- Guidance on sharing and amplifying the paid campaign (which franchisees would not see directly)
- A personalised client letter announcing the campaign
- Slide deck templates for presentations and meetings
- Marketing collateral and graphical assets
PR Support and Local Activation
Supplementing the digital marketing activity, the PR team played a critical role in extending the campaign beyond central channels.
- Developing themed PR materials aligned to “Actual Intelligence”
- Supporting franchisees in incorporating the key messages into local PR activity
- Designing the spotlight quarterly newsletter to showcase the theme
- Advising on how to weave the theme into CPD events, client briefings, and local media opportunities
Franchisees were also given practical advice on using the campaign as a conversation starter with existing clients positioning the brand as forward-thinking without losing its human touch.
Measuring Engagement
Throughout the quarter, XLS head office and TMC’s team provided ongoing support while also tracking engagement across the network.
The result was significant:
100% of franchisees engaged with the campaign and used at least one of the supplied marketing assets.
Given the operational pressures franchisees face daily, this was a major success and a clear demonstration that the right structure removes resistance rather than creating it. At the end of the quarter, a second webinar was delivered, sharing:
- Performance results from the paid campaign
- Feedback from franchisees and their clients
- Examples of how the campaign had been used locally
The session also became the launch platform for Quarter 2, maintaining momentum and reinforcing the long-term commitment to the programme.
“Behind that screen is a big team of experts – lean into their support, they know what they are doing!”
Lynne Lister – Managing Director, X-Press Legal Services
What’s Next?
While Quarter 1 focused largely on key messaging and awareness, Quarter 2 is currently live and concentrates on lead generation, again powered by a centrally managed paid LinkedIn campaign targeting new clients.
Building on the success of Quarter 1, Quarter 2 was met with strong enthusiasm from the franchise network, with franchisees keen to continue the activity and build on early momentum. Outcomes from this current phase will be shared with the network, reinforcing the culture of transparency, learning and shared success.
To discover how TMC can support your franchise network in franchisee engagement, recruitment and growth, e-mail hello@wearetmc.com.