Neighborly wins franchise award

Neighborly — a franchisor of home service brands — earned the distinction Best Property and Home Maintenance Franchise of 2019 from Global Franchise, a brand management company. Neighborly’s brands include Mosquito Joe, The Grounds Guys, Countrywide Grounds Maintenance and more.

Neighborly President and CEO Mike Bidwell accepted the Global Franchise Award at the International Franchise Association (IFA) Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nev. Neighborly sponsored the event this year.

“Neighborly has doubled in size over the course of the last four years, now comprised of 19 franchise brands with 3,700 franchisees across nine countries. Much of that recent growth occurred on an international stage, as we now have eight brands based in Europe,” says Bidwell in a press release. “Winning the 2019 Global Franchise Award is a testament to the success of our global expansion efforts, proving we have set the bar high for international franchising of home services.”

The Global Franchise Awards are the only awards that focus solely on international franchising. Since the awards’ inception in 2018, the number of applicants has increased significantly. Winners were selected by qualified judges based on the companies’ overseas ambition, strong franchisee support, strong marketing efforts and an overall willingness to advance the cause of franchising itself.

The award as well as Neighborly’s decision to sponsor the convention helped to increase the visibility of the company’s recent rebranding from Dwyer Group to Neighborly. The organization showcased its new look to the franchising community, where best practices in marketing, franchise development and advocacy are center stage for peer-to-peer learning.

“Our company’s name change was a strategic move to better align our desired brand image alongside our growing roster of home service brands that target the same customer base,” says Bidwell in a press release. “Sponsoring this year’s IFA convention gave us a platform to further establish our status in the franchise community as the leader in home services franchising, and that status was solidified when we were honored with the 2019 Global Franchise Award.”