How Ace Handyman Services Grew 62% by Expanding National PR with The MLH Agency
Bringing a Brand to the National Conversation
At a glance
62% Growth Rate
388 Franchise Locations
17 Top-Tier Placements
#4 Franchise Direct Global Franchises
#7 Franchise Times
Fast & Serious Entrepreneur Top 500 Franchise
ABOUT ACE HANDYMAN SERVICES
Services: Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Earned Media
THE CHALLENGE
Despite rapid growth, AHS recognized a gap in the brand’s national awareness. The leadership team wanted to:
Expand AHS’ footprint by attracting potential franchisees
Build authority and trust with customers across territories
“Bringing on The MLH Agency has been seamless. Jason and team lead PR for us to expand our national presence. In just a few months, we’ve landed numerous podcasts, interviews, franchise rankings, and features across media channels - and this is just the beginning.”
Colette Bell
VP, Franchise Development and Co-Founder
MLH’s Marketing Objective:
Expand national brand visibility to grow franchise territory count and customer base
Prioritize Franchisee PR and Storytelling Opportunities
Build and Strengthen AHS’ Franchise Rankings
Position AHS as a Thought Leader in the Franchise Community
Initially founded in 1998 by Colette and Andy Bell as Handyman Matters, Ace Handyman Services is now a national full-service home repair, improvement, and maintenance subsidiary of Ace Hardware. Today, each AHS franchise provides reliable and multi-skilled craftspeople who can efficiently complete 1100+ household projects including drywall, painting, floors, and carpentry.
Since the Ace Hardware acquisition in 2019, AHS brings the same helpful nature that you see in their retail stores to their customers’ homes, servicing a growing home repair need that’s only boomed since the pandemic.
AHS’ franchising model continues to experience rapid growth, growing from 119 territories in 2019 to 388 territories in 47 states in early 2024. When coming on board, The MLH Agency identified the opportunity to increase AHS’ national press coverage, thought leadership presence, and industry rankings in the franchise space.
THE STRATEGY
We make marketing and public relations intentional.
We operate with a Five-Step Process to listen to client needs, connect with their brand, and deliver a tailored solution:
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We had detailed conversations with AHS to gather valuable insights about the current state of their business and where they want to be. We heard their desire for increased brand visibility through earned media coverage.
We spent quality time with AHS leadership and franchisees, rooting our understanding of why people choose AHS as both a business and customer.
We crafted a robust media relations strategy, factoring in the unique needs of AHS’ diverse, cross-regional franchisee community.
We created a comprehensive editorial calendar, leveraged our media relationships, pitched strategically, and landed top-tier press placements and podcasts.
We built repeatable processes, refined our efforts as business needs evolved, and continue to drive intentional marketing and public relations strategy.
Listen and Understand
Set the Stage
Deliver Tailored Recommendations
Execute Solutions with Intention
~Continuous Feedback Monitoring and Analysis~
Grow, Scale, and Repeat
THE RESULTS
Looking to grow your business with intentional marketing and PR?
We Make Life Happen.
We’re a full-service marketing agency providing bespoke marketing, public relations, branding, and event curation services for entrepreneurs and small business owners. We empower you to grow your business through intentional marketing and storytelling. Sound like something we can help you with?
