A few years ago, showrooming sent shockwaves through the retail world as shoppers started showing up at stores only to whip out their phones to find lower prices online.

Tension is an inherent part of franchising. Franchisors want to maintain standards and preserve the brand while franchisees want autonomy and the freedom to run the business their way.

When a new idea, product or service shows big promise, but doesn’t quite fit in with the brand you’ve built, a well-designed sub-brand can give it the unique identity it needs while staying connected to a brand people know and trust.

Ever wonder why some companies get tons of attention despite an average presence at the trade show or conference? There is a good chance the booth is just the tip of the iceberg. The real magic happens behind the scenes.

Smart sponsors don’t wait until the day of the event to engage. They warm leads up weeks before the doors open and stay engaged with the biggest opportunities well after everyone goes home.

The FCMC is one of just a handful of annual events that bring franchise marketers together to share successes, solve problems and give those with great ideas a soapbox to stand on. But as with any conference, it can be tough to take insights and advice and turn them into a real-life action plan back at the office.

Despite ecommerce’s steady growth, most companies still rely on driving customers into actual stores.

Reaching people on the ground requires a smart approach to local marketing––a task quickly becoming more digitized every day.

For decades, the press check was a routine part of commercial printing. Work out a design, approve the proof, and drag yourself to the printer to spend hours checking press sheets before giving the green light. Prior to the high-tech color assessment tools of today, it was a necessary, yet tedious final step to ensuring a great run. 

Thankfully for everyone involved, the days of the press check are, for the most part, over.

The average consumer is exposed to hundreds of marketing messages each day in one form or another.

From radio commercials during the morning commute to the banner ads we see online, advertising clutter has created a big challenge for brands competing for our attention in an increasingly noisy world.

Sustaining a successful nonprofit takes smart fundraising. In today’s competitive environment, that means setting yourself apart from the competition by making your vision and purpose as clear as possible. Donors and sponsors are inundated with options, so naturally, they narrow their focus to find the handful of organizations that share their goals and vision best.

When searching for that perfect match, sponsors usually ask one simple but important question:

“Does this organization’s message and goal align with mine?”

Over the past decade, “being green” has gone from a popular catchphrase to a serious goal companies and consumers commit themselves to. Research from the Annual Tork Sustainability Study in 2013 found that 78 percent of people say they buy green products, and that number continues to rise today.

For many companies concerned with print’s impact on the environment, the obvious knee-jerk reaction has been simple: Stop using commercial printing and turn exclusively to digital.