Franchises Recognized for Excellence in Lead Generation, Recruitment and Industry-Wide Best Practices

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 28, 2008 - Franchise Update Media Group, the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced the winners of its annual STAR (Speaking To And Responding) Awards. The awards recognize excellence in lead generation, recruitment and industry-wide best practices in the franchise industry.

Awards are given in three categories: Website, Telephone and Overall Performance, and the winners are recognized at the annual banquet held during the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference. This year's conference was held at The Drake Hotel in Chicago, Sept. 24-26.

"Growth is what drives the franchise industry, and generating leads and identifying prospects are crucial to the process," said Steve Olson, publisher of Franchise Update Media Group. "Recognition of successful practices is important to the winning companies in validating what they are doing, and also provides examples for companies that want to improve their practices."

The awards are determined on the results compiled by mystery shoppers, who contact franchises by telephone and through the Internet. The telephone mystery shoppers evaluate each franchise according to a list of standard criteria that document the length of time it takes to obtain franchise information and reach a franchise development representative. The shoppers also log on to franchise websites to evaluate accessibility, content and readability, ease of navigation, online request forms and applications, and most importantly, the amount of time it takes to make contact with a member of the franchise development team.

The mystery shoppers contacted 88 franchises by telephone and 113 were contacted through their websites. The winners for 2008 are:

STAR Awards - Overall Performance:

• 1st Place - FASTSIGNS International, Inc.
• 2nd Place - Wireless Zone
• 3rd Place - PostNet International Franchise Corporation

STAR Awards - Telephone Winners:

• 1st Place - Spring-Green
• 2nd Place - Play N Trade Video Games
• 3rd Place - Wireless Zone

STAR Awards - Website Winners:

• 1st Place - Great Clips, Inc.
• 2nd Place - i9 Sports Corporation
• 3rd Place - BrightStar Healthcare

"Franchise executives understand the importance of developing systems that help them optimize their recruiting efforts, and we want to congratulate this year's winners for achieving that goal," Olson said.

About Franchise Update Media Group

Founded in 1988, Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG) produces the most highly regarded, popular online sites, magazines and conferences in franchising today. Franchise UPDATE and Multi-Unit Franchisee are the leading independent franchise magazines, and Franchising.com, mufranchisee.com and FranchiseUPDATE.com provide the latest industry resources, news and information. The Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, and Franchise Leadership & Development Conference are the premier events in the industry. Targeting franchise audiences online, in print and in person, FUMG delivers a unique combination of education and lead-generation sources that helps franchisors, multi-unit franchisees and suppliers achieve their growth objectives. For more information, please visit www.franchiseupdatemedia.com.