---
title: "Franchise Update Media Recognizes STAR Award Winners for 2023"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/b2d1fb16-07be-4030-bc4d-3af9c8c9cc28
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20231115_franchise_update_media_recognizes_star_award_winners_for_2023.html
category: "Franchise Industry"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
published: 2023-11-15T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T20:03:01.833Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1524749292158-7540c2494485?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# Franchise Update Media Recognizes STAR Award Winners for 2023

**TL;DR:** Franchise Update Media recognized the winners of its annual STAR Awards for excellence in lead generation and best practices in franchising. The awards were given to top franchises in categories such as online sales follow-up, telephone mystery shopping, and social media best practices.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2023-11-15. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20231115_franchise_update_media_recognizes_star_award_winners_for_2023.html).*

## Story

The winners received their awards at the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference, which was held in Atlanta at the InterContinental Buckhead, Oct. 18-20, 2023. The top franchises were recognized for best practices in the following categories: Best Online Sales Follow-Up, Best Telephone Mystery Shopping, Social Media Best Practices, and Website Best Practices. The franchise that performed best in all four categories also received the Best Overall Performance award.

“These annual awards highlight successful lead generation and prospect qualification practices, which are always the franchise industry growth drivers, and are especially important in today's challenging economy,” said Therese Thilgen, CEO & Co-Founder of Franchise Update Media. “We feel that this recognition not only validates the successful strategies of the winners, but also provides examples for other franchises in developing and improving their processes and practices.”

The awards are determined on the results compiled by mystery shoppers, who pose as ideal candidates and contact franchises by telephone and through the company's website. The mystery shoppers contacted more than 100 brands, with each franchise evaluated according to a list of standard criteria for each category.

**Overall - 1st place Winner** Wild Birds Unlimited

**Overall - 2nd place** We Sell Restaurants

**1st place Winner** We Sell Restaurants

**2nd Place** Wild Birds Unlimited

**1st place Winner** Wild Birds Unlimited

**2nd Place** We Sell Restaurants

**1st place Winner** Right At Home

**1st place Winner** Chicken Salad Chick

Franchise Update Media has been a leader in the franchising space for 35 years. Founded in 1988, the company produces online franchise opportunity and educational websites, two quarterly print magazines, six newsletters, four annual conferences, independent research, and books, entirely focused on franchising. Targeting franchise audiences online, in print, and in person, Franchise Update Media delivers a unique combination of educational and lead generation sources to help franchisors, multi-unit franchisees, opportunity seekers, and suppliers achieve their growth objectives.

Franchise Update Media (FUM) is the trusted resource for the franchise industry. For 30+ years, FUM has been the leader in providing valuable conferences, print publications and digital properties for Franchisors, Franchisees and Franchise Prospects.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- General (sector)
- franchise awards (topic)
- Chicken Salad Chick (company)
- Wild Birds Unlimited (company)
- lead generation (topic)
- right at home (company)
- Franchise Update Media (publication)
- Therese Thilgen (person)
- We Sell Restaurants (company)
- industry best practices (topic)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20231115_franchise_update_media_recognizes_star_award_winners_for_2023.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b2d1fb16-07be-4030-bc4d-3af9c8c9cc28).