The 8 | July 7, 2017

1. Frantastic: As I’m sure you all know, the world celebrated one of the greatest holidays on Thursday: National Fried Chicken Day. But KFC took its festivities to the next level. The brand introduced a robot version of Colonel Sanders that took orders from the drive-thru by repeating everything that a human operator was saying. And even though there are only a few customers lucky enough to experience H.A.R.L.A.N.D. this week, KFC says that this type of ordering has the potential to change the game.

2. Franlebrity: This week’s Franlebrity is Tray Doster of Zaxby’s, who sat down for an interview with 1851 On the Road at this year’s IFE. We talked to Tray about what makes Zaxby’s so successful, and what’s next for the brand as it continues to grow. He says that existing franchisees expanding alongside the brand are playing a major role in its continued expansion, which is a trend that is expected to continue going forward. And Zaxby’s franchise development website is also reaching candidates—the site was included as a winner of 1851’s Franchise Development Website Awards.

3. Frash Money: If brands want to bring in Frash Money, they need to have a strong franchise development website. As the first thing that a lot of potential candidates see, what’s included on those sites has the power to make or break a franchise concept’s future growth. That’s why 75 brands are being recognized with 1851’s Franchise Development Website Awards. The awards were determined by industry judges who reviewed more than 200 sites. To read the full list and find out which brand took the top spot, head to 1851.

4. Frant of the Week: No Limit Agency* CEO is back this week with another Frant. And in keeping with the Franchise Development Website Award issue that’s currently live on 1851, he highlights the fact that there’s no standard blueprint when it comes to building B-to-B websites. However, there are two consistent factors to keep in mind. The first is that search engine marketing is more important than search engine optimization. The second is that no matter how much money you pour into your website, SEM or SEO, it’s ultimately a brand’s positioning that makes a website stand out.

5. Franch Forward: QSR Magazine teamed up with Franchise Business Review to announce the restaurant industry’s best franchise deals. The seventh annual ranking was based on both objective and subjective standards, including ROI and franchisee satisfaction. Check out this week’s edition of “The 8” to hear which 9 brands made the list, and what it means for them going forward.

6. Fran Funny: Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? The food was great, but it had no atmosphere.

7. Franspiration Misquote: “If you want to be happy, be. If you want to grow your business, franchise.” – Leo Tolstoy

8. Franemies vs. Frands: We’re highlighting one of our favorite Frands this week—Snapchat. According to Adweek, the social media platform is rolling out a new feature that will allow users to attach a link to their Snaps. That’s great news for brands, publishers and marketers that now have the opportunity to direct viewers back to their websites. Snapchat allows concepts to tap into a different audience who are all potential customers.