Latest news with #brands
Entrepreneur
4 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Best Franchise Opportunities: Top-Tier Brands You Should Consider
This story appears in the July 2025 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe » If you want to buy a franchise, start by asking yourself: "What's my appetite for risk?" You could bet on a new franchise, join a small but stable one, or pick many other pathways. But if you want to shoot for the top performers, then this list is for you. On the following pages, we list the "best of the best" — which is what we call the brands that ranked at the very top of their industry categories in our Franchise 500 ranking. To put that into context: More than 1,300 companies applied for our ranking, and now we're showing you the most elite tier — the brands that outscored all their competitors. In this list, you'll find the top brand in every conceivable franchise category — from tried-and-true ones like Childcare, Pizza, and Restoration Services to new, emerging categories like Autism Services and Self-Pour Bars. Like every franchise brand applying for the 2025 Franchise 500, these companies were evaluated and scored based on more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, system size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Based on their scores, they were ranked against all other applicants, and their rankings placed them ahead of all other brands within their categories. Remember, as you peruse this list, that it is not intended as an endorsement of any particular company. These are the No. 1 companies based on our criteria, but you will have your own criteria for deciding what would be the best franchise opportunity for you, so it's important to always do your own homework before investing in any brand. Always carefully read the company's legal documents, consult with an attorney and an accountant, and talk to current and former franchisees. Related: Should You Franchise Your Business? Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Luxury brands ease off on price rises as shoppers push back
Top luxury brands have increased prices at the slowest pace since 2019 this year as the industry adapts to a longer-than-expected downturn
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
China's BYD calls UK electric car subsidies ‘stupid' as it expands in Europe
BYD has criticised the UK's new electric car subsidy scheme designed to keep out Chinese brands as 'stupid', warning that the discounts
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Marketing pro reveals ‘decoy' trick cinemas use to make you spend more – it's the same with restaurant wine & phones
DO you find going to the cinema an expensive time out as you always spend more than you had intended? A marketing expert has revealed the clever psychological 'decoy' trick brands do to make you part with more cash, and it explains why you want the large popcorn. 3 They shared how cinemas often offer three sizes of popcorn - small, medium and large - but offer strategic pricing. They shared how if a small popcorn is $3.50, a medium is $6 and a large is $6.50, you are likely to go for a large. They explained on the @curatedtips account: 'Most people go for a large. Why pay $6 when $6.50 gets you more? 'But here's the trick, medium isn't meant to be picked. 'It's a decoy. Its only job? Make the large look like a no-brainer. 'You think you are choosing freely, but your choice was framed.' They added that this trick isn't just used in the cinema, and claimed restaurants do it too with wine. They also said that you can see it with phone deals too, where companies sometimes upsell you on a pricey phone as it seems like a better deal than the 'middle' one. The marketing expert added: 'It's not about value. It's about contrast. 'We choose what feels smart next to the dumb one.' What you see first in this mind-bending optical illusion reveals if you are an optimist or a pessimist They added that nobody wants to select the decoy, but it is there to 'push' you to spend more. SOCIAL REACTION Over 106,000 people liked the video and were quick to give their views in the comments. One said: "I will admit i have fallen for this trick many times.' A second added: 'I mean I totally believe this is true, but I honestly picked the medium popcorn for the amount it had.' 3 3 And one commented: 'I'm sneaking my snacks in lol.' Meanwhile, one person chimed in: 'I worked at a theater, and sometimes a family would come in and order 4 Small popcorns. 'I'd tell them to just get a Large because it comes with a free refill. Then just divide it in boxes. 'I'm not a good business man, but I do like to help people.' Five secret branding messages you may have missed LOTS of brands have secret messages on their logos - so which ones have you spotted? Amazon Most people either have Amazon Prime and/or regularly order from the site, so are used to seeing the logo. But have you ever noticed the little arrow underneath the word Amazon? It starts at the 'A' and finishes at the 'Z' - showing that they sell everything from A to Z! Toblerone It caused a stir a few years ago when people realised the Toblerone logo - which they'd thought was a mountain - is actually the image of a bear. The reason for this is that a bear is the official symbol of the Swiss town of Bern, the original home of Toblerone. Ray-Ban The brand is arguably one of the most famous sunglasses companies in the world. But have you ever spotted the sunglasses image in the logo? If you look carefully at the letter 'B' in Ray-Ban and tilt your head to the side, you will see it looks like a pair of sunnies. Hyundai You'd be forgiven for thinking the 'H' logo for Hyundai is just meant to be a jazzy letter. In fact, if you look again, you might see that the vertical lines of the H are actually meant to show two people shaking hands - a salesperson and a satisfied customer. Apple Again, one of the most familiar logos in the world. But why does Apple's apple logo have a bite taken out of it? Apparently, it's down to the fact that when the logo is made smaller, they didn't want it to look like a cherry. So having the bite taken out of it means it is always identifiable as an apple.
Entrepreneur
a day ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Brand Lessons from Dubai: Evolving with Purpose and Power
This is a clear message to brands: if your creative is still playing it safe, or feels like a copy-paste job, you're already behind. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Not long ago, much of Dubai's creative scene felt like it was borrowed from elsewhere. Many campaigns were adaptations of global ideas, not built specifically for the region. But that's shifting. Dubai's voice is evolving, from adaptation to originality, from safe to unapologetic. What's driving this shift? Ambition. The ambition to become a creative powerhouse, to attract top talent, and to build world-class brands from the region outwards. And the UAE government is setting the tone. Just look at their Cannes takeover this year: a bold, logo-less campaign that declared, "The Emirates are open for ideas as long as those ideas are impossible." This is a clear message to brands: if your creative is still playing it safe, or feels like a copy-paste job, you're already behind. IDEAS BASED ON LOCAL INSIGHT Brands in the Middle East are beginning to shred the "global-but-generic" creative template we see over and over again. For too long, campaigns created in the region have played it safe, polished, predictable, and built from formulas that worked elsewhere. But that's changing. The market is maturing. Clients are no longer asking, "What did London, Amsterdam or New York do?" They want ideas that begin here, shaped by the region's culture and created by people who live it, understand it, and are genuinely connected to the audience. Adidas' I'm Possible campaign is a perfect example. Instead of rolling out a global message, they started with a local truth: a YouGov stat that 88% of women in the Middle East believe sports aren't meant for them. adidas invited women across Dubai to share their own stories, and then took over the city's billboards with their images. It cut through because it was rooted in real women's voices, stories that felt personal, not performative. The takeaway? If you want your campaign to truly cut through, you can't afford to skip the work of uncovering local insight. It's not just about ticking a cultural box, it's about building creative that couldn't come from anywhere else. The brands leading the way are investing the time to understand the nuances: the humour, the language, the lived realities of their audience. Regional cues aren't being diluted anymore, they're being amplified. And the result is work that feels more confident, more connected, and far more likely to leave a mark. THINK BIG. ACT FAST. This is a region that moves fast and thinks big. Brands that wait for global sign-off or rely on tried-and-tested ideas will likely miss the moment. The most effective work here is reactive and matches the region's pace and ambition. Bold ideas that are sharp, timely, and strategically sound. Emirates nailed this strategic ambition with their Burj Khalifa stunt in 2021. When the UAE was removed from the UK's red list, Emirates responded quickly with a jaw-dropping visual: a flight attendant standing at the top of the world's tallest building holding signs celebrating the return of travel. Bold, timely, and completely mental. It gave them a new claim to fame: one of the "highest ads ever filmed". This is the level brands are competing with here. The work that lands here doesn't just move fast, it taps into the moment. The best brands are plugged into what's happening around them, and they're brave enough to respond with big, bold creative. It's not about waiting for the perfect global brief. It's about recognising the opportunity and having the guts to go for it. CREATIVITY BUILT FROM WITHIN The brands making the biggest impact aren't just getting the message right, they're getting the people right. The work that really connects here is being made by teams who understand this place because they're part of it. Not just flying in for a briefing or asking AI for cultural cues. It needs to be created by those experiencing the rhythm of everyday life, what people care about, laugh about, talk about. Campaigns like Puck's Recipe for Change or adidas' I'm Possible didn't land because they followed a formula. They worked because they were built by people who instinctively understood the tone, the sensitivities, and the stories that would resonate, and knew how to tell them in a way that felt natural, not forced. If you want your work to land here, it has to be created from here. Not adapted. Not translated. Created by people who know the difference between a borrowed insight and a real one, and who know how to build something original with it. Basically, what I'm saying is: brands need to be bold. More now than ever. And Dubai is the place to do it. I moved back because I could feel the ambition here and I want to be a part of it. The brands making the biggest impact are the ones grounding their ideas in local truth, reacting to the moment, and creating from within, not adapting a global formula. If you want to stay ahead, show up with work that's original, unapologetic, and impossible to ignore.
