Hot Dish Advertising

Meet Steve Wendling We’re excited to introduce Steve Wendling as the newest member of our Leadership Team. Steve brings over two decades of performance media and measurement experience across nearly every category, including B2C, B2B and DTC, to his new role. He’s led high-performing teams and built integrated strategies that resulted in measurable outcomes for … Read more

We’re proud to announce that the franchise community has voted us #1 in category on Entrepreneur’s prestigious Franchise 500 list for the second year in a row. This is the fourth time Hot Dish Advertising has been ranked #1 in category and the ninth consecutive year we’ve made the list. Award winners are determined by … Read more

Hiring a franchise marketing agency isn’t your typical advertising agency search. You’re choosing a partner that will be responsible for helping you build demand, support local operators, and strengthen your brand — all at the same time. That requires more than strong creative or media capabilities. The right agency needs to understand how a franchise … Read more

Most franchise brands don’t struggle with generating demand. They struggle with converting that demand consistently across locations.   Effective franchise marketing and franchise demand generation programs can drive visibility, impressions and traffic at scale. The challenge is ensuring those efforts translate into local results. But revenue is often lost after the click — in the gap between brand strategy and local execution. As growth pressure intensifies during … Read more

Most franchisors enter the second half of the year with a franchise marketing strategy already in motion. Campaigns are active. Budgets are allocated. Performance reports are being reviewed. But many brands still struggle to answer one critical question: What is actually driving unit-level profitability?  That gap in visibility creates a major challenge for franchise CMOs. Marketing leaders are under increasing pressure to prove impact beyond … Read more

Spring and summer growth cycles create pressure for franchise brands to move faster, scale harder and convert more demand. New openings accelerate. Franchise development goals intensify. Marketing teams push for more visibility, more leads and more momentum. And in those moments, many brands make the same mistake. They expand their message instead of sharpening it. … Read more

Just when you thought you’d mastered franchise SEO strategy for your brand, along came AI. The advent of these tools has forever changed the way we work, create and do business. And because technology is evolving so quickly, separating what will last from what’s just loud isn’t always easy. But one thing is clear: AI … Read more

Minneapolis, Minn. – January 16, 2026 – Hot Dish Advertising announced the promotion of Jennifer Campbell, CFE, to chief operating officer and president, recognizing her expanded leadership role and long-standing impact on the agency’s growth, operations, and client success.  Campbell has been operating at this level well beyond her previous title, helping guide the agency’s … Read more

Franchising isn’t slowing down, but how it grows is changing.  At the 2025 Franchise Leadership & Development Conference (FLDC), the message was clear: Economic uncertainty, inflation and tightening returns are rewriting the rules. It’s a critical moment for marketing leaders to reimagine their franchise marketing strategy — one that isn’t just reactive but resilient.  Unit … Read more