Dollar signs in the shape of a cow illustrating beef prices

2 QSR Marketing Strategies to Offset Beef Prices

By deploying these strategies, you’ll have a favorable margin mix.

It’s inevitable. Beef prices are going to rise and, for most QSRs, this will negatively affect the margins on a large percentage of your business. Most of the time, you are left with a few unattractive options, such as:

  • Raise prices.
  • Feature a product that doesn’t sell as well, and lose transactions.
  • Hold the course and take a hit in margin.

Now is when you have to rely on your store analytic and your ability to regionalize to help you determine how to selectively execute 2 simple strategies to offset the impact: (more…)

Camera crew filming food using motion control in QSR video shoot.

5 Advantages of Motion Control Food Footage for Greater QSR Marketing Impact

Create shots you can’t get any other way, and simplify editing.

Tight food shooting is unforgiving. It’s virtually impossible to capture a pour of syrup across pancakes, then move over to the eggs and then to a cup of coffee with a camera operator and a jib arm that tracks the movement in a single shot. That kind of movement requires on-the-fly adjustments to focus, lighting and effects like steam or drizzle. For a camera operator, it’s like patting your head and rubbing your belly while riding a unicycle—it’s hard to sustain. (more…)

"Marketing Mix" snack bags to illustrate Bowman Media Model effectiveness in QSR Marketing

Using the Bowman Media Model to Optimize Your QSR Marketing Mix

There is a better way to predict the effectiveness of your media marketing mix.

It’s not the end-all. Nothing is. But the Bowman Media Modeling technique provides 3 tremendous benefits:

  1. It greatly eliminates the subjectivity in the media mix. You can now quantify your recommendations.
  2. It provides better ROI.
  3. It allows you to better forecast the results of changes to the marketing mix and promotions.

(more…)

Photo of golden egg in carton among white eggs

Winning at Breakfast QSR Marketing

10 Steps that will increase your breakfast sales against the McGiants.

For the past three years, breakfast is the only daypart that has seen increases according to NPD research. And QSRs account for about 80% of those breakfast visits. So if you want to grow your transactions, you have to win at breakfast. And you have to win against the McMassive resources of McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Burger King. Here are the 3 encouraging facts that usually hold true for QSRs: (more…)

Creative idea equals success and money.

Studies Show Creativity Increases Your Ad Budget and Improves Your QSR Marketing

3 studies prove creativity will increase your ad effectiveness and budget.

You have to have the best analytics possible to plan and forecast your marketing.

But what about the human element? You also have to understand consumer behavior and emotion on top of all that math. Take a second to think about the ads that attract your attention, that you remember, that you talk about. They have something in common: They are the creative ones. (more…)

Crew setting up food photography for QSR ads.

4 Tips for QSR Marketers to Get More Shots

Get the most out of your food photography budget.

Unless you’re a McGiant QSR, you can’t afford to end a day of shooting with just a handful of photos. In fact, “How to get more shots out of a day?” is a frequent question I hear from regional QSR marketers. So, I asked veteran food photographer Carlos Garcia for his insights. Together, we hit on 4 tips that will keep your food shoots moving and maximize shot count. (more…)

Optimize budget with graphs, equations, BDI, SPI, MEI

Optimizing Your QSR Marketing Budget with the Brand Development Index

You can now quantify your budget allocation decisions.

Every month or quarter, depending on when you plan your ad budget, you probably have market managers screaming for their share of the budget. At the same time, you’ll probably have all levels of management questioning your budget allocations by market. A comprehensive Brand Development Index (BDI) is a great tool to help objectively and quantitatively state your case. By creating a BDI, you’ll have the single tool you need to: (more…)

Humorous pricing sign in restaurant.

QSR Marketing Strategy for Setting the Right Price

Follow these 2 steps to pricing for repeat purchase and maximum gross profit.

We’ve all been there. Any time you price a product, you never want to leave money on the table. But you also never want a table that excludes your product.

Here are 2 steps to setting the right price: (more…)

Plain, white fast food packaging materials used by QSR.

Using Your Packaging for Cross Promotion in QSR Marketing

Use a packaging plan to help drive monthly incremental transactions and sales.

Consumer packaged goods companies are masterful at using their packaging to market their products. But, promotional packaging is not limited to the packaged goods category.

Yes, packaging is a great place for your logo, but a packaging plan for regional QSRs can do much more. (more…)