Pat Buckley

A rubber burger illustrating fast food shelf life photgraphy

4 Ways QSR Marketers Can Increase the Shelf Life of Food Photography

Increasing the shelf life (or service life) of your food photography can dramatically reduce its cost.

You don’t need a calculator to compare the cost of a shot that lasts one year, to the cost of a shot that lasts 5-10 years. If you’re a regional QSR, that can make big difference to your bottom line.

Here are 4 easy ways to make sure your shots have a long shelf life: (more…)

People not looking at point of purchase (POP) on fast food restaurant

5 Tips for More Effective QSR Marketing Point of Purchase

Only 13% of consumers even glance at your point of purchase (POP). Here’s what you can do about it.

Visual confusion seems to be the primary issue reducing POP engagement, according to Dr. Hugh Phillips, author and internationally recognized expert on the cognitive psychology of shopping.

In a recently released book entitled Marketing at Retail, Phillips argues that the net effectiveness of POP at retail drops below 10%, to around 6-8%, when you factor in poor design and store-level installation compliance—sobering statistics, considering the investment QSRs make in POP.

Fortunately, Phillips offers 5 tips to improve your customer POP engagement: (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…)

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…)

Production crew filming TV ad for QSR.

5 Ways QSR Marketers Can Control TV Production Costs

Just knowing a few questions to ask and who to ask can lead to significant TV production savings.

When you’re a regional QSR, getting to develop a creative commercial is fun. Getting the estimate…not so much.

First, there’s the shock of seeing the total cost. Then, there’s the shock of getting the 16-page estimate you asked to see with endless line items and terms you don’t understand—key grip, craft service, lens kit, etc. Do we need all that? (more…)