A McDonald’s McGold Card Could be Yours

 

Happy Holiday’s from McDonald’s.  The global fresh fast-food retailers is offering its legendary ‘Gold Card’ this holiday season.  That’s right McDonald’s is rewarding customers this holiday season with some of its very best ‘deals’ of the year according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  

New, old, and interested consumers are invited to celebrate the season with McDonald’s at McDonald’s according to Johnson, “it is a brand invitation which few will want to miss out on.”

So, McDonald’s is introducing: the season (SZN), ‘SZN of Sharing’, a first-of-its kind holiday celebration happening exclusively on the McDonald’s App. From December 5-25, McDonald’s is bringing you (and your crew) daily deals on your favorite menu items, cozy-yet-cool merch drops, and even the chance to win the iconic McGold Card (iykyk). 

You might want to begin dreaming of a McGold Card Holiday

That’s right, just what would you do if you had a McGold Card aka free McDonald’s for life? Treat your work bestie to a morning McCafé coffee pick-me-up? Surprise your neighbors with mid-week McNuggets? Delight unsuspecting folks behind you in the Drive Thru with free dinner?

This holiday season, there’s only one way to find out. Starting December 5, every purchase using the McDonald's App gets you one step closer to scoring a card not just for you, but also three of your besties, too.

Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s USA Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, stated, "Our fans have been fascinated by the lore of the McGold Card and if it really exists. And now, we’ll make this McDonald’s legend a reality for our fans by giving them the ultimate holiday gift – a chance to win a card and then share access to it with three of their family or friends,” … “Just by using the McDonald’s App, everyone can experience the joy that comes with sharing McDonald’s this holiday season.”

Yes, there is more, you can Deck the Halls with McDonald’s Merch

For customers who want to spread holiday cheer all year round, a $1 minimum purchase in the app gives you access to two exclusive merch drops on December 7 and 14. The best part? The merch is perfect for you to enjoy with your squad – from hanging matching stockings to twinning in matching PJs.

Then the December 7 merch drop will include Chicken McNuggets stockings, McDonald’s Dream Order PJs, a McDonald’s AM Wrapper Hoodie and PM Wrapper Hoodie in Egg McMuffin or Cheeseburger prints, and a puzzle featuring your favorite McDonald’s dipping sauces.

Yet even more, on December 14, in partnership with Diamond Supply Co., the McDonald’s merch drop will feature Hamburglar graphic tees, a hoodie and a beanie.

Grocerant Niche Mix & Match Bundling with Festive Food Deals

Holiday time is family times so of course, it’s not the holiday season without sharing your favorite food with your crew. You could buy a Big Mac or Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and get one for free, score free 6-piece Chicken McNuggets with a $1 minimum purchase, or even grab a $0.50 Double Cheeseburger.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

At Domino's Sharing is Caring

 

In a battle for share of stomach leaderships matters. Regular readers of this blog know that a high tide lifts all boats.  Well, in the battle for share of stomach Domino’s knows its customers eat more than just pizza.  They also know that the halo of ‘better-4-you’ extend beyond its four walls.

Focusing on its customers first, select Domino's stores throughout Boston, Phoenix, Louisville, Denver, and Laredo, Texas, bought thousands of $50 gift cards from local restaurants and surprised randomly selected Domino's delivery customers with them in early November. That my friends is how an industry leader shows it leadership, customer knowledge, and edifies it standing within the retail foodservice sector according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Our readers know that Domino's is the largest pizza company in the world.  Most of them know it is actually made up of stores owned by hundreds of independent franchise owners, with more than 95 percent of them started out as Domino's delivery drivers or pizza makers.

Those franchisees know how hard it is to run a business, and they see the impact that substantial fees from delivery app services have on small restaurants. In recent weeks four Domino's franchisees and one corporate-owned store have helped some beloved local establishments impacted by delivery fees.

Select Domino's stores throughout Boston, Phoenix, Louisville, Denver, and Laredo, Texas, bought thousands of $50 gift cards from local restaurants and surprised randomly selected Domino's delivery customers with them in early November. 

In a Battle for Share of Stomach

are you winning?

So, participating Domino's stores across the Greater Boston, Phoenix, Louisville, Laredo and Denver areas bought thousands of $50 gift cards from local restaurants, randomly gave them out to Domino's delivery customers, and encouraged them to use the gift cards by ordering directly from the local restaurants so they could avoid delivery app fees. These local Domino's stores gave away more than $100,000 worth of gift cards from locally owned grills, taco places, barbeque joints, bakeries, delis and more, to roughly 2,600 customers throughout early November.

Russell Weiner, chief operating officer of Domino's, stated, "Running a restaurant is tough. Our franchisees benefit from being part of a brand that has operations and technology built for delivery," … "However, many small restaurants don't have a system for delivery. Meanwhile, third-party delivery apps are charging local eateries high fees to deliver, which are taking away much of their earnings. Domino's and its franchisees were inspired to pay it forward in these communities by helping drive business to a few neighboring restaurants – without the substantial fees."

Irene Li, owner of Mei Mei in Boston, Massachusetts, stated, "We love that Domino's has supported other restaurants and driven their customers to these mom and pops that could really use the help,"

Domino's is committed to supporting the local restaurants and people that make our communities vibrant. If you're not getting Domino's, skip the delivery apps and order directly from a local restaurant. That my friends is sharing and caring during this Holiday Season that is good for all.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869

Food Marketing Taco Bell’s New Path

 

Yesterday we talked about how Taco Bell was edifying its brand with customer relevance evolving its hot sauce packaging for recycling.  Today, we wanted to once again mention just how focused Taco Bell is on consumers need-set of a better world, a better normal, adding humor to its messaging. 

Adding humor helps us all not focus on the past, but in this case look-up and see a ‘taco’ Taco Bell is rebranding the quarter moon as part of the company’s first global marketing campaign. The “taco moon,” as the company calls it, will appear in the night sky on Tuesday, May 4. See the picture above. 

Consumers in more than 20 global markets will be able to get free tacos. In the U.S., they’ll be able to get a crunchy taco between 8 p.m. and 11:59 p.m., which will help drive that fourth meal sales with its primary target market of consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Taylor Montgomery, head of international marketing for Taco Bell, stated, “Once you see tacos everywhere, you can’t unsee it,” … “I don’t know if you’re a Harry Potter fan but whenever I see Dumbledore’s glasses I see tacos.” He was referring to the character whose half-moon glasses were a trademark.”

Once again, Taco Bell is the fourth largest restaurant chain domestically and one of its strongest performers right now. The company’s same-store sales in the first quarter rose 10% on a two-year basis, and David Gibbs, CEO of parent company Yum Brands, said on Wednesday that the brand is “hitting on all cylinders” right now.

Yum Brands is hoping global marketing in a proactive humorist style can elevate its brand message invitation. The “Taco Moon” promotion will take place all around the world, so customers at all the chain’s locations will be able to get a free taco to celebrate the moon.

Montgomery continued, “This is something only Taco Bell could do,” He noted that the moon’s quarter phase looks an awful lot like a taco. “That was the ‘aha’ moment,” he said. “What’s the biggest billboard on planet earth? The moon. Any time there’s a quarter moon, we’re not going to brand it the ‘taco moon.’”

That the taco moon appears on May 4, the day before Cinco de Mayo—traditionally a big day for Taco Bell—was simply a matter of timing. “We can’t change when the moon looks like a taco,” Montgomery said.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

In a Battler for Share of Stomach

How will you Win? 

Foodservice Retail Disequilibrium

Restaurants, Grocery Stores, C-Stores, and Dollar stores in densely populated urban centers are seeing stores that are either shuttered, soaring, or barely sailing along. All while in rural areas consumers are scared, stocking-up, and stock-piling, contributing to even greater disequilibrium according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.   

In new research from National Retail Solutions (NRS) shows dollar sales at urban stores surged more than 36%, and store traffic jumped nearly 8%. These number indicate that consumer were stocking up.  It’s also good news for restaurants that have been closed as it indicates traffic only jumped 8%, reflecting that in a battle for share of stomach those shopping trips were a necessity not a brand migration according to Johnson.

We all know that, densely populated inner-cities are among those areas to be hit the hardest by COVID-19. The consequences have already impacted, and in some cases redefined, every single foodservice sector. So, for the urban dweller, it has disrupted everything about their lives, but let’s specifically talk about how it has impacted the way they shop for their families. Temporarily gone are the days where Saturdays entailed jumping a few trains for a weekly stock-up trip to COSTCO.

Most inner-city neighborhoods do not have the luxury of having a supermarket or a supercenter safely and easily accessible. So COVID-19 has strengthened the relationship and dependency on the local C-store, bodega, neighborhood market. Bodegas are “essential” businesses and are more essential now than ever before for the residents of urban communities for their groceries, household products, OTC medicines, and pretty much anything else. In urban centers the study found that:

1.        Traffic is up: Transaction count up by 7.8%

2.        Dollar Sales Surge: Scanned Dollars up by 36.1%

3.        Tobacco and Alcohol greatest net dollar gains categories

4.        Disinfectants and Personal Protection and Hygiene top % dollar growth categories

In the non-urban core while the convenience channel remains open for business during the COVID-19 pandemic; new research found basket rings are smaller than usual. So, according to TrendSource, since the novel coronavirus began to spread across the United States, 64.4 percent of consumers have reported a decrease in spending in convenience stores.

All is not lost, a little more than half (51.7 percent) reported they expect their c-store spending to return to normal once the spread of COVID-19 begins to decrease, and 45.2 percent expect normal spending levels to return once the virus is eradicated.

Brand managers can refocus a unified brand messaging as the COVID-19 subsides and Governors begin ‘opening’ states back up.  If success does leave clues remember there brand messaging can be unifying, reinforcing, consumer touchpoint that drives sales while helping all of us get back to normal.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Battle for Share of Stomach

FIVE P’s of Grocerant Niche Food Sales Success

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson identified, quantified, and qualified five key drivers of fresh prepared food sales.  Foodservice Solutions® FIVE P’s turned into an integrated marketing program for many fresh food retailers including Chain Restaurants, Chain Convenience Stores, Chain Liquor Stores, and Service Dili’s around the world.  The FIVE P’s are: 

When grocerant Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh and prepared food are thrown into consumer view of options a retailer is offering they become top of mind for consumers are return visits.  Integrating the FIVE P’s will help you increase customer frequency, build loyalty while simultaneously increasing unit margins driving top line sales and bottom line profits.

Simply look at the US retail foodservice growth and sales leaders of today. Trader Joe’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, 7-Eleven are all growth leaders.  Trader Joe’s leads in sales per square foot at over $1,750 per Sq. Ft. Chipotle, Five Guys and 7-Eleven are all growing units and garnering share of stomach from everyone else.  All are members of the grocerant niche. 

One of the most interesting new developments is bundling of the meal components with a “better for you” focus.  It’s a mix and match game that is very empowering for the consumer.  Consumer’s select by meal occasion what “better for you” attribute they want.  It can be fresh hamburger, low salt, cooked to order, or green packaging.

Don’t discount the value of consumer choice or limit the world of “better for you”.  Mix and match of small portion, fresh products, green packaging all are contribution to making meal time a time of convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization and consumers are responding.

Are you looking a customer ahead? Since 1991 retail food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for more on  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Foodservice Digital Visceral Consumer Interaction Long John Silver’s

Success does leave clues today fast food restaurants the ilk of industry leading seafood chain Long John Silver’s is driving customer interactive with modernized drive-thru messaging that features animated video screens to improve order accuracy and efficiency.

Long John Silver’s new drive-thru with full-color, high-resolution animation on three 55-inch, high-definition screens recently has been installed in 70 units since the rollout late last year. The chain hopes to install the technology in up to 400 locations by 2020.

That modernization is part of a widespread update brand, which includes a revamped website primed for mobile, new menu items and an updated in-store design that replaces the Cape Cod decor with a modern nautical vibe. Restaurant brands must enguage consumers with relevance and digital visceral customer interaction is vital in today’s world according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Katie Rooprai, vice president of brand marketing for Long John Silver’s stated “Remodeled restaurants are reporting double-digit growth”. Staying current Long John Silver’s has rolled out a new line of grilled seafood for Lent, including salmon tacos and customizable basmati rice bowls.

Rooprai continued “Drive-thru business accounts for about 50% of Long John Silver’s sales, The new interface allows an operator to promote specials in real time, based on local weather forecasts, historical sales trends and special events”, Is your marketing consumer interactive and participatory?

Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.