Brinker International Marketing Teams Excel

 

There is no doubt that success does leave clues. Brinker International's has had a plethora of top-shelf marketing professionals over the years and has become a chain restaurant marketing powerhouse when it comes to developing, elevating, promoting highly effective restaurant brand managers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Brinker’s marketing team has set the standard for virtual restaurant marketing with its very first virtual brand, It's Just Wings^, according to Johnson.  So, Brinker’s team partnered with YOKE for a first-of-its-kind partnership: 125 of the nation's top college football players have been selected as the inaugural class of It's Just Wings brand ambassadors. Yes, that’s right 125 top college football players.

Wade Allen, Brinker senior vice president of innovation, stated, "We have been blazing trails with It's Just Wings since day one, and this partnership is designed to directly and strategically reach one of our target demographics at the intersection of wings, gaming and sports," …. "We are teaming up with the right players – literally and figuratively – to grow and strengthen our presence of offering bold flavors in the world of wings."

Get this, the ambassadors will be outfitted with It's Just Wings attire and will leverage their social media and on-campus presence to promote the brand and share exclusive offers with fellow students. The impressive athlete roster includes players from 34 of the nation's most historic football programs. With all Power Five conferences represented, the list is headlined by University of Nevada, Las Vegas quarterback Tate Martell; University of Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams; and University of Florida quarterback Emory Jones.

In a Battle for Share of Stomach

Marketing Matters

"YOKE is committed to connecting great athletes with great brands," said Mick Assaf, YOKE chief executive officer. "Curating this list of players has already been a blast, and we know they'll represent both brands with the same talent and skill they bring to their sport. We can't wait to see these It's Just Wings athletes perform both on and off the field through this partnership as football season kicks off."

The brand partnership also includes two YOKE events via the gaming app later this year. To see the full list of athlete names and universities, visit itsjustwings.com/YOKE-ambassadors. 

Have you tried It's Just Wings food yet? Well it is available for pickup or delivery and is now offering free delivery on every order over $10 until Oct. 31 when Guests sign up for It's Just Rewards™ at itsjustwings.com/sign-up. In addition to free curly fries, It's Just Wings has a sweet side, offering a variety of flavored hand pies, including blueberry lemon, cinnamon apple, caramel pecan, sweet dark cherry and double chocolate HERSHEY'S^®. (Note: Hershey branded tie in as well.)

In case you did not know, It's Just Wings is a no-frills, virtual brand that operates out of more than 1,050 kitchens of Brinker International, Inc.'s (NYSE: EAT) restaurant concepts Chili's^® Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy^®. They offer three types of killer wings — smoked, bone-in and boneless — at stupid prices in both unique and traditional sauces and rubs that are sure to make your taste buds tingle. No forks, no knives, no napkins — It's Just Wings, but we do throw in free curly fries and ranch with every wings order. It's Just Wings is available for pick up or delivery and is now offering free delivery on every order ($10 minimum) until Oct. 31 when you sign up for It's Just Rewards at itsjustwings.com/sign-up. For more information, visit itsjustwings.com, follow us on Instagram @itsjustwingsofficial or like us on Facebook @itsjustwings.

Once again in case you did not know, YOKE provides technology that allows athletes to engage with brands and fans with unprecedented ease. More than 15,000 active athletes use YOKE to build and monetize their name, image, and likeness through brand and fan engagements. The company was launched by former college athletes in 2020 as the go-to platform for fans to play video games with their favorite athletes and has since built out its technology to allow brands to manage athlete ambassador programs at scale. For more information about YOKE or to sign up as a brand or athlete, visit yoketeam.com or follow us on Instagram @yokegaming.

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information. 

Dickey's Virtual Franchise Driver

 

Virtual restaurants are garnering attention from everyone including chain restaurants the ilk of Brinker with Just Wings, Lazy Dog with Jolene’s Wings, Bloomin’ Brands with Tender Shack, Nathan’s Famous with Arthur Teacher’s.  

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is just might be taking over as the next big deal in the virtual concept space with the launch of its newest delivery-only brand and it’s not a wings concept. That’s a good thing according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

In a focused effort to create a new revenue stream for its franchisees, the world’s largest barbecue concept recently added Big Deal Burger to its growing virtual brand portfolio.  Dickies knows that differentiation does not mean different it means familiar but with a twist.  So, the virtual burger and sandwich concept first launched in Dallas and has since expanded to 45 locations across 12 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming with five more locations opening this month. Since introducing Big Deal Burger, Dickey’s has tripled average weekly volume by store.

Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, stated,  “As the world’s largest barbecue franchise, Dickey’s is actively creating innovative opportunities for our Owner/Operators to yield additional revenue.” …“After seeing success with our first virtual brand, Wing Boss, we started exploring other delivery-only concept ideas. Big Deal Burger makes perfect sense for us. Our franchisees already have the right equipment to execute it, so it’s a convenient way to capitalize on the growing delivery trend. We can’t wait to see how guests respond as we continue to expand this concept across more markets.”

Chain restaurants that franchise need to drive top line sales and bottom-line profits for their franchisees and creating a new avenue of distribution via a virtual brand is a great way to do that according to Johnson.

Consumers can build their own all-star burger or sandwich by choosing a protein – a single or double all-beef patty, Impossible Burger patty, pit-smoked marinated chicken, Polish sausage or spicy cheddar sausage – then adding toppings and a mouthwatering sauce to finish, all served on a buttery, toasted brioche bun.  Once again interactive and participatory customer touchpoints are so very important as regular readers of this blog know.

A key Hallmark of the grocerant niche is mix and match meal component bundling at Big Deal Burger’s you can pair your delicious creation with one of savory sides: seasoned, brisket cheese, Cajun or buffalo ranch fries; coleslaw; or mac and cheese.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

In a Battle for Share of Stomach

Are You Winning? 

Nathan’s Famous Growing at the intersection of Yesterday and Today

 

Author Stephen King famously wrote “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.’ Well, Nathan Handwerker started Nathan’s in 1916 and Nathan’s Famous has continued to find ways to drive new electricity into the brand while keeping customer coming back according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

When Nathan’s Famous announced that they were adding Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips to its portfolio as a virtual brand and updating their menu to include more proteins, including a focus on shrimp you could hear the cash piling up in the till driving incremental revenue.

Back in the day, Arthur Treacher’s was a major quick-service fried seafood chain founded in Columbus, Oh. that hit its peak in the 1970s with more than 800 locations. The UK-style fish and chips chain was named after British actor, Arthur Treacher, who was known for playing butler roles.  

So, looking a customer ahead, in 2002, Nathan’s acquired the rights to market and co-brand Arthur Treacher’s products. As of 2018, there were only three original Arthur Treacher’s restaurants left in North America, with all three located in Northeastern Ohio, according to Cleveland.com. The remaining stores have become a pilgrimage for those who remember the brand, particularly during Lent.

Nathan’s wants to bring the once-prosperous franchise back to life through virtual restaurants.

James Walker, senior vice president of restaurants at Nathan’s Famous, stated, "We are thrilled to provide operators across the country with the opportunity to add Arthur Treacher’s to their portfolio.”…  “Nathan’s Famous and Arthur Treacher’s have a long-standing relationship and we have worked diligently to keep the brand’s traditional menu items while also evolving the menu to fit the Nathan’s mantra of the ‘craveable, memorable and Instagrammable’ product that we believe both operators and customers will love.”

Back to Stephen King’s now old adage, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.”  The updated menu will include a fish and chips sandwich, fish and chips platter, the Captain’s Dinner with a little bit of everything, shrimp and chips basket, chicken platter, shrimp and fish basket, Boom Boom Shrimp platter, Boom Boom Fries, and a few Nathan’s Famous products including Nathan’s Famous hot dogs as well as the brand’s newly released chicken sandwiches. How are you driving top-line sales and bottom-line profits with relevance?

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.

In A Battle for Share of Stomach

Are you a Player? 

NASCAR Track Food Delivered to Your Home

 

If you like going to watch a NASCAR race, there is a good chance one of the memorable moments you remember will include some ‘Track’ food.  Well sports fans, do we have some good news for you today.  NASCAR fans will now will have the opportunity to enjoy dishes inspired by some of the most iconic NASCAR track menu items any time of the year through NASCAR Refuel, a delivery-only virtual restaurant.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated “when Virtual Dining Concepts announced a nationwide collaboration with NASCAR, NASCAR Refuel, allowing every day to be like a day at the racetrack. The true value of non-traditional fresh food retailers will soon be realized, elevated to a superhighway, then delivered to your front door.”

So, for the first time ever, fans of the NASCAR will have the opportunity to enjoy dishes inspired by some of the most iconic NASCAR track menu items any time of the year through NASCAR Refuel, a delivery-only virtual restaurant.

These crave-worthy memorable fresh food meals, snacks, and treats were, until now, only available at racetrack concession stands, but with NASCAR Refuel they will be available to order year-round, and Virtual Dining Concepts is inviting restaurants to get in on the action.  

So, here is how it works; “restaurants of any size that currently have an operating kitchen that meet our criteria can now sign up to serve NASCAR Refuel. Without impacting their daily operations, restaurateurs can simply utilize their existing equipment and staff to operate the delivery-only virtual brand and generate incremental revenue. Similar to other Virtual Dining Concepts brands, NASCAR Refuel’s menu will only be available online without affecting a restaurant’s in-person dining and pick-up options.”  

Branding Value in  

A  Battle for Share of Stomach

Robert Earl, Founder of Virtual Dining Concepts, stated, “In less than one year, we’ve proven our virtual dining model to be a successful source of income for our restaurant partners throughout the entire country,” … “We now have the exciting opportunity for my fellow restaurateurs to serve some of the most popular dishes from one of America’s most beloved sports. We know life is better at the races, and with NASCAR Refuel, fans get to enjoy dishes from their hometown racetrack and beyond any day of the year.”

Sports fans, foodies, and I no longer need to wait until race day to enjoy the meals that we grown to love at the NASCAR track.  So, the menu will be comprised of the most celebrated dishes handpicked from 12 NASCAR-owned racetracks around the country, NASCAR Refuel’s online offerings will include a variety of hot dogs such as the legendary Martinsville Hot Dog, the spicy Daytona Firecracker Dog, The Glen Dog and the Classic Chili Cheese Dog, and sandwiches including the Darlington Pimento Cheese Sandwich, the Phoenix Carburetor Crunch, the Miami Cuban Sandwich and the Auto Club Hot Lap Burger. Other fan favorites will also be added to the menu including the Michigan Chicken & Waffle on a Stick and the Kansas City Barbecue Parfait, among others.  

With a national launch set for August 2021, restaurants that operate NASCAR Refuel will be able to serve more customers and diversify their business by leveraging the strength of NASCAR’s fanbase. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter