Buffalo Wild Wings nixes experiential sleepover for March Madness

Dubbed BnB-Dubs, the activation would have let basketball fans enter to win an Airbnb-style sleepover in a Chicago location.

By Dianna Christie , Natalie Black (Koltun) • Updated March 17, 2020

Jimmy John's names Sonic's Darin Dugan as CMO

Dugan replaces John Shea, who served in the role for just over two years, and follows several management shuffles by parent company Inspire Brands.

By Robert Williams • March 6, 2020

Will loyalty programs gain renewed value in a cookie-less era?

Brands from Red Lobster to Sephora are revisiting their rewards strategies amid tighter ad-targeting restrictions and greater demands for data privacy.

By Shane Schick • March 5, 2020

Arby's names P&G's Patrick Schwing as CMO

Schwing previously led the global interactivity and innovation group at Oral-B, P&G's consumer dental care brand. ​

By Robert Williams • March 4, 2020

Dunkin' drafts 'Cheer' star for Instagram sweepstakes

Gabi Butler, the all-star cheerleader who appears in the Netflix docu-series, will post a special "Dunkin' cheer" to the company's account.

By Robert Williams • March 4, 2020

Wendy's cooks up social media buzz with new breakfast menu campaign

In 36 hours, the QSR received more than 10,000 follower requests after locking its Twitter account in the run-up to this week's launch for its breakfast menu.

By Robert Williams • March 3, 2020

Wendy's breakfast challenges rival offerings

In the wake of Wendy's nationwide breakfast launch Monday, McDonald's offered diners free Egg McMuffins and Burger King pushed its Croissan'wich on Twitter.

By Julie Littman • March 2, 2020

Sonic Drive-In shifts away from '2 Guys' to showcase real families

The chain's first work with new agency Mother includes a brand identity refresh that focuses on real people.

By Dianna Christie • March 2, 2020

KFC Canada tests Google's food ordering service

By saying, "Hey Google, order food from KFC," Google Assistant will wake up to take an order.

By Robert Williams • Feb. 26, 2020

Burger King's moldy Whopper ad sparks visceral reactions, but scores on subversion

An analysis found the gross-out concept underperformed in areas such as stoking desire, but successfully captured attention above category benchmarks.

By Peter Adams • Feb. 25, 2020

Campaign Trail: McDonald's type-only ads illustrate the power of visual identity

Omitting the golden arches and recognizable burger imagery, the minimalist creative flexes the fast-food behemoth's iconic status.

By Natalie Black (Koltun) • Feb. 24, 2020

Chili's wants you to 'laugh so hard you pee a little' with new campaign

Focusing on its on-premise experience, the Brinker International chain dabbles in ASMR, experiential marketing and more.

By Dianna Christie • Feb. 20, 2020

Burger King promotes moldy Whopper as part of 'real food' push

A subversive video celebrating the removal of artificial preservatives from the Whopper shows a time-lapse of a burger rotting.

By Peter Adams • Feb. 19, 2020

Sweetgreen taps celeb chef David Chang to promote new sustainable salad

The Momofuku founder stars in a humorous video series alongside fish puppets to discuss the new environmentally friendly kelp offering.

By Dianna Christie • Feb. 18, 2020

Starbucks names new CMO focused on bridging physical, digital experience

In his prior roles at the company, 18-year veteran Brady Brewer helped guide areas like delivery and mobile app offerings.

By Peter Adams • Feb. 14, 2020

OpenTable loyalty perk helps diners land hard-to-book restaurants

Its Dining Points can now be used to book popular places during peak dining times, extending a feature originally introduced in November to Capital One cardholders. 

By Alicia Kelso • Feb. 12, 2020

KFC, Crocs strut fried chicken-themed clogs at New York Fashion Week

Collaborative footwear featuring scented drumstick charms will be available to consumers this spring.

By Peter Adams • Feb. 12, 2020

Denny's pilots Yelp Store Visits to measure physical store foot traffic

The platform also introduced Showcase Ads, a video-centric format for national marketers to highlight seasonal promotions.

By Robert Williams • Feb. 12, 2020

Papa John's returns to Snapchat with Valentine's AR lens

Last year, more than 25% of Snapchat users who swiped up on the chain's AR lens ordered a Valentine's Day pizza.

By Robert Williams • Feb. 11, 2020

Taco Bell names former KFC exec Nikki Lawson as brand chief

The taco chain sees an opportunity to continue to push the brand past its positioning as a QSR, Yum Brands CEO Mark King said in a statement. 

By Dianna Christie • Feb. 10, 2020

Pizza Hut names new marketing leadership, looking to inject some KFC brand magic

KFC marketers George Felix and David Graves will become CMO and chief brand officer, respectively, as their sister brand seeks a turnaround.

By Peter Adams • Feb. 7, 2020

Uber Eats spent $1B on excess driver incentives, referrals in 2019

The food delivery platform is paying drivers more than its earning from trips as it aggressively expands into new markets and tries to grow its driver base amid a shortage of these gig workers.

By Alicia Kelso • Feb. 7, 2020

TripAdvisor's newest tool aggregates reviews for restaurants

The company's Review Hub allows owners and operators to view consumer comments across multiple platforms and respond from one dashboard.

By Alicia Kelso • Feb. 5, 2020

Dunkin' names new VP of marketing strategy amid pivot to integrated approach

CEO Dave Hoffmann said the move will streamline the company's strategic, go-to-market functions into one team. 

By Peter Adams • Feb. 4, 2020

Chipotle's Justin Bieber challenge reaches 95M on TikTok during Super Bowl

The "TikTok Timeout" challenge urged people to create their own "February Free Delivery Sundays" ads set to Bieber's new song "Yummy."

By Robert Williams • Feb. 4, 2020