Valuing a restaurant's 'vibe' protects its IP for sale or franchise

It's critical for eateries to not only maximize proceeds in a transaction, but also to protect its brand uniqueness and potentially even monetize it.

By Brian Buss and Doug Bania • June 10, 2019

Chipotle celebrates Pride with donations from shoppable Instagram post

The burrito chain will give proceeds from online sales of themed gear to The Trevor Project.

By Robert Williams • June 7, 2019

Taco Bell unwraps fresh song, fake movie trailer for Nacho Fries' return

The chain's original songs and sheet music follow a flurry of recent campaigns around musical branding.

By Barry Levine • June 6, 2019

IHOP resurrects controversial 'IHOb' name change, targets burger promo's haters

The chain becomes the latest marketer to incorporate online negativity into its marketing as opposed to letting customer service handle it. 

By Barry Levine • June 4, 2019

OpenTable showcases LGBTQ+ restaurants for Pride Month

The reservation platform joins a growing mix of restaurant brands including Starbucks, sweetgreen and fresh&co that are showing support for the LGBTQ+ community.

By Alicia Kelso • June 4, 2019

Chipotle joins spelling bee to pit its ingredients against competitors'

At this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, some contestants participated in word challenges involving ingredients like "avocado" and "carrageenan."

By Barry Levine • May 31, 2019

Baskin-Robbins teams with Netflix for 'Stranger Things'-inspired ice cream truck

Inspired by the show's Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream parlor, the activation is the latest brand partnership to bring the hit show to life.

By Dianna Christe • May 30, 2019

Sweetgreen unveils Pride-focused marketing campaign

The chain is also rolling out its first national print and marketing campaign this summer, and plans to donate $1 from every bowl sold on June 2 to a homeless assistance program targeting LGBTQ+ youth.

By Lauren Manning • May 29, 2019

Chipotle integrates Twitter with SMS to dole out free burritos to basketball fans

Every time announcers say the word "free" on-air during official NBA game coverage, attentive followers have a chance to score a meal.

By Peter Adams • May 29, 2019

Stop & Shop kicks off a food truck tour

The grocer joins a handful of restaurants, such as Red Robin and Auntie Anne's, using food trucks to market products to customers.

By Jennifer Sweeney • May 28, 2019

Burger King hosts 'Whopper Loans' contest to drive app orders

Customers who order food from the BK mobile app could win up to $100,000 to pay down their student debt.

By Robert Williams • May 24, 2019

Jimmy John's adds limited-time wine pairing

The sandwich chain joins the likes of Dunkin' and IHOP with the creation of a specialty alcoholic beverage meant to pair with new menu items. 

By Lauren Manning • May 23, 2019

DoorDash emulates restaurant pop-up trend in first integrated campaign

The multichannel effort launched Monday, showcasing national merchant partners like The Cheesecake Factory, Wendy's and Chipotle.  

By Peter Adams • May 20, 2019

Wendy's teams with GasBuddy to reach Memorial Day road-trippers

A new Badges feature on the app lets advertisers reach drivers based on their location.

By Robert Williams • May 20, 2019

Wingstop lets fans 'video bomb' its TV ad

Attendees were filmed using a custom video app and transposed into 15-second ads, with content appearing on a Times Square billboard and social media. 

By Robert Williams • May 17, 2019

Taco Bell is opening a hotel in brand's biggest lifestyle play

The "tacoasis" in Palm Springs, California, will include a pool, on-site salon and gift shop offering exclusive merchandise.

By Peter Adams • May 16, 2019

KFC's Spotify playlist curates hip-hop songs that mention the brand

Underscoring the brand's role in pop culture, the playlist is being promoted via street-based marketing in Paris.

By Barry Levine • May 14, 2019

Noodles & Company launches personalized nutrition calculator

The tool is available on the restaurant's website and mobile app, and allows diners to create dishes that are in line with keto, paleo, vegetarian and other lifestyle diets.

By Alicia Kelso • May 9, 2019

Chick-fil-A has the strongest QSR brand personality, study says

A Zion & Zion report ranked major fast food chains on five personality dimensions, placing Sonic and Dairy Queen close behind the chicken chain while Papa John's and Burger King earned low marks.

By Lauren Manning • May 9, 2019

Why restaurants need big data to succeed

As consumer restaurant spending grows, operators should build loyalty by leveraging key information about diner behavior, location and order preferences, says IgnitionOne COO Christopher Hansen.

By Chris Hansen • May 8, 2019

Google Lens can tell diners what to order at restaurants

Consumers can point their phone camera at a menu and the mobile feature will highlight popular meals with ratings and reviews from online platforms, a development that could reduce restaurants' control of their messaging.  

By Alicia Kelso • May 8, 2019

Google Maps trials crowdsourced images of restaurant dishes

The new app feature appears to aggregate photos of meals from submissions and reviews to match an image to a menu offering.

By Lauren Manning • May 7, 2019

Burger King campaign jabs at McDonald's Happy Meals

The chain's Real Meals come in different "moods" such as Blue and DGAF and encourages diners to fight pressures to appear happy. 

By Alicia Kelso • May 2, 2019

Denny's promotes brand revamp in multicultural push

In addition to its tech-focused overhaul geared towards millennials, a new multimedia campaign will target African-American and Hispanic diners. 

By Lauren Manning • May 2, 2019

Hardee's celebrates meat-only sandwich by planting 10M vegetables

The QSR brought back a popular roast beef sandwich with its tongue-in-cheek "Save the Veggies" campaign.

By Chris Kelly • April 30, 2019