For almost 30 years, Bernie Pitzel has created and directed award-winning advertising for clients such as McDonald’s, Long John Silver’s and Coors Light. He is Creative in Residence at Jacobs Agency, where he is using his talents to help the agency deliver on the promise of its new branding effort.

Not long ago, I was working with a large, regional, all-you-can-eat chain — a chain that devoted $1 million to research why people came to them. They would then use the research and revelations to attract new customers. You know what they found? They learned that people came to them, for (million-dollar drum roll, please) freedom of choice!

Really?

Who would’ve thought that Middle America went to an all-you–can-eat buffet for the all-you-can-eat buffet?

Seems to me that there are better ways to spend a million dollars. Seems to me that a lot of organizations keep searching to find out what they are not, instead of deeply branding into the American psyche what they actually are.

Why does everyone want to be someone else?

If food purveyors just gave their devoted repeaters one more weekly or monthly reason to repeat, most would be golden. How about working on a little loyalty instead of lunging for the target du jour?

(read more…)

Bertucci’s tries to attract a younger crowd; Friendly’s gets friendly with Burger King; and the top foods to snack on while watching the big game.

Read about all this and more in this week’s top five most-clicked links in SmartBrief on Restaurants:

• Landry’s CEO acquires majority stake in Morton’s
• Taco Bell linked to 68 salmonella cases in 10 states
• Bertucci’s to woo younger guests with new ad partner
• Top food trends for Super Bowl Sunday
• Friendly’s, Burger King try co-branded concept

Image credit: narvikk, via iStockphoto

NFL players, fans and advertisers aren’t the only ones who have been gearing up all season for Sunday’s Super Bowl. Chain restaurants will need to be on their game this weekend, as an estimated 48 million Americans order takeout during the game and 12 million more watch the annual event at a bar or restaurant, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Chicken prices take wing

About 63% of consumers planning Super Bowl parties plan to serve wings, and, despite record-high prices, Americans will consume about 1.25 billion wings — enough to circle the earth twice, with some left over, according to the National Chicken Council. Wholesale chicken-wing prices from Georgia producers increased 52% in the past year, and consumption and price typically peak in the first three months of the year, largely driven by the big game, Bloomberg reported.

“Chickens only have two wings, so when the supply declines, the price will rise because demand is relatively inelastic,” Poultry Perspective economist Paul Aho said. “People really want wings, and the recession doesn’t seem to have an effect on demand.”

Pizza chains prepare

About 61% of football fans plan to serve pizza, and Domino’s expects to sell about 11 million slices during the Super Bowl, according to Pizza Marketplace, which ran a roundup of national chains’ game-day specials.

(read more…)

The Grocery Manufacturers Association released the report “Environmental Success Stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry,” which highlights the green achievements by member companies in air, water and waste management. Here are a few of the inspiring case studies.

Saving energy with a multipronged approach

Campbell Soup saved $500,000 in utility costs with an efficiency initiative at a plant in California, where it reduced electricity and water usage per pound of product by 4.85% and 13.45% respectively, and total waste at the site was cut by 860 tons. The success was attributed to a metering system, a recycling program and lower-flow water nozzles. Another $500,000 will be saved each year using a heat-recovery system and a hot water generation system.

Cutting carbon through natural refrigeration

One of Kraft Foods‘ refrigerated-storage facilities is located in a natural limestone cave near Springfield, Mo., and it uses 65% less energy than conventional storage sites. The natural insulation is just one benefit — Kraft also has saved 1,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 180,000 gallons of fuel and 1 million trucking miles each year.

Partnering with customers to green the supply chain

Saving 900,000 gallons of diesel fuel in 2009, Bumble Bee Foods makes the best use of its truck and container loads and uses intermodal transportation when available. By partnering with its customers, the food maker is able to arrange direct-from-plant deliveries and schedule customer pickup and fixed-day delivery, which decreases the number of trucks on the road. Another benefit: Bumble Bee avoided more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.

(read more…)