ENTERTAINMENT: Get a Taste of the Best Content from Around the Web [Presented by CHIVE TV]
Sometimes the best content from around the web doesn't fit into a neat little box. If you're familiar with theCHIVE at all, you'll know this is why the Daily Afternoon Randomness series exists. This week, we included a bit of this randomness on CHIVE TV, giving you a taste of the variety our digital streaming channel has to offer. Sign up to get CHIVE TV for FREEin your business.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Shaq is Back!
Shaquille O’Neil is returning for ELEAGUE’s charity Street Fighter V tournament. After last year’s controversial victory, he’s back and taking on the likes of Jimmy Rollins and Baron Davis. Shaq used to be relatively anti-eSports but has since come around and has an even invested in an eSports team. The charity tournament airs tonight at 11pm on TBS, so don’t miss it!
Bourdain Bio in 2019
We’re all gonna miss Anthony Bourdain. Fortunately, he gave us a lifetime of creative work that celebrates food & culture. In 2019, we’ll get an autobiography of the celeb-chef turned traveler. It’ll be edited by his long-time collaborator and assistant Laurie Woolever. The bio is described as “an authorized portrait of the writer, veteran chef and television traveler, built from stories shared by those who knew him best.”
World Cup Revenue & Expenses
Looking at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil for example, FIFA’s revenue amounted to $4.83 billion compared to just $2.22 billion in expenses. While TV rights ($2.43 billion) and marketing rights ($1.58b) were the biggest items on the plus side for FIFA, contributions to the local organizing committee ($453 million), TV production costs ($370m) and prize money ($358m) were FIFA’s biggest expenses for the 2014 tournament.
World Cup Elimination Play is about to begin. Download a free copy of the rest of the tournament’s TV schedule here, and get going with building the a serious World Cup-inspired promotion.
THE RED HEN CONTROVERSY
Why it matters to you: What you can learn from Red Hen’s decision that caused a media frenzy.
Whatever political side you fall in, chances are you saw what happened at the Red Hen. The restaurant quietly kicked Sarah Huckabee Sanders out after the staff voted that her presence made them all too uncomfortable. Since their decision, Red Hen has been caught up in a bit of a whirlwind. The aftermath has reminded us of what Senator Bernie Sanders had to say about the whole ordeal: it’s been a lot of unconstructive rudeness with zero gain. And these situations quickly turn into sh*it flinging back and forth – and in this case, literal shi*t flinging.
As we constantly say, restaurants should prepare themselves for blowbacks if they step into the light and make a political stance. In Red Hen’s case, this blowback included a public administration official calling out the restaurant which resulted in a slew of negative reviews and some unnecessary death threats.
It’s fine to flex your amendment rights and stand for what you believe in. We love that and have spoken often about how bars & restaurants have been the centerpiece of political talk through America’s history. But always prep for the blowback. Ask yourself if kicking someone out of your restaurant worth what comes next? Maybe your answer to that is “Goddamn, yes!” if that’s the case, godspeed with you! But remember that your own livelihood and health isn’t only at stake, but that of your employees, too. At least in Red Hen’s case, the whole staff were on board with the move.
PLEASE, PLEASE DONUT DO IT!
Why it matters to you: Dunkin’ Donuts is unveiling a strange new menu item that’s actually pretty familiar.
In an effort to mix things up, Dunkin’ Donuts has unveiled their new donut fries. These “fries” are a small pack of croissant-style donut sticks tossed in brown sugar. Not too bad sounding, right?
What Dunkin Donuts is displaying is the importance of how to market and brand a new food item. They’ve taken one of their core products, donuts, and found a new way of making it different and fun. They also priced at just $2 for five sticks and are available for just a limited time, making them perfect for an impulse buy when someone strolls in for their daily morning coffee.
The lesson here for independent operators is to look for ways of doing similar. Are you known for hamburgers? Tacos? Steak? Dessert? Vegan cuisine? What are your core menu items and how can you reinvent it in a fun and creative way? Maybe you do a flight of sliders with different meats or toppings, or design an ice cream cone-shaped taco shells filled with juicy ground meat & salsa, etc. You don’t need to go too crazy and don’t want to go outside of your core products (DD is still sticking to donuts even though it’s making “fries”), but being able to turn something familiar into something new and different is sure to catch some eyes. And don’t forget to make sure the item is photogenic so it has that viral quality about it.
