MARKETING: Why Your Restaurant Needs A Branding Guide (And How to Create One)
In reality, “The best marketing is within the four walls” is a lie restaurateurs tell themselves when they don’t understand marketing or branding. Smart restaurateurs know that their brands are their biggest asset. Even though they once thought they were in the restaurant business, they soon figure out they were in the branding business.
Spending time and money to define your brand is imperative to carve out a unique place in your segment. Here’s why and how to do it.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Sports Beer!
Beer Leagues have (obviously) always enjoyed their brews, but now breweries are taking the sports-beer mentality one step further by creating electrolyte-infused brews and “race day” IPAs. The goal is to re-hydrate weekend warriors who still want to let loose with a casual beer. Something to keep in mind if you’re visited regularly by local leagues and clubs.
New York Times Allegations
Released Monday, the poll asked 1,038 registered voters whether they think allegations of senior advisors working behind Trump's back to prevent him making decisions are true or not. 55% of respondents think those allegations are true while only 28% feel they are not. Unsurprisingly, that question provokes a strong partisan divide with 27% of GOP voters saying it's true compared to 82% of Democrats.
Lambic on its Death Bed?
Lambic beer could become a casualty of climate change. Meteorological data shows that the brewing window for lambics is roughly 45 days shorter than it was at the turn of the 20thCentury. It comes down to lambics open-air fermentation vats. If the outside temperature gets beyond the upper-70s, there’s a risk of “unwelcome bacteria” ruining the beer.
PILSNERDS
Why it matters to you: The classic pilsner is back on the rise.
Anyone who has even lazily followed beer trends could see that heavy beers have always been the trend -- IPAs, double IPAs, flavored IPAs, session IPAs, sours, stouts of all kinds, maybe a lager here or there if we are super lucky. Any heavy and more alcoholic beer has been the It beer for drinkers. As of late, however, brewers have realized that the market for pilsners is wide open and relatively untouched. How could such an influential beer be so unrepresented in the craft beer world? In a good pilsner there is nothing to hide behind, so any flaw in any step could potentially overwhelm the flavor. This means more technique and experience is needed to perfect the beer and, thus, less competition. Brewers are experimenting more with pilsners and it is time we take notice as operators.
Pilsners rising in popularity with brewers doesn’t mean we should ditch all of our craft IPAs for it. That said, pilsners make for easier drinking than IPAs (not every beer needs to taste like a handful of pennies), so it is never a bad idea add a little variety on your drink menu. Pilsners are also generally lower ABV so patrons can maybe sneak in an extra beer with apps or dinner and not get too drunk. A few breweries even make a session pilsner that fits great on the menu in between the normal beers and craft IPAs, which could go down as a hit with your guests. Basically, we say keep an eye out for these new pilsners on the market because they are sure to be the next big thing; just make sure those tap lines are clean when you do because these beers make it very easy to notice!
[Source: Restaurant-Hospitality]
BA-DA-BA-BA-BAAA HAR-ASS-M-ENT
Why it matters to you: Employees at McDonald’s are coming forward about harassment.
This past May, 10 McDonald’s employees, all women of color who worked in different locations, filed sexual harassment claims to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The women allege that their managers have ignored the sexual harassment claims and even retaliated against them. An attorney representing some of the plaintiffs has asked McDonald’s to investigate the issue and be a part of the solution. McD’s made a statement saying they have a new anti-harassment initiative, but there is no evidence of any change at all thus far.
In an industry where 40% of women claim to have been sexually harassed,one might think that the largest employer the industry might take this a little bit more seriously. Unsurprisingly, our industry is much like others and would rather sweep their issues under the rug than take steps to solve them -- a few settlements on lawsuits here & there or some hush money and it is over with. A new anti-harassment initiative is a good start, but McD’s needs to be good at enforcing it, otherwise it’s just empty words. That said, we hope that McDonald’s and all others in the restaurant industry start taking real steps towards solving this epidemic we’ve dealt with for so long.
[Source: Munchies]
