“Where’s the beef?” You may have remembered this line from the famous 1984 Wendy’s commercial, where a perplexed, older woman exclaims her discontent over her small hamburger patty. Fast forward some 30 plus years later and the same sentiment still rings true for consumers today—no one likes a small patty! But what if I told you a major fast food restaurant is looking to reduce the beef in its burgers?

Actually, Sonic is exploring testing a reduced-beef burger. Why on earth would that be appealing to consumers? Well, this burger will not be downsized but rather be made from a blend or beef and mushrooms, with the goal of providing a healthier choice for customers. More about this at Restaurant Business Online.

In fact, the concept of blending veggies with meat for hamburgers is not a new concept. Restaurants like Bareburger and Burgh’ers already implement this practice. Blended burgers offer a way to produce a lower-fat patty and potentially promote more sustainability when it comes to the amount of cattle being raised in order to support the hamburger industry.

Marketing and Branding – An ongoing blog by Randy Lopez

Who owns your brand?

OK, I’ll save you time and give you the answer at the beginning: EVERYONE.

I still come across restaurant concepts that don’t understand this simple fact. I’ve met start-up brands and even large national brands that think the marketing department or better yet, the founder and CEO owns the voice and direction of the brand. Unfortunately, often times it’s the leader of the organization or the head of the marketing department that wants everyone to believe this.

Often times, a restaurant brand begins with a single visionary who oversees the creation of the look, feel and design of the first location. This person can often visualize how it all fits together and can describe the “brand story.” We all know the restaurateurs and industry leaders who have created truly original brands. Most restaurateurs don’t have these same skills or understanding of how to create a living brand. The visionary has the original view but once the first manager, employee, vendor, menu designer, board member or anyone gets involved, the story changes. As part of the organization, they begin describing and influencing the brand in their specific areas that can support or take away from the original concept.

 The Brand Guide

It’s all about creating a brand vocabulary. At the very beginning, I recommend the creation of a brand guide. This “living document” includes everything from the correct logo design, brand positioning statement, decor touchpoints, sample collateral like menus and signage and can even include sample ads, recruitment information or anything else that becomes the true “standard” of the concept. At Synergy Restaurant Consultants, we are often brought in to create brand guides for new and existing startups. And more often, we  update older brands guides for clients that want to refresh their business to stay relevant and thereby, financially successful.

Create or revisit your brand “guide” to make sure that everything you send out with your brand look and voice stays consistent so that “everyone” can better tell your story and understand what makes your restaurant different and exciting. The best brands provide the tools so that every touchpoint helps tell their story, with the same voice and the same look and feel.

Send any marketing and brand questions you’d like to share with Randy at randysynergyconsultants.com or @randylopez to possibly be included in future blog discussions.

-Randy Lopez
Marketing and Branding
Synergy Restaurant Consultants

We are always excited and pleased to find great news regarding clients we’ve worked with. Restaurant Business, a leading foodservice media brand, has recently dubbed Firehouse Subs as the number one sandwich chain for craveable sandwiches. They are our client and we are very proud to have been chosen as their culinary and operations partner. There is a certain harmony of deliciousness that occurs when you create the perfect sandwich and so, we are honored that Firehouse Subs has gained such recognition. Check out the article here. (Fun fact: Firehouse Subs was also named America’s Favorite Chain for 2017, too.)

Synergy works with a variety of restaurants, from fast-casual chains to independently-operated fine-dining establishments. You can explore how our services have helped restaurants achieve their goals at our case studies page.