Taylor Swift’s smash-hit tour shows restaurants can harness concert hype

Restaurants near Swift’s Nashville show saw a 35% bump in average transaction counts YOY for the three days she played, writes Teddy Tsang, vice president of product marketing at Toast. 

By Teddy Tsang • Aug. 11, 2023

McDonald’s flaunts history of pop culture cameos in latest meal ploy

Drawing on Golden Arches nods in “Seinfeld,” “The Office” and more, the chain is enacting its biggest Famous Orders push to date ahead of a tie-in with “Loki.”

By Peter Adams • Aug. 9, 2023

Virtual Dining Concepts sues MrBeast for breach of contract

The platform alleges YouTube star James Donaldson’s public disparagement of his virtual restaurant brand “damaged if not destroyed” partnerships with vendors and suppliers, and caused customers to “abandon the brand.”

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Aug. 8, 2023

Taco Bell takes Taco Tuesday victory lap by offering to pick up the tab

Following a successful ploy to force a competitor to relinquish the term’s trademark, the chain is working with DoorDash to comp $5 million in orders.

By Peter Adams • Updated Sept. 5, 2023

Sweetgreen will extend loyalty program to its dining rooms

The value of offering in-store rewards will be “super accretive,” CEO Jonathan Neman said, because most of the chain’s customers are first acquired through its restaurants.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Aug. 1, 2023

McDonald’s says Grimace birthday push shook up strong Q2 earnings

A darkly funny trend around the brand mascot and a limited-edition purple shake that went viral on TikTok was cited as a driver of growth.

By Chris Kelly • July 27, 2023

Chipotle experiments with Threads for National Avocado Day

The QSR chain is one of the first to center its marketing around the platform, using it to drop text-to-win codes that will give away concert and festival tickets.

By Sara Karlovitch • July 26, 2023

Grubhub adds pickup credits, lowers fees for Grubhub+ members

The delivery platform, which faces eroding marketshare, is strengthening its loyalty subscription program’s benefits to draw new customers. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 25, 2023

Del Taco updates loyalty program with challenges, faster rewards accrual

Changes include a digital punch card and “vanity badges” that reward customers for completing challenges, like visiting five days in a row. The cost to redeem some items has also increased. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 20, 2023

Taco John’s abandons Taco Tuesday trademark, issues charity challenge

Taco Bell CEO Mark King called the move a "shared victory for taco allies everywhere" but stopped short of taking up Taco John's challenge.

By Chris Kelly • Updated July 19, 2023

6 campaigns that broke through the creative rut of H1 2023

Though tightened advertiser budgets have spurred a sense of dullness, bets on buzzy tech, experiential displays and major refreshes from chains like Dunkin’ and Burger King seized the moment.

By Peter Adams , Jessica Deyo • July 17, 2023

Marco’s Pizza’s new CMO plans to catapult brand to national relevance

Marco’s Pizza hired a new CMO as the brand looks to continue its considerable growth and become a nationally significant pizza brand.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 12, 2023

Taco Bell revives coin drop game from aughts to boost mobile app

The chain is again tapping into nostalgia and a retro style as part of its latest rewards program push.

By Chris Kelly • July 11, 2023

Wingstop hires former Papa Johns CMO as chief growth officer

Anne Fischer will lead the company’s digital and marketing initiatives as it pursues a 4,000-unit footprint. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 11, 2023

Yum Brands inks AI-powered customer data partnership

Treasure Data will collect first-, second- and third-party data for the restaurant company to create “a single view of a customer across multiple brands.”

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • July 6, 2023

Denny’s gamifies loyalty program with monthly challenges

Customers are rewarded based on completing certain tasks, such as eating at the chain four times in July to receive a free Grand Slam breakfast. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • June 29, 2023

Chick-fil-A beefs up loyalty incentive with ‘Code Moo’ digital game

The game, which is centered around sabotaging the chain’s fictitious “burger-slinging nemesis,” will dish out 2.5 million food rewards on a weekly basis.

By Jessica Deyo • June 28, 2023

Taco Bell serves up Y2K nostalgia with Paris Hilton for Volcano Menu return

The chain will promote the spicy menu with a pre-recorded advice "Hot Line" featuring a celeb who made "that's hot" her catchphrase in the 2000s.

By Chris Kelly • Updated June 27, 2023

Pizza Hut heads underground for ‘Ninja Turtles’ movie tie-up

Along with delivering pizzas to subway stations, the chain’s campaign includes an AR game, a co-branded TV spot and in-movie integrations.

By Chris Kelly • June 21, 2023

Why brands like Wendy’s are remixing old songs into new jingles

Uber, Pepperidge Farm and others have tapped musicians to recreate their hits with brand-referencing lyrics in a push to engage both millennials and Gen Z.

By Chris Kelly • June 21, 2023

Dutch Bros hires CKE exec as CMO

Tana Davila will oversee brand and product marketing, creative and the company’s rewards program in her new role.

By Julie Littman • June 20, 2023

Some Starbucks cafes have removed Pride decor. Corporate says it hasn’t banned the practice.

Confusion over Pride decoration policy has sparked tension between Starbucks and its union, as major brands like Target and Anheuser-Busch InBev face threats for their pro-LGBTQ marketing.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • June 16, 2023

Mod Pizza lowers rewards threshold, adds redemption tiers

Mod’s change bucks industry trends, as many brands are raising the cost to redeem core menu items or are otherwise reducing rewards discounts.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • June 15, 2023

McDonald’s brings back Grimace for birthday party nostalgia

The chain says it's meeting fans at the "intersection of nostalgia and culture" with a Grimace-themed purple shake, an 8-bit video game and a new ad. 

By Chris Kelly • June 7, 2023

Chick-fil-A boosts order personalization on app

App users can add ingredients to menu items via a tap-to-add or tap-to-subtract feature starting June 12, and some tweaks will cost extra. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • June 6, 2023