Storyboard: It Takes Two

Shoney’s ad strategy shows diners they have a choice between the menu and the buffet.

By Margaret Littman, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 5/1/2004

When Rodger Head, president and chief operating officer of Nashville, Tenn.-based Shoney’s took the chain private in 2002, he needed to make, as he says politely, “corrections to the brand.”

“Franchisees were disgruntled, they had been misguided over the last 10 years, and different management kept thinking there was some silver bullet out there to save the brand,” Head says. “The brand did not need to be changed. There is still demand for family dining, but we had to correct some service issues and live up to guests’ expectations.”

Two years later Head says his mission is accomplished. Improved initiatives include more in-the-field training for new franchisees and a new store prototype. A new franchise agreement gives the operators more voice in the chain’s marketing approach and other programs developed at the corporate level.

Franchisees, it turns out, aren’t the only ones who have new choices as a result of Head’s turnaround of the Shoney’s concept. Diners now have more options. A new menu, with eight new items and many retooled entrees, is currently being rolled out. By June, every Shoney’s will be using the same menu for the first time in many years, Head says. But at the same time, the company is highlighting its buffet.

“Shoney’s is the one restaurant in this family category that offers both menu and buffet,” says Scott Boswell, creative director and writer at Doe Anderson, Shoney’s Louisville, Ky.-based ad agency.

“We are proud of who we are. We serve the comfort food and the sort of options that our guests want. We did not have to try to be something different. We really felt that the menu and the buffet are how we are different and special,” adds Denise Horne, vice president of marketing for Shoney’s.

Redneck Alert
To underscore that message, Shoney’s developed a campaign to highlight choice rather than the low prices that used to be the basis of its advertising. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, best known for his “You might be a redneck if...” routine, appears in the TV commercials.

While it might not seem logical that a family concept would want to associate its brand with someone known for calling his compatriots rednecks, Horne says Foxworthy is the right fit for the Shoney’s target demographic.

“He is very family oriented in his act, and personally he has a connection to Shoney’s. He grew up in the South. His sister worked in a Shoney’s. He has all these strawberry-pie stories,” she says. “We just think his humor matched up. His audience is our guest.”

In this spring’s Seafood Celebration promotion, the TV ads featured a split screen. On one side Foxworthy eats from the buffet, while on the other he orders off the menu. The comedian was given free reign to help develop jokes and other ideas for the ads.

“We said to him, ‘If you can make it funnier, hey, make it funnier.’ We hired him because of who he was, and he can say it in a way we can’t,” Boswell says.

Coming Back to the Brand
Horne expects to film four more spots with Foxworthy this year. Each will end with the chain’s new tagline, “It’s your food, your choice, your Shoney’s.” The spots may tie in with some of the company’s six limited-time promotions, like the seafood event, in 2004.

Because Shoney’s is privately held, the firm does not release ad budgets or sales figures, but Head says same-store sales are up as much as 5 percent as new initiatives have been rolled out and franchisees became enthusiastic about the changes. Instead of looking to expand in 2004, Head plans to convert many company-owned stores to franchises, hoping for a ratio of 30 percent company-owned and 70 percent franchised restaurants. Currently Shoney’s has 323 units.

According to New York-based TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, Shoney’s spent $13.4 million on advertising in all media (including television, radio and outdoor) in 2003. Chain Leader estimates that number will increase slightly in 2004 as Shoney’s continues its branding efforts.

“We are not only getting noticed, we are cutting through the clutter,” says Henrietta Pepper, executive vice president and director of client services at Doe Anderson, which conducted research measuring the effectiveness of the new ad message in January. “Consumers are making the connection between Jeff Foxworthy and Shoney’s good news.”

Adds Horne: “Traffic is up, and folks are gaining confidence in us again. Folks who used to come to the brand came back.”

“More Jeffs” Length: 30 seconds
1. Jeff Foxworthy: There's plenty of great seafood at Shoney's from both our weekend buffet and our menu.	2. Of course, when you are surrounded by this much seafood, you should be prepared.
3. What?	4. Voice-over: Hurry in for Shoney's Seafood Celebration...
5. with specials like the delicious seafood platter...	6. fisherman's chowder, our lightly dusted shrimp and more. Huge meals, great deals.
7. Foxworthy: With great seafood from the menu. Or the buffet.	8. It's your food, your choice, your Shoney's.