The NRA Marketing Executives Group (MEG) Conference in Las Vegas was a great place to learn, to network and to be inspired. Here is part two of the Top Ten Things I Really Learned in Vegas.

#5   Intuition Trumps Information

Blake Mycoskie's inspiring story of how he created TOMS Shoes to give a pair of shoes to children in need around the world with every pair sold illustrates the entrepreneurial power of intuition. (I think that's one of the reasons it resonated so well with the restaurateurs in the audience.) Other presenters reinforced his belief that, at the end of the day, intuition is often the engine behind big new initiatives, not the research or the rationale. As Albert Einstein so famously noted, "Imagination is more important than knowledge....Read More

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I just got back from the NRA Marketing Executives Group (MEG) Conference at The Green Valley Ranch in Las Vegas. (For those of you who don't know, the MEG conference is a National Restaurant Association study group where marketers, presidents and CEOs come together to learn the latest in restaurant marketing.) The agenda was action-packed with topics ranging from social media to small-budget tactics to lessons from outside the industry to compelling campaigns.

But here are the Top Ten Things I really Learned in Vegas.

#10  You Can't Fake Authenticity

Vegas is the perfect backdrop for this lesson, for obvious reasons. But the lesson extends beyond the obvious. As conference presenters discussed the use of social media, a recurring theme was the ...Read More

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Have you heard of "Udorse," the newly launched endeavor where everyday people can earn sponsor dollars for the brands they feature in their blogs and Facebook pages? (www.udorse.com)

You get the picture: "Click on my bracelet and you'll find out more about the brand of jewelry I'm wearing." (What is it Yakov Smirnoff used to say? "What a Country!") Udorse must be really new because my twentysomething students haven't even heard of it yet. I asked them the other day.

Clearly restaurants might be the target of this promotional "opportunity," as Facebook pictures often depict people in restaurant settings.

In the interest of full disclosure, though, I have to say I am not being paid by anyone to eat at any of the restaurants I talk about. I...Read More

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I've been feeling a "Top Ten List" coming on, so, just for fun...here goes.

My Top Ten "Quick Tips" for Restaurateurs

10. The more signage you have...the less advertising you need

9. The more formal the service...the less comfortable the guests

8. The more choices your customers have...the less they'll be able to decide

7. The more complicated something is to do...the less likely your staff will be to do it

6. The more drive-by traffic you have...the less often people will forget about you

5. The more analytical the process...the less responsive the solution

4. The more steps of service...the less intuitive servers need to be

3. The more y...Read More

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I had lunch the other day with my friend Marsha, whose teenage daughter got a job this summer as a hostess at a casual theme restaurant. Marsha, having worked her way through college tending bar, knows the business well. I love her story because it's a reality check.

• Marsha's daughter may represent the "pass through" employees in our industry, but they are the people we trust every day to represent our brands on the front lines. A hostess is the initial "moment of truth" for each and every guest we serve and, more importantly, the first impression for every first-time guest.
• I can't tell you how many comment cards I've read over the years where

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As someone who has been watching Saturday Night Live since the '70s, I know something about brand fatigue. You know, after thirty years, I keep hoping that they will show me something new...and occasionally they do. Last fall, Tina Fey's take on Sarah Palin was just the "new product development" that Saturday Night Live needed. At the time, I had friends who said they didn't know SNL was still on the air until they saw the Thursday night SNL Election News Specials. In case you missed it, here is a sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jukzu_dMuPk.

This past Saturday night, I was surprised by another brand making a new product introduction on SNL: Starbucks launched their new Via instant coffee this past Saturday. Now, in the short term, I'm sure people will focus on cann...Read More

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I met a friend for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory the other day. She was a little late so I had a chance to read the menu. (You know me...always working.)

Usually captivated by the variety of food, I had never noticed The Cheesecake Factory history on the first page before. I loved the chance to read it because I have been a fan for a long, long time--since 1984, to be exact, when I was visiting friends in Beverly Hills.

That first location was a funky little place, half the size that it is now. But my most vivid memory is the massive bakery case and the wonderful array of cheesecakes. Having eaten there again a couple of years ago with the same friend, the core of what I remembered was the same--the...Read More

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With the caveat that "free advice is worth every penny you pay for it," do I have a deal for you.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I will be teaching a hospitality marketing class this fall at The Ohio State University. (I love the whole "back to school" thing. After getting my parking pass and my official faculty ID last Friday, I walked past a practice field where the Ohio State Marching Band was practicing script Ohio. Very exciting. But I digress...)

I'll be teaching Hospitality Marketing 680, which is a case study class for seniors in the Hospitality Management program.  Students will be working on marketing cases for restaurants, hotels and other hospitality venues.

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Why does it come as a surprise every year when sales hit the wall the week after Labor Day? Feel free to disagree with me, but, in my experience, the first week in September is the worst week of the year. I first experienced this years ago when I was with Max & Erma's, and it has proven true for every brand I've worked closely with ever since.

• My first fall in the business, it seemed almost as though someone had pulled the plug on our sales that first week of September. Then every week thereafter sales became stronger and stronger until they regained momentum going into October. It seemed to me at the time that it reflected a fundamental lifestyle shift that people were going through from their summer lifestyles to their autumn lifestyles. And because restaurants support lifestyles, dining out occasions shifted along with the seasons.
• T

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I love the Verizon Wireless commercial where the teenage kids are reprimanding the Baby Boomer parents.

• The scene is the patio. The son says, "Cool it with the Twitter updates."
• The father (talking while texting) texts, "I'm sitting on the patio."
• With an air of exasperation, the son responds, "I know you're sitting on the patio."
• Even nerdy Baby Boom parents are getting on board. (My cousin tried to talk me through getting on Twitter over the phone the other night. I was having a dinner party--otherwise I would be tweeting right now.)

What's my point? The time is now. Don't be afraid. "The only thing to fear is fear itself" and all that stuff. If you haven't already, take the plunge into social media. Everyone is doing it. Believe it or ...Read More

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Last week, I talked to a top industry executive who had just had a business lunch at an upscale Asian restaurant in Chicago. His comment was interesting: "It was good, but by the time I paid $12 for the valet parking, my lunch cost me $50."

My comment to him was, "Have you always included the cost of the valet into your check average?" His answer was, of course, no. He had never done it before. The fact that a CEO of a major corporation (who was probably putting it on his expense account) added the cost of valet parking into his value equation for a business lunch is indicative of a new "Culture of Thrift."

Over a business lunch the next day, the topic also (n...Read More

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As part of the board of the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing Executives Group (MEG), I get to help plan its two conferences a year. We just finalized the agenda for the upcoming fall conference at the Green Valley Ranch in Las Vegas, October 14 through October 16, and it looks great. 

For those of you who don’t know, the MEG conference is an NRA study group where a couple of hundred restaurant marketers, presidents and CEO’s come together to learn the latest in marketing trends, strategies and tactics.

The agenda is the result of a board brainstorming session where we lock ourselves in a room until we come up with a conference that we would want to attend. (OK, we don’t really lock ourselves in the room, but you get the picture.) That’s a pretty big challenge when you’re talking about board members from ...Read More

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