Swap for traditional marketing
Bruce Anderson, owner of a Burger 21 franchise in Latham, N.Y., pulls his restaurant’s charitable contributions from its marketing budget, adding it as a line item on the yearly P&L.
On the 21st of each month, his and other Burger 21 locations donate 10% of that day’s sales to an organization that rotates monthly. Anderson figures the uptick in incremental sales, 10%-15%, offsets the donation and makes it a neutral proposition.
“If I can spend my dollars and help an organization in my community, and it helps me get a hamburger in someone’s hands, that’s better than a TV or radio ad,” he says. To get that traffic—which helps protect against a big loss for the day—Anderson partners with an organization that’s already in Burger 21’s target demographic; charity nights with the local high school or nearby college are big wins.