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Marketing Bites

 

The weekly column from Managing Editor Heather Lalley, looking at the restaurant industry's latest marketing gimmicks, trends and campaigns. 

Marketing

Drops become restaurant chains' new loyalty program incentive

By Alicia Kelso on May 14, 2026

Marketing Bites: Taco Bell perfected the feature with its Taco Tuesday Drops, and several other brands have since added their own version, offering everything from merch to free food.

Marketing

Raising a toast to the Mother’s Day traffic rush

By Alicia Kelso on May 06, 2026

Marketing Bites: The holiday is traditionally the busiest day of the year for restaurants, and the industry could use the bump.

Marketing

Domino’s provides a do-over after ordering glitch

By Alicia Kelso on Apr. 28, 2026

Marketing Bites: A third-party tech issue disrupted Friday night business, but the chain is extending the promotion to make up for it.

Marketing

Restaurant chains meet the high-protein demand with light lifting

By Alicia Kelso on Apr. 24, 2026

Marketing Bites: Brands like Chipotle, El Pollo Loco and Shake Shack are simply reconfiguring already existing items, while McDonald’s has added menu callouts.

Marketing

Chili’s tries to catch lightning in a bottle again with chicken sandwich campaign

By Alicia Kelso on Apr. 16, 2026

Marketing Bites: Like it did with its Big QP burger launch last year, the casual-dining chain is once again going after fast food’s value perception.

Marketing

$10 is now the restaurant-pricing sweet spot

By Heather Lalley on Oct. 01, 2025

Marketing Bites: And fast-casual chains have become a casualty as a value war between fast food and full service intensifies, data shows.

Marketing

Papa Murphy’s tests a cautious return of $10 Tuesdays

By Heather Lalley on Aug. 06, 2025

Marketing Bites: For years, the take-and-bake pizza chain found success with the deal, until prices crept up. Now, it’s careful not to repeat Subway’s $5 Footlong playbook.

Marketing

For restaurants right now, a value deluge

By Heather Lalley on Jul. 17, 2025

Marketing Bites: It’s a season of marketing creativity as operators from Taco Bell to Planet Hollywood look to position themselves as bastions for budget-minded diners.

Marketing

From Portillo’s to indies, restaurant chains serve up divine marketing to cash in on Chicago-born pope

By Heather Lalley on May 10, 2025

Marketing Bites: With the memes flowing like holy water, restaurants specializing in Italian Beef, pizza and more craft some real-time marketing miracles.

Marketing

Little Caesars spoofs reality TV with ‘Pretzel Crust Island’

By Heather Lalley on Apr. 30, 2025

Marketing Bites: The “Survivor”-esque parody has racked up millions of YouTube views, with contestants vying for one of the fast-food pizza chain’s returning pretzel crust pies.

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