Financing

A deep look at Chili's marketing

A Deeper Dive: Brinker International CMO George Felix joins the restaurant finance podcast to talk about social media marketing and getting customers interested in casual dining again.

How does Chili’s keep doing this?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business finance podcast A Deeper Dive features George Felix, the chief marketing officer for Chili’s parent company Brinker International.

We spoke with Felix at the Restaurant Leadership Conference. We wanted to talk about Chili’s marketing, and how it’s taken advantage of social media to draw attention to the brand. The chain’s same-store sales have increased more than 31% each of the past two quarters despite a brutal market for full-service chains.

Felix talks about the way Chili’s took advantage of consumer frustration over high fast-food prices and he details the company’s thinking as it elevated one of its long-time offers. 

He also talks about social media in general and how the company recognized consumer affinity for cheese pulls. And he talks about the company’s Lifetime movie.

We’re talking Chili’s and marketing on A Deeper Dive so check it out.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Consumer Trends

Can Chipotle get its higher-income diners to stick around?

Retail watch: The fast-casual burrito chain can take some lessons from discount retailers that have also seen an influx of wealthier consumers.

Financing

McDonald's takes a victory lap on value

The Bottom Line: The fast-food giant argued that its value push helped it win over lower-income customers and it expects franchisees to maintain the company’s low-priced reputation.

Food

Sweetfin cooks up new warm bowls

Behind the Menu: The fast-casual poké concept pivoted from an all-raw menu without losing focus on flavor, scratch prep and its California-Asian pedigree.

Trending

More from our partners