Limited-time offers have increasingly become a lever for restaurant brands to pull to attract consumers’ attention even as they continue to tighten their belts. Indeed, LTOs have increased 157% since 2019 with no signs of slowing in sight, according to Technomic.
During a session at last week’s National Restaurant Association Show facilitated by Technomic Managing Principal Joe Pawlak, Lettuce Entertain You Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Bell, Applebee’s Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Chin and Whataburger CEO Debbie Stroud shared how their respective concepts are responding to consumers heightening expectations for more new news. And though those three concepts are wildly different — a multibrand company, a casual-dining chain and a fast-food burger concept, respectively — their approaches all center on consumer feedback.
Lettuce Entertain You
Bell has been with Lettuce in some capacity since at least 2008, eventually moving into the CMO role in 2019, overseeing the Chicago-based company’s marketing function across more than 120 restaurants and 60 brands across the country. Juggling such disparate concepts can be a challenge, but she also considers it a strength to be able to offer everything from a quick-service experience to a Michelin-starred restaurant.
“What we try to do is connect to our customers with this distinct variety. Our loyalty program has been around since 1982 and you get rewards at any of our locations, and it's building emotional connection and engagement with the customer,” she said. “We see them as coming into a place where they’re going to celebrate all of their special moments and they’re also connected with our food, service and atmosphere.”
Bell said much of the innovation coming from the company focuses on that robust loyalty program, with features like gamification. Lettuce, for instance, runs a promotion every year called “Scratch Off,” which reveals a mobile offer that provides the opportunity to try new restaurants within its portfolio. The LTO promotion eliminated the need for paper coupons.
“The customer activates it, attaches it to their account, so the server just processes things as normal. I encourage you to think about how to make things better for your teams and little, tiny things go a long way,” she said.
Her favorite LTO, however, is a gift card promotion that can be redeemed at all of Lettuce’s brands and includes a buy-$100-get-$25 free.
“There is creativity with how to do it better, more thoughtful, and it’s always around a moment,” Bell said. “I had a founding partner who told me, ‘once you lose your reputation, it’s very difficult to get it back,’ and I think about that every time we do marketing. Is this who we are?”
That also means Lettuce rarely launches menu-based LTOs.
“It’s not what we’re going for because we have this loyalty program,” Bell said. “When we put the customer in control, it’s an opportunity for us to really take care of you as the guest, but it doesn't feel like an offer. It feels like we're celebrating together.”
Applebee’s
For Applebee’s, menu LTOs are very important, Chin said, and the company looks at them through three lenses — driving everyday value, driving disruption and incremental traffic, and celebrating the seasons. Consumers today, Chin added, are more sophisticated and want a “flavor journey.”
“They’re looking for bold, American comfort food — the burgers, sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, appetizers are important. We focus a lot of LTOs in our beverage space, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic,” she said.
That’s not to say the LTO pace is rapid at Applebee’s, however.
“If you're an establishment that might be more of a destination on a special occasion moment, then your LTOs probably are a little bit less frequent, because your guest is coming in perhaps once a month, twice a quarter, and you want to make sure that that LTO stays long enough so that they experience it, and hopefully come back a second time before it's gone,” Chin said.
To make sure an LTO hits on the “everyday value” goal, the chain looks at not only affordability, but also abundance and quality. Applebee’s 2 for $25 menu, brought back last year, allows the chain to regularly roll in LTOs, for example.
“We also take a look at dayparts. We are open quite late where people are coming in for beverages, half-price apps, and it's a good way to bring in a newer generation that's looking for abundance, looking for it in a value standpoint, experiencing something new for the first time,” Chin said.
In addition to affordability, abundance and quality, Chin said Applebee’s also prioritizes feasibility from both an operational and profitability standpoint. Its recent O-M-Cheeseburger launched in January was meant to be an LTO, for example, but proved to be popular enough to earn a spot on the core menu.
“For our culinary team, it's important that they have the opportunity to be creative, to think about what is possible, and then scale it back to something that's commercially viable. How do you partner with operations so if we're adding an extra ingredient or adding an extra step, is it really going to drive the business, because if it doesn't, it's going to cause challenges in the back of house,” Chin said. “The guests rule at the end of the day. It’s important to understand your guests, what motivates them, why they’re choosing you. That’s fundamentally key.”
Whataburger
Whataburger also heavily leans into consumer feedback to understand what could resonate as an LTO, including an occasional throwback item.
“It’s no longer calendar driven, it's really about the patterns that you might have as a consumer and what interests you. It’s competitive, but staying true to your brand and really providing the taste and the experience that you want people to have at your brand is key,” Stroud said.
Stroud said it’s important to keep a firm pulse on consumer trends as well. Whataburger is thinking about entering snack-size categories, for instance.
“I need protein to fuel my day, there's the morning meal occasion and it's also sometimes a little bit of fun and indulgence, and I want to treat myself,” she said. “Those are the categories that we pay attention to. LTOs are a great way to try some things out.”
That said, the core menu will always be the heart of the brand, Stroud said, but added LTOs can effectively drive new guests into the door.
“We’re in the restaurant business. We love food. We love beverages and oftentimes when we offer a new bacon burger, it doesn’t detract from our burger line, it actually enhances it,” she said.
Sometimes those enhancements may even earn a permanent spot on the core menu. Even if they don’t, they’ll most certainly provide a learning experience.
“I remain open to what an LTO might do and how we learn from that. What are consumers’ preferences, how do they talk about it after it goes away?” Stroud said. “For the ones that didn’t hit the targets, what can you learn? If you haven’t pressed the edges, then perhaps you haven’t gone far enough. But know your brand. It’s important that you’re authentic to who you are so customers can experience your brand holistically.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at Alicia.Kelso@informa.com
Follow her on TikTok: @aliciakelso
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