Spring is a time of renewal, and early into the season several chains have hired new agencies to give their brands a fresh look, and one is reinventing itself with a new identity.
The reasons vary, but they’re a signal that brands, whether young or old, inevitably have to react to changing consumer perceptions and market forces by repositioning to maintain current customer bases and attract new diners.
Pizza Inn, based in The Colony, Texas, named TDA Advertising and Design of Boulder, Colo., as agency of record to reposition the brand, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in July. TDA’s duties include positioning and store design in addition to advertising.
The chain, which has about 335 U.S. and foreign units, saw same-store sales rise during the first two quarters of this year but “we believe there’s a lot more to this brand in terms of opportunity,” said Danny Meisenheimer, vice president of brand management.
“It’s a brand that was built in small towns throughout much of the South and Southeast,” he said. “We want to reconnect to what built the brand.”
Pizza Inn’s strengths are its made-from-scratch pizzas, service, hospitality and community involvement, Meisenheimer said, and “we want to bring those to life” in the chain’s marketing efforts to differentiate from competitors.
Significant repositioning changes will be announced within a month, he said.
When TDA won the account, agency founder Thomas Dooley said Pizza Inn was “asking for big things as part of their brand revitalization.”
Orlando, Fla.-based Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill, which Darden Restaurants Inc. sold to Sun Capital Partners Inc. in December for $80 million, named Push of Orlando its agency of record and is in the early planning stages to reposition its 73 units, an agency spokesman said.
The chain lacked a clear brand identity under Darden’s management, Smokey Bones chief executive Ian Baines said after the sale. Repositioning efforts for the 9-year-old chain are expected to emphasize bold menu flavors, cold drinks and a friendly dining atmosphere.
The 58-unit Islands Restaurants, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, hired Voyage of Santa Monica, Calif., as agency of record earlier this year and launched its first major branding campaign in April.
The “Mainlanders Welcome” campaign includes radio,online and outdoor ads in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Colorado, as well as a redesigned website. Outdoor and radio ads contain lighthearted bits of “Islands wisdom.”
The casual-dining chain, based in Carlsbad, Calif., used a “little bit of everything” in previous marketing campaigns but “lacked a cohesive brand message” for both consumers and employees, said director of marketing Cyndi Darlington.
Islands Restaurants positions itself as a “beach-inspired” gourmet-hamburger chain with a limited menu. The campaign theme focuses on the restaurant as an “attitudinal escape” where diners can enjoy a simple meal in a relaxing atmosphere, said Nat Mundel, owner and a creative director of Voyage.
“Within the four walls of the restaurant, everyone is, or becomes, an islander,” he said. “Out-side of that, everyone is a mainlander.”
The chain’s core customers are 30 to 35 years old, Darlington said, but Islands Restaurants plans to increase its interactive marketing as the campaign progresses to attract younger customers.
The chain is “down in business” because of the economy, but less so than competitors, Darlington said. The campaign will “position us as stronger coming out of this environment,” she added.
San Diego-based Rock-in’ Baja Lobster, a five-unit chain with 44 franchised units in the works, is taking rebranding to a higher level by reinventing itself as Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina.
The chain was founded in 1983 but the original name did not reflect the restaurant’s varied menu, and many people equated “lobster” with “expensive,” founder Rick DiRienzo said.
“We saw the economy take a dump in July of last year,” he said. “The management staff felt we have to do something with the menu to make it more family-oriented and get away from the idea that we’re expensive.”
With the rebranding, “we’re trying to explain what we really are,” he said.
That’s especially important because 60 percent to 70 percent of business comes from tourists, who are unfamiliar with the restaurant, DiRienzo said.
The name change will have little effect on regular customers, he added, who know the restaurant simply as “Rockin’ Baja.”
In addition to the new name, the chain has a new family-oriented website and tagline: “Eat, Drink and Be Baja!”
The chain originally built its reputation on its signature Baja Buckets, which are filled with chicken, beef, pork or seafood. It recently added a line of 10 “Outrageous Tacos” and revamped the fresh-salsa bar.
Customer reaction to the tacos has been “fabulous,” DiRienzo said, because they’re priced between $9.95 and $14.95, lower than the Baja Buckets, which start at $17.95 per person.
“People like to come in and get something for not a lot of money,” he said.