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Mark Brandau

Midwest Bureau Chief, Nation’s Restaurant News

Mark Brandau joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 2005 as a desk editor, and since 2008 he has covered marketing and advertising trends for NRN and NRN.com. Following a move to NRN’s Chicago office in 2009, he began covering the largest foodservice chains based in the Midwest, including McDonald’s Corp. and Yum! Brands Inc. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Mark’s Recent activity

Papa John's gets its kicks
Papa John's gets its kicks
Jul 01, 2014
Papa John’s Pizza is out to own every sport called “football” in the world. We all know how valuable the Louisville, Ky.-based chain’s sponsorship of the National Football League in the United...
Paying it forward with training
Paying it forward with training
May 21, 2014
The debate over how much restaurant chains should pay their workers hasn’t really budged for months, but it’s back at the top of the news cycle with another protest demonstration occurring today at...
Waging a different debate
Waging a different debate
Mar 21, 2014
To be honest, as important as the debate over the federal minimum wage is to the country and especially to the restaurant industry, I find it easy to ignore or forget about most days. It always seems to devolve into...
Arby's deft punking at the Grammys
Arby's deft punking at the Grammys
Jan 27, 2014
I missed the Grammys last night, but there’s no way anybody who follows restaurant marketing could have missed all the digital love* Arby’s got this morning on Twitter, with more than 78,000 retweets and 43,000 favor...
Answers out of reach?
Answers out of reach?
Jan 10, 2014
Are Red Lobster and Olive Garden about to try fixing what might not be broken...
The quantified selfie
The quantified selfie
Jan 03, 2014
Restaurant marketers have said goodbye to 2013, but a few of them are carrying forward one of last year’s biggest cultural phenomena into the new year for different promotions. I’m writing, of course, about the self...
BK's Big King is not the A-bomb
BK's Big King is not the A-bomb
Nov 27, 2013
  For weeks, I’ve read and seen reports in the consumer press about “the burger wars” fought among McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. I often cringe because war and battle metaphors seem really inappropriate durin...
OpenTable opening doors for Facebook users
OpenTable opening doors for Facebook users
Sep 04, 2013
  Not every new feature enabled by a smart-phone app speaks to my needs as a Millennial. I’m irrationally skeptical of bank apps that let you deposit a check by taking a picture of it. But Facebook’s recen...
Sticker shock for bd's
Sticker shock for bd's
Jul 24, 2013
  You’ve heard the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the case of bd’s Mongolian Grill, a few pictures may be worth thousands of dollars in additional sales. Over the past two month...
Deficit of good options
Deficit of good options
Jul 18, 2013
  Is McDonald’s “Practical Money Skills Budget Journal” well-meaning, or is it patronizing? Out of touch, or realistic? Providing a bare minimum of personal-finance education, or justifying low wages? The ...
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