McDonald's McRib . . . It's back!

That's right, it's back . . . McDonald's McRib sandwich returned to restaurants nationwide today.

Historically, it was up to the local franchises to decide if/when they wanted to sell the McRib – except in Germany where interestingly enough it's nearly always available.  However, the last few years McDonald's began running the McRib as a national promotion to great success and has decided to duplicate the event again this year.

Given its cult-like following and the amount of consumer excitement generated every time the McRib is re-released, some people might wonder why McDonald's doesn't just make it available on an everyday basis.

Despite its fanfare, the reality is that the sandwich does not actually sell at a fast enough velocity to justify everyday distribution.  In fact, this year's release date was originally targeted to be October 22, but McDonald's decided to delay the release due to unseasonably warm weather earlier in the fall.  That's right, McRib lovers can blame global warming for the delay.  As it turns out, McDonald's research indicates the McRib sandwich performs best in colder weather and specifically around the holidays, when evidently the appetite for pork is at its highest.

To it's credit, McDonald's has smartly realized it can use the McRib as a limited time only offer to drive traffic.  What began as a small promotion has actually turned into a brilliant marketing strategy where McDonald's effectively creates scarcity to drum up consumer demand and play to consumers' obsession for the sandwich.

And it works!  The proof is in the sandwich as well as in McRib's strong social media following on Facebook, Twitter, and even a consumer created unofficial McRib Locator website, which attempts to identify "possible" sightings of the McRib at McDonald's.

Is the proposed NYC soda ban worth it?

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most respected medical journals in the world, examined the impact of the Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed NYC soda ban.  The soda ban would limit sugar-sweetened beverages to 16oz, essentially banning supersize drinks.

The study suggested that the 62% of all drinks currently consumed at fast food restaurants would be affected by the ban, with the mean caloric intake per beverage ~200 calories today.  The study goes on to suggest that if all these consumers downsized to a 16oz sodas, the average calorie saving per consumer would be ~60 calories per person.

So I have to ask is 60 calories per person worth the effort of the ban and the backlash/outrage associated with it?  Well, yes and no.  Yes, if you assume a person will consume those 60 calories a day every day of the year adding up to 21,900 incremental calories per year.  If you assume there are 3,500 calories per pound, that's over 6 lbs of extra sugar a year in weight, which could have serious health implications over the long-run.  But, no if you assume infrequent consumption.  Net-net, I was surprised the ban only cuts the caloric intake by 60 calories per person on average, but also surprised how quickly just 60 calories a day adds up to real numbers.

Who let the Red Lobsters into the Olive Garden?

Darden Restaurant Inc, the operator of Red Lobster and Olive Garden, has opened three Red Lobster - Olive Garden combined store locations in smaller cities that they believe cannot economically support standalone locations.

As the picture below shows, the locations have two separate entrances entrances and dinning rooms, but reportedly share a bar area, kitchen, and bathrooms. Customers in one dinning room cannot order from the menu of the adjoining restaurant.

On the surface the strategy appears to make strategic sense, reach new customers by creating economies of scale to control costs and deliver incremental revenue.  Nevertheless, I question the overall strategy.  I would argue both restaurant chains have lost they way from their historic brand compasses and now currently suffer from a lack of authenticity.  For example I would venture to guess that many middle class Americans question how fresh the seafood at Red Lobster really is, while Olive Garden is hardly seen as real italian.  The fact that consumer sentiment has drifted from these initial positions is due to business decisions putting profit in front of brand equity.  The two in one concept further plays up the chain aspects of both brands and helps continue diluting their authenticity.  Then there is the old marketing rule that if do two things well enough it means you don't do anything great.

While Yum brands has executed this strategy on many of their fast food and QSR brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers, and Pizza Hut) with a major difference versus Darden's full-service restaurants being that they usually have joint dinning rooms, which enable families to all order different foods and then sit together delivering a benefit for the customer.

Applebee's "it's not a science show"

Give Applebee's credit.  It seem to understand its consumer and isn't trying to convince people it's something its not...For those that haven't seen it, Applebee's recently launched a new set of tv ads creating parodies off of the latest foodie trends - namely farm to table, heirloom, etc - in an effort to connect with their core consumer who are just looking for reliably good food at a good price.


I like the first ad better than the second ad because it hits home harder on the primary benefit that the food is a "good value and taste good" - because that's really why a consumer would choose to go to Applebee's.  Nevertheless, despite the parody, the ads still help portray Applebee's as using fresh ingredients - which is a nice halo benefit.


While I love the drama of the ads and believe they truly hit on relevant consumer insights, I have two concerns with how effective the ads will be in driving traffic. First the parody drama is a bit long, so there is a risk their core consumers may tune out the ad before the core message, and second, there could be strong brand linkage at the end of the ads. 


Overall though, bravo Applebee's, bravo...