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QSRs find ROI in free-food prizes
March 16, 2010
Restaurant chains, including a number of quick-service brands, have found the value in offering free food in giveaways or as contest prizes, according to the Wall Street Journal. QSRs especially benefit by including opt-in options to their rewards or e-club programs and again when customers form brand loyalty while using the free gift cards. The winners also typically bring family or friends to dine with them.
QSRs offering free food as contest prizes include:
Subway, Footlong Nation Appreciation promo, giving away free Footlongs for a year along with many other prizes. A new winner is selected every day through April 15, amounting to 71 winners of a $260 gift card. The promo helped the chain add 400,000 customers to its marketing database, according to the story.
Wendy's, Twitter and Facebook Boneless Wings contests. The Twitter contest is offering three $50 gift cards a day until April 4 for fans who complete tweets about the chain's Boneless Wings. The Facebook contest asks fans to post invites to viewing parties for the semi-finals and finals of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, with 100 $50 gift cards up for grabs.
Tim Hortons, annual Roll Up the Rim to Win contest, featuring a chance at 31 million prizes, including one of 40 sport utility vehicles, $10,000 in cash or one of 25,000 $100 Tim Cards. Customers purchase coffee at Tim Hortons and roll up the rim on the cup to reveal the prize.
Other chains, such as Krispy Kreme and Chick-fil-A, regularly reward the first customers at their new store openings with gift cards for food for a year.
From the story:
Giving away free food for a year to 100 people at a restaurant opening costs a national fast-food chain at least $30,000 per opening, says Lori Walderich, principal of IdeaStudio, a marketing company specializing in chain-restaurant marketing and promotion. This includes food costs, security, advertising and other expenses. "It's an inexpensive way to build customer loyalty," she says.
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