Report: Digital Marketing Key to Success For Restaurants Connecting with Families, Kids

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Jul 16, 2015, 11:09 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The family demographic is important for restaurant marketers to target. Almost inherently, acceptance by kids strongly influences parent choice in where to dine and parties with kids aged 12 and younger account for almost $18 billion in annual restaurant spending. However, it's often easy to overlook kids as vital consumers of digital marketing. Successful modern day restaurant strategies often leverage digital entertainment to increase brand engagement with kids, according to market research firm Packaged Facts in the report Foodservice Marketing Trends in the U.S.: Technology, Mobile, and Social Media.

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"Indeed, digital entertainment can be leveraged to increase brand engagement with kids. Digital gaming provides the opportunity for restaurant operators to bridge the gap in marketing to the whole family," says David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts.

A good example of digital gaming at restaurants is the Legend Hunters game for Texas Roadhouse. The program features an ongoing story with characters discovering legends such as Blackbeard. A QR code on children's menus activates a downloadable application for their parents' iPhones, smartphones and tablets. Kids can then color scenes from the story with options to email, save, print or upload them to their Facebook pages for family and friends to see.

Restaurants can also use digital entertainment as part of the dining experience.Chili's tabletop tablets offer unlimited games on the tablets for a small fee. In recent years Chili's has claimed that customers at roughly one in 10 tables pay to play during the meal, providing an additional source of revenue and perhaps even a few minutes of distraction in which weary parents can finish their meal.

Providing kid-friendly tablets for families to use at their table is another potential strategy for restaurateurs. Family mobile device company Isabella Products, Inc. launched Fable, the first browser-free tablet for children. The cloud based mobile learning device engages children and allows parents to customize the learning experience. Digital content can be selected from an exclusive collection of handpicked books, apps, games, videos, and projects for creating and sharing.

Restaurant apps for kids also provide the perfect vehicle to build brand loyalty. For example, Dr. Panda's Restaurant allows kids to cook delicious food for the animal guests. Dr. Panda's cookbook has foods from all over the world that kids can make through a series of fun and engaging minigames. Brand placement in existing apps is one opportunity, yet industry players could also consider building similar platforms and integrating them into a brand app.

Other family-related findings from the report show that restaurant-goers with kids are far more likely to use mobile app features and intend to use these aspects in the future. Families are 73% more likely than average to get personalized deals thru mobile apps and 70% more likely to scan a QR code. Likewise, mobile order and pay has a strong incentive among families, as it puts the process in control of families and they can initiate the timing of these activities to coincide with their needs. Restaurant-goers with kids are 56% more likely than average to pay for their order with mobile apps, 57% more apt to place an order for pickup and 61% more likely to place an order for delivery.

For more information or to purchase Foodservice Marketing Trends in the U.S.: Technology, Mobile, and Social Media, please visit http://www.packagedfacts.com/redirect.asp?progid=87659&productid=9105331. A parallel report Retail Food Marketing Trends in the U.S.: Technology, Mobile, and Social Media (June2015; LA5605111) is also available from Packaged Facts at www.packagedfacts.com.

About Packaged Facts – Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at www.PackagedFacts.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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SOURCE Packaged Facts