Press Release Courtesy of the National Restaurant Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, November 15, 2010

CONTACT:  Derrek J. Hull (312) 853-2522 dhull@restaurant.org or Annika Stensson (202) 973-3677 astensson@restaurant.org
NRA Show on Twitter and Facebook.

National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show Signs Multi-Year Agreement to Stay at Chicago’s McCormick Place through 2016
A 61-Year Tradition Continues – Bringing More than $600 million in Direct Expenditures to Chicago Over Six Years

(Chicago) The National Restaurant Association was joined today by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and leaders in the city’s convention and hospitality industry in announcing that the annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event will remain in Chicago’s McCormick Place through 2016. After thorough review of options, the National Restaurant Association signed a new five-year agreement with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) and the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau (CCTB).

Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and CEO, delivered the following statement in part at the news conference announcing the future plans of the Association’s annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show:

“The restaurant business has always been, and continues to be, all about warm hospitality, extraordinary service and great taste. Therefore, it is critically important to the National Restaurant Association that we hold our industry’s leading trade show in a location that possesses those characteristics.

“We continue to strongly believe that Chicago, Illinois, is a world-class destination that provides outstanding business facilities, along with sensational culinary, cultural and entertainment assets.

“Our 66,000 attendees and exhibitors from all 50 states and more than 100 countries deserve and expect excellence – and Chicago delivers.

“Along with all that the city of Chicago has to offer, McCormick Place – with the new legislation being implemented – will now provide an exhibitor-friendly, hassle-free and cost-effective facility that makes for an outstanding trade show environment.

“Thank you to Governor Pat Quinn, Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley, Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and others who worked so hard to make the positive changes at McCormick Place a reality.

“The legislation includes many important provisions that will help us grow our trade show – already the Western Hemisphere’s, and arguably the world’s, largest foodservice and hospitality event.

“McCormick Place has made a commitment to enhance its service and value at the NRA Show. Allowing exhibitors the option to undertake a number of tasks they were previously precluded from engaging in, along with decreased foodservice and electrical costs, are among the concrete positive steps that will make the venue highly attractive, and that will place it on a level playing field with other cities.

“We are in a global marketplace with instant communications and intense competition. With that reality as a backdrop, the National Restaurant Association is pleased with the direction the recent legislation has taken, and we encourage labor leaders to continue working to provide an unsurpassed experience to attract an ever greater number of trade show exhibitors from across the United States and around the world to Chicago.

“The continuation of this amazing tradition will bring more that $600 million – that’s in excess of one half of a billion dollars – to Chicago through 2016.”

Read Sweeney’s full remarks.

The annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals. The event attracts tens of thousands of attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 100+ countries, and showcases more products, services, innovative ideas and other growth opportunities than any other industry event. For more information, visit the Show Web site at www.restaurant.org/show.

By Brad Pierce, President Restaurant Equipment World

via The Schechter Report

Nearly 10 years ago, I built the first mobile site in the foodservice industry. While I may have made my mother proud, no one else cared or ever used it. Today, however, the pendulum has made a complete swing. The mobile revolution is here and the time for operators to embrace it is now. Here are a few items to keep in mind during this process.

If you’ve got a walk-in freezer or cooler, it can be difficult to know when to replace it. For most restaurant owners, it probably rarely crosses your mind until something goes wrong and you’re looking for a place to store 6,000 pounds worth of meat. If Lady Gaga isn’t around, you may be out of luck.

In any case, it is a good idea to know what to look for before it happens. First and foremost, walk-ins should be replaced after 15 years of service as a general rule. While your old walk-in may have a few more years of life in it at this point, the efficiency of a new model can be well worth the investment, saving electricity and money in the long run. It goes without saying that if you are constantly repairing it, or if the doors are falling off the hinges, it may be time for a replacement as well. If you think you may want to replace your walk-in freezer or cooler, or just want to look around, feel free to visit our website, www.walkinworld.com.

So what to do with that old walk-in freezer or cooler? Well, I’ve got a few ideas for you. You could always fill it with high-speed explosives and watch it go boom. Make sure you take the proper precautions and get local permits to do so. That stuff packs a punch. You may want to take an ironic approach; get a crane, dip it in liquid nitrogen for about half an hour, then drop it from 100 feet up. Make sure you bring a broom.

In all seriousness, know when to replace your walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer. The earth will thank you, and so may your budget.

By Brad Pierce, President Restaurant Equipment World

Via The Schechter Report

It never ceases to amaze me how much “bad advice” there is out there when it comes out to suggestions about how to improve a web site’s search engine optimization (SEO). Here are three common site development strategies to avoid:

1. Generate Hidden Text: Here’s what has been widely considered a brilliant idea – Developers work to fill their web pages with lots of ‘hidden’ keywords to improve a site’s ranking. They do this by coloring all text the same hue as the background of their web pages. That way, search engines “see” the text, but visitors to the site never know it’s there. That was a quick way to rocket a restaurant’s or foodservice department’s web site to the top position of search engines… back in 2000. Unfortunately, many people still errantly advocate using this development technique. Major search engines have gotten much smarter and now see tricks like this as spamming and will downgrade a site’s ranking rather than upgrade it.

2. Stuff “Meta Tags” With Keywords: Here’s the reality – meta tags are dead. They’re no longer recognized by search engine ranking algorithms, due to spamming techniques that made meta tags too easy to exploit. As a result, inserting meta-keyword tags will no longer help to improve a site’s ranking. However if foodservice operators do choose to use meta tags, don’t stuff them with keywords. Instead, keep the list of keywords to a minimal size and never, ever repeat keywords or phrases multiple times or you’re likely to be labeled as a spammer.

3. Guarantee To Position Sites As #1 On Google, Yahoo Or Bing: Many restaurants and foodservices have been pitched by companies selling search engine optimization services “guaranteed’ to place their web sites in “the #1 position.” If you ever hear this promise again, run! Sure, there are reliable ways to get a site into a number one position, but the results of those techniques are very short lasting and almost always will get a site banned from the search engine for violating their business practice terms. These bans can run anywhere from six months to forever, depending on how sneaky the tricks were the optimization company used to get a site into that coveted #1 position. Overall, It’s simply not worth it. Operators will be much better served by going with a reputable search engine optimization company that doesn’t “guarantee” pie-in-the-sky results.

Now that I’ve shared several common SEO mistakes to avoid, I’ll leave you with the magic key to improving the ranking of your site: Develop strong content. Yes, it really is that simply. Content is king. Build it and they will come (and your site will rank high up in search engines rankings, too!)

With the upcoming holiday season approaching, it is important to keep food safety in mind. No, not just in the context of wearing goggles when destroying things, but also when looking out for the creepy crawly germs. Holidays should be a fun time, not one filled with getting over a cough or fever.

One of the surest ways to keep bacteria away is through keeping food at proper temperatures. This is especially true when cooking poultry, like the almighty turkey at Thanksgiving. The first step toward keeping you and yours safe is to keep the turkey frozen (0ºF or lower) or refrigerated (35º to 40ºF) until you cook it. The “danger zone” is 41º to 135ºF, and the goal is to keep food outside of this zone as much as possible. Why? These are the temperatures in which bacteria love to grow. Yum, I know.

Even after you cook the turkey, there is still the possibility of it growing dangerous bacteria. Never let cooked (or raw, for that matter) turkey stand at room temperature or in ovens at less than 200ºF or in a holding device at less than 135ºF.

Whenever you are cooking a turkey, you should raise the internal temperature to 165ºF to 170ºF in the innermost part of the breast. If you are measuring the temperature in the thigh, it should be 165ºF to 180ºF. Make sure you don’t touch the bones as you put the food thermometer in the deepest part of the muscle. If you choose to not to work too hard this year and decide instead to get a fully cooked turkey meat, make sure the internal temperature is at least 140ºF when re-heated.

When digging your bird out of the fridge on that late-night binge a few days later (don’t worry, everybody does it), reheat it to an internal temperature of 165ºF. Make sure you store the turkey in the fridge at between 35º to 40ºF, and turkey should only be stored at those temperatures for only a couple of days. If you want to store your cooked turkey longer, it can go in the freezer for up to a year afterward. If you have the ability to vacuum bag it, it will help preserve the taste and minimize the chances of freezer burn.

Of course, you may ask “But, how am I supposed to know what all of these temperatures are?” You can always get a good quality thermometer from our sponsor, Restaurant Equipment World, or through their site devoted to products such as those, www.foodsafetyworld.com.

Brad Pierce, President Restaurant Equipment World

via The Schecter Report

I’ve heard the complaint dozens of times, “Social media doesn’t work for my restaurant.” Whenever I hear operators vent about how they’re not achieving the desired results in their social media campaigns, I begin asking a series of questions to determine why they think this online promotional medium is ineffective. Answers typically reveal that operators are either (1) not investing the time to do it correctly or (2) they’re investing the time, but they’re simply posting status updates with specials and other self-serving content.

The first scenario is easy to solve by devoting more time and effort. The second scenario, however, requires more thought by operators about how they’re working with social media. To use an old adage, people don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy. What’s needed is to change the mindset of customers so that they actively want to engage with a foodservice. Then, with luck, they’ll bite.

Let’s look at a real-world interaction in a typical operation: Managers want to sell more desserts to increase check averages. Previously, staff might put a sign on a display table saying “Try Our Pie.” Amongst all the products on the table, the message was often lost. This is similar to how a message gets lost among all the other postings in the social media world people log on to daily. Because the old paper display sign failed, the argument can be made that advertising desserts doesn’t work to drive sales — much like the argument that social media doesn’t work to drive sales.

Here’s how to do it right. Using my example, what if instead of just placing that small sign on the table, staff enhanced it to show a picture, possible a quote or two from customers that the operation serves the best pie they’ve ever had. Do you think that might sell more desserts? Of course you would, but we’re not done yet.

What if customers were talking with one another about how the pie they ate at a facility was the best they’d ever had? That’s the kind of buzz that sends lines of customers coming in the door ready to add pie to their orders. Readers may be thinking that’s just a fictional example, but how do get my customers to talk with friends about what my operation serves? In the real world, you have the benefit of face-to-face interactions to chat directly with customers about how wonderful the pie is and how it comes out steamy hot just like Grandma used to make. In the social media world, however, this “sales pitch” doesn’t translate quite so well.

Instead, operators should quit posting status updates and offers, and begin to engage with customers. Get to know customers, comment on the things they’re doing, the things they care about. In short, don’t try to sell them anything! Build relationships with and get to know customers. Once operators engage with customers, they’ll be the ones who are commenting to others about the great food and desserts they’ve experienced. This is social media working for operators. Bottom line: An effective campaign built upon relationships and engagement, rather than a lackluster one focused on ineffective postings to drive sales.

by Kaila Colbin

Am I the only one who finds it difficult to manage multiple accounts, multiple admins, and multiple campaigns online? Surely not.

Facebook used to live at the inconvenient extreme of making it impossible to remove the originating Page admin, implying that no mere successor admin could ever be trustworthy enough to carry the mantle forward. Now they’ve boomeranged to requiring a nearly saintly level of trust in each and every Page admin, any disgruntled one of whom can remove all the others and destroy your company’s reputation with a few judiciously placed comments and inappropriate pics. Really, Facebook? There’s no middle ground between the power to post a status update and the power to stage an online coup d’etat?

And, while we’re at it, why are Page ads linked to people and not Pages? The whole point of a Page is to give your company an online presence, right? So let me get this straight: if the gal running the ads gets hit by a bus, nobody else can access the ads. (I’m talking AFTER visiting her in the hospital — I’m not completely heartless!) Heck, all she has to do is take a week off and the system grinds to a halt.

Maybe right now you’re all, “No problem, dude; just make a business account.” But no. Technically you’re not allowed to create a business account unless you don’t have a personal profile. So the guy with the business account — the one you’re trusting to manage your Facebook ad presence — is so social-media-savvy that he doesn’t even have a personal profile. And since technically a business account is only supposed to belong to one person, it doesn’t solve the problem anyway.

So the guy with the business account — the one you’re trusting to manage your Facebook ad presence — is so social-media-savvy that he doesn’t even have a personal profile.
Kaila Colbin -
A Little Administrative Rant

At least Google allows multiple admins on AdWords accounts. But what they don’t allow is single administrative access for multiple YouTube accounts. I have a personal one, and four business ones, and for each one I have to remember what unique blimmin’ email/password combo I used for it. Seriously, imagine if this happened in the real world. You’re a freelancer, but you have to use a different name and cell phone for each client. PLUS I have to log out of Gmail so it doesn’t automatically read the stupid cookies and try to be helpful. You’re not helpful, Gmail. You want to be helpful? Give me a Master Admin page on YouTube and let me choose which account to manage.

Speaking of not helpful, try logging into New Twitter, which jovially announces, “Everything in one place!” (The cheerfulness is reminiscent of the excessively happy Eddie the Shipboard Computer from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”: “Hi there. This is Eddie, your shipboard computer, and I’m feeling just great, guys, and I know I’m just going to get a bundle of kicks out of any program you care to run through me.”) The reality, of course, is that “everything” is almost entirely unlike being in one place. If I want to manage multiple Twitter accounts — for, say, personal and professional purposes — I’m going through a third-party app, not logging in and out every time I need to switch persona. Incidentally, the fact that pretty much every third-party app offers this functionality shows that it’s not that hard, is it?

The folks who run these services are collectively some of the brightest people on the planet, and have collectively managed to influence our culture more dramatically over a shorter period of time than perhaps any other group in history, so please don’t take this article as a sign of disrespect. It’s just a plea: Look at us. Look at how we use these services. There are a lot of small things you can do that will make our lives so much easier.

Do you share my frustration? Am I being ridiculous? Let me know either way, in the comments or via @kcolbin. And thank you for putting up with this small interruption.

If you want to connect with us as well as @kcolbin, get us on our Twitter @REWonline.

by Karlene Lukovitz, Media Post Marketing Daily

Wendy’s International, Inc. is rolling out a new series of television and radio commercials targeting the U.S. Hispanic market.

Themed “Sabor de Verdad,” roughly translating to “Real Taste,” the Spanish-language campaign is the first Wendy’s effort from WPP Group’s Miami-based The Bravo Group, which was chosen by the QSR in August as its new Hispanic agency of record.

Timed to coincide with Wendy’s expansion of its 99-cent Everyday Value Menu offerings, the campaign positions Wendy’s as the solution for Hispanic consumers looking to satisfy their “antojos,” or taste cravings, with quality food at affordable prices.

The campaign, which starts Nov. 1 and will run through year-end, will include a series of TV spots airing on national network and cable and local spot TV, plus local radio efforts run at the discretion of individual markets. Some of the television media being employed are Univision, Telefutura, Galavision, Telemundo, mun2, Estrella, TVAztecaAmerica, Discovery en Español, MTVTr3s, Fox Sports en Español and ESPN Deporte. Wendy’s Hispanic media planning and buying continue to be handled by MediaVest and MV42.

The campaign centers on a Hispanic couple, “Cesar and Gabriela.” In the first TV spot, they are seen ordering from the value menu at a Wendy’s drive-through. After Cesar orders a “papapolloguesa,” which Gabriela doesn’t recognize on the menu, it becomes clear that he has combined three products into one: baked potato, Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Double Stack burger.

The current efforts do not include digital/social media support. New Hispanic creative will roll out in 2011, according to Wendy’s and Bravo Group, which is working with Wendy’s general-market agency of record, Kaplan Thaler Group, to ensure that efforts both resonate with Hispanics and are integrated into the brand’s overall marketing and positioning.

“Sabor de Verdad” will serve as a platform for a long-term campaign in which Wendy’s will seek to “build faith” with its growing Hispanic consumer base by delivering on its goal of being “the real choice in fast food,” summed up Wendy’s SVP brand marketing Bob Holtcamp.

Nielsen shows Wendy’s having spent $25 million in major Hispanic media last year and $8 million during first-half 2010, according to Brandweek.

Wendy’s is far from alone: Many QSRs, including Burger King and Carl’s Jr., are beefing up Hispanic marketing. Hispanics have become the most important U.S. demographic growth-driver for restaurants, as well as food and beverage makers, according to Latinum Network market research.

While they are spending more than the general population on food consumed at home, they are also eating out more in both fast-food and full-service restaurants, even as other segments are cutting back on restaurant expenditures. Hispanics also are increasingly likely to eat out during the work day, offering breakfast and lunch opportunities for QSRs and other restaurant formats.

Moreover, Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans tend to originate food and cultural trends subsequently adopted by the general market. This dynamic has caused McDonald’s, which has been running minority-specific marketing campaigns for more than three decades, to employ insights about minority group preferences to help shape menu selections and advertising efforts intended for general-market consumption, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek.