Wendy's, Applebee's further promo trend of guests as menu R&D allies

Nation's Restaurant News, June 25, 2007 by Gregg Cebrzynski

Restaurant chains already have tried to bring their brands closer to customers by getting them involved in consumer-created ads, and now more chains are trying to forge even stronger relationships with diners by asking them to create new menu items.

Wendy's and Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill this month were the latest to launch contests that ask customers to develop recipes for dishes that would be offered for at least a limited time on their menus. Both chains are looking for new burgers.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits already is selling a customer-created item called Montgomery's Spicy Asian Burger, developed by the winner of the casual-dining chain's "The Next Gourmet Burger Kids Contest."

Dairy Queen created the Cotton Candy Blizzard treat in 2003 from ideas it received from a panel of 8- to 12-year-old kids, and Friendly Ice Cream Corp.'s "Fab 50" kids' committee helps the Friendly's chain develop new products.

"I think this is a new marketing trend," said Jerry McVety, president of McVety & Associates Inc., a foodservice and restaurant consulting firm in Farmington Hills, Mich. "This is more than just advertising. This brings the product closer--literally--to the consumers."

It's also a creative twist on standard promotions, which is useful when a brand is trying to differentiate itself from competitors, he said.

"In this day and age, you have to look for a new schtick," McVety said.

Wendy's has launched a 25city "taste tour in North America and debuted a special website as it seeks customer-inspired flavor profiles for a new burger.

Consumers who visit the site can choose from 54 ingredients, 13 cheeses and 20 condiments in an interactive online session during which contestants graphically construct their ideal burger or other kind of sandwich--pulled pork is an option by itself or as a burger topping--for the "Build Wendy's New Burger" contest. The winner will receive $25,000, and his or her burger has a chance to become part of the Wendy's menu.

The promotion, which includes several other online components, is a strategic milestone for Wendy's because it will "give thousands of consumers the opportunity to more deeply interact with our brand and personalize their Wendy's experience," said Ian Rowden, chief mar keting officer for the Dublin, Ohiobased chain, which has more than 6,600 units.

The nearly 2,000-unit Applebee's, based in Overland Park, Kan., wants consumers to compete in its "Big Burger Showdown" contest and create a burger that the chain will add to its menu next year. The winner also will receive $5,000.

The contest is part of the chain's multiplatform campaign with the Food Network, whose website is the online portal for Showdown contestants. The winning burger will be chosen by chef Tyler Florence, a Food Network star and an Applebee's ad spokesman who has created exclusive menu items for the chain.

Although chains that seek new-product ideas from consumers view their efforts as brand-build ing and sales-boosting tactics, marketing consultant and educator Len Kornblau sees a downside.

"I think it points to perhaps some weakness in product devel opment, and in advertising and marketing," Kornblau said, "because it says, 'Our productdevelopment people are not coming up with new ideas or new ideas that people are interested in.'"

Yet Kornblau acknowledged that consumers would enjoy creating a burger and basking in "their 15 minutes of fame" by seeing it featured on the menu. And the local restaurant could enjoy some good publicity when the winner brings friends and neighbors along to try the burger, he said. And since restaurants are try ing to get diners to eat out more often, they might as well serve food made with recipes that consumers have enjoyed at home, Kornblau said.

Inviting customers to create a menu item is like hosting a "restaurant reality show" that gets them engaged in the brand, said Kim McBee, vice president of marketing for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc., based in Greenwood Village, Colo.

The 350-unit chain's burger contest earlier this year attracted more than 16,000 entries and revealed a lot of food trends that the chain's research and development department could use for creating other new products, she said.

"We saw everything you can think of," McBee said, including burgers with Greek, Mexican and Italian flavor profiles as well as a macaroni-and-cheese burger.

The grand-prize-winning burger, named for its 9-year-old creator Adrianna Montgomery, contains hamburger, teriyaki sauce, Napa cabbage, sesame seeds and creamy ginger-wasabi sauce. It will be on the menu through July 15 and will be a featured offering in all Red Robin restaurants.

The contest also has an altruistic side. Fifty-six contest recipes are included in a cookbook that Red Robin is selling to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The benefit to Red Robin is that the winners will always remember ROd Robin, McBee said, and "we're looking to get them as customers for the rest of their lives."