Chick-fil-A has a handle on great fast food, good service, enthusiasm about the brand and a winsome advertising campaign. But the chain has spent a good deal of the last couple of years defending the traditional-values advocacy of CEO Dan Cathy, scion of the founder of Chick-fil-A; parrying accusations by the gay-rights community and attempting to come to some accommodation with them.

Now, back to what the brand really wants to be known for: its food and service. As part of a new "transparency push," Advertising Age says Chick-fil-A will offer instant "behind-the-counter" tours to anyone who wants them. And it plans to overhaul its salads and line of chicken wraps to position them as even healthier menu options than before.

The tours are to be offered at Chick-fil-A's 1,700 locations, the magazine said, on an instant basis. That could pose some operational challenges. "It's a nice warm fuzzy, but the challenge is, how are they going to do this if they're in the middle of a hugely busy lunch or dinner hour?" Joel Cohen, a restaurant-marketing consultant, told the magazine.Continue reading...

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Even green beans can be strategic in the continuing struggle by QSR brands to come up with better-for-you options that are appealing to kids and yet acceptable to nutrition scolds.

KFC made green beans the default option in its new Li'l Bucket kids meal, which is joined in the $3.99 package by a Kentucky Grilled Chicken drumstick, an applesauce pouch from GoGo squeeZ and a Capri Sun Roarin' Water. The new repast aimed at kids also appeals to parents with robust infotainment options such as puzzle games that are attached to the bottom of the bucket lid.

"Green beans are one of the more popular green vegetables with kids," Cynthia Koplos, KFC's senior director of marketing, told brandchannel. "They're already available at almost all of our restaurants." Parents also can choose mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese as side items in the Li'l Bucket, in place of green beans.Continue reading...

A sarcastic joke about diarrhea might be one of the first things one would think upon seeing the Twitter hashtag #thankschipotle. 

But no, #thankschipotle was a reaction to the food chain's decision to drop sponsorship of a Utah Boy Scout event due to the organizations stand against gay equality. It seems Chipotle's newest offering is a jumbo sized social conscience, a menu item many are finding deliciously timely. The move also has some lessons for other brands as remaining neutral on gay rights increasingly becomes a non option.

It's true that Chipotle did not exactly come up with this cancelation on its own but instead was more or less shamed into action by progressive activists at Think Progress. On March 19, Think Progress called out Chipotle for violating its own nondiscrimination policy. A day later, Chipotle's desire to stomach a potential backlash led by activists diminished significantly. It announced that it would terminate its sponsorship. It emailed Think Progress, saying, in part, that the brand "believed that terminating the sponsorship and remaining consistent with our policy was the right thing to do."Continue reading...

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It's like staying up too late, watching Jerry Springer or not being nice to your mother: Many Americans don’t exactly feel good about visiting McDonald’s after they’ve done so, but they’re more than likely to do it again.

That’s one interesting conclusion from the latest survey by Consumer Edge Insight of Americans’ ratings of the biggest fast-food brands and the various attributes of their visits to the QSR chains.

McDonald’s placed No. 1 in the firm's latest poll in the category of "good value," with 57 percent. Subway earned 53 percent, and Taco Bell posted 48 percent.

David Decker, president of the research firm, commented on what factors made the grade:Continue reading...

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