The downturn is allowing Cypress-based Real Mex Restaurants Inc. to try out different advertising in preparation for a stepped up push in 2010.
Real Mex, operator of El Torito and other Mexican chains, is doing different combinations of TV, radio, print and direct mail to see what drives people to its restaurants, said Lowell Petrie, chief marketing officer.
From there, the company plans to lock in on what works for 2010, he said.
Real Mex is airing radio and television campaigns for El Torito and its Chevys chain focused on discounted meals and value dishes.
It recently started running commercials in San Diego and Sacramento.
“We’re rolling out stuff in other markets,” Petrie said. “Orange County buys are trailing a bit.”
In Sacramento, the company launched Chevys TV ads on the heels of a radio campaign. In other markets, the chain is focusing on radio and print advertising.
The ability to experiment comes with the cost of advertising being at historical lows during the downturn.
“It’s a buyers’ market and various media companies are willing to deal,” Petrie said.
Even the test advertising Real Mex is doing is more than it used to. The company historically has stuck to direct mailers and discount ads in local newspapers.
“We are doing some major campaigns that the brands have never done before,” Petrie said.
Its other brands, including Acapulco restaurants, will see less robust marketing pushes that still focus on direct mail, newspaper ads and advertising inserts, Petrie said.
The restaurant chain operator use to do much of its marketing internally and now is working with three undisclosed agencies.
The company is in the early phases of looking for an advertising agency of record.
“We are kind of in the first dance steps with agencies to see how that’s going to work out or not,” Petrie said.
Petrie joined Real Mex last month after serving as the vice president of marketing for San Diego-based Daphne’s International LLC, which runs Greek restaurant chain Daphne’s Greek Cafe.
The chain didn’t disclose how much it was spending on the marketing tests.
Freedom Isn’t Free
A Freedom Communications Inc. newspaper in Texas started charging to access its Web site this month, raising the possibility that the Irvine-based company’s other news-papers,including the Orange County Register,could follow suit.
The Valley Morning Star, which covers the border area south of Corpus Christi, is keeping access free for subscribers who receive the print edition seven days a week.
Weekend subscribers and those who don’t get the paper at all have to pay a 75-cent daily subscription fee to view stories on the paper’s Web site. Monthly rates also are available.
The move is part of Freedom’s desire to stem the loss of print advertising revenue as Internet readers of its papers grow.
The Valley Morning Star also wanted to reward print subscribers for their loyalty.
“The days of giving away content, which costs money to create and for which we charge our print subscribers, I think, are just over,” said Tyler Patton, the paper’s publisher, in a release.
Parts of the site will remain free to view, including the home page, national news, obituaries and classified sections.
Patton said his paper would be the first of Freedom’s newspapers to charge, but not the last.
Freedom has been working on a redesigned Web site for the Orange County Register. The redesigned site is set to be the template for Freedom’s other newspapers, according to Doug Bennett, president of Freedom Interactive.
The redesigned Register site is set to debut in September. Freedom executives have said they’d like to charge for access to their largest paper, but it’s unclear if they’ll try and do so as part of the redesign.
Chapman Hires Interactive Shop
Chapman University has been recruiting advertising agencies to help promote the private college in Orange.
In May, Chapman hired the Los Angeles office of New York-based Dentsu America Inc., part of Japan’s Dentsu Inc., to handle marketing for its Brandman University, a business and vocational arm formerly known as Chapman University College.
The Los Angeles shop won the account thanks to its work with vocational school operators Devry Inc. of Illinois and Colorado’s Alta Colleges Inc., which runs Westwood Colleges.
Taco Bell Digital
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., has selected New York-based interactive agency R/GA,part of New York-based Interpublic Group of Cos.,as its lead digital agency. Taco Bell also works with the Irvine office of Chicago-based DraftFCB, which handles the fast food chain’s marketing. R/GA will work with DraftFCB. The review was the first time Taco Bell sought a lead digital agency.
