Sizzler USA Inc. in Mission Viejo is cleverly paddling through a wave of unexpected publicity spurred by a dated commercial that crossed the radar of an Esquire magazine journalist.
Rachel Redhouse, who starred in the video as a little girl, posted it to her YouTube channel in 2012. The four-minute 1991 infomercial for the restaurant chain resurfaced in mainstream media on April 9 when Esquire.com Los Angeles-based reporter Dave Holmes shared the “epic” ad with readers. The link was also picked up by USA Today, The New York Post, E! Online, People Magazine and The Huffington Post, and the video recently amassed over 1.8 million views. The brand’s other commercials average 500 views on its YouTube channel.
The family casual-dining restaurant chain invited consumers to share their photos from the 1990s using the hashtag #1991Sizzler. It also created the Malibu Chicken and Salad Bar special, offered at $19.91, and said it will make a $19,910 contribution to a nonprofit group that focuses on alleviating childhood hunger.
“We’ve been amazed by the response from our loyal guests, but we’ve also learned that a lot of people have an outdated perception of Sizzler,” President and Chief Executive Kerry Kramp said in a statement. “Just like the country, Sizzler has changed a lot in the last 24 years, and we’re a very different restaurant today than some people remember.”
Years ago, for instance, Sizzler dropped the “buffet court” prominently featured in the infomercial.
Sizzler has 140 locations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, of which 123 are franchised and 17 are company owned and operated. The chain had $271.8 million in systemwide sales last year.
Bitcoin at Checkout
Rakuten Inc., an e-commerce company headquartered in Japan, has started accepting bitcoin as payment on its Aliso Viejo-run website, Rakuten.com.
The company is using the digital commerce system from San Francisco-based Bitnet Technologies to process transactions with merchants, which according to the company, will get “guaranteed payment, instant global reach with no cross-border fees, no price volatility, and no fraud, risk or chargebacks, all for a transaction fee less than that of credit cards.”
Rakuten.com offers more than 20 million products in 24 categories through a network of about 5,500 small and large businesses. Its parent company is one of the largest online retailers in Japan and has a market value of about $24.6 billion.
UST at MotoGP
UST Global in Aliso Viejo has signed on as the official information technology provider for the FIM MotoGP World Championship through 2017.
MotoGP holds 18 Grand Prix motorcycling events in 15 countries each season, the first of which kicked off last month in Austin, Texas.
UST is working with Dorna Sports, a Madrid-based sports management, marketing and media company that has owned the MotoGP brand’s commercial and television rights since 1992.
“Our integrated approach to this partnership will catapult our brand globally,” UST Chief Marketing Officer Nikki Arora said in a news release. “This will allow us to showcase our digital capabilities and core services to our clients through [MotoGP] events and, more importantly, create a vehicle for Dorna to foster better fan engagement through our social media analysis platform.”
UST is a privately held company that employs 15,000. It posted 37% revenue growth last year to about $800 million and projects revenue to grow this year by about 23% to nearly $1 billion.
Bits & Pieces
Kia Motors America Inc. luxury ambassador LeBron James is auctioning off his customized Kia K900 sedan, with proceeds to benefit the LeBron James Family Foundation. The vehicle appeared in the Irvine-based automaker’s “Fit for a King” ad campaign. … Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. in Irvine promoted Chris Brull to vice president of marketing. He started at Kawasaki in 2004 as national marketing manager and was promoted to director of marketing in 2009. … Norberto Santana Jr. resigned as the Voice of OC’s editor-in-chief and moved into the role of publisher. Managing Editor David Washburn will become the publication’s editor. … Schuberth North America in Aliso Viejo promoted Mike Talarico to the role of marketing and public relations manager. He had been its technical communications manager since 2010.
