Kal Reasons
December 1, 2023
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) faced unprecedented challenges to adapt to continuing business. Employees were hailed as “essential workers,” while corporate profits ran to an all-time high in a few instances. Some corporations successfully managed their brands throughout this time by maintaining consumer loyalty with consistent service, utilizing collaborations to create new brand referents, and analyzing the long-term brand power after such a devastating event.
QSRs were classified as essential during the pandemic, but to continue operating in many areas, they were forced to reposition their brands to be more hygienic and focused on safety. Formal, sit-in dining was relatively impossible for most people, so utilizing drive-thru sales, implementing effective curbside pickup and delivery options, and refining company policies to increase worker and consumer safety along with modifying menu offerings all were methods attempted to maintain their current brand power and increase equity as a result. This is somewhat off topic, but I when worked at McDonald’s one joke that was ALWAYS made: “People gotta eat.” This is the bottom-line value of QSR for consumers. People will always have to eat, and there will always be a market for affordable food that is made quickly with quality. The implementation of these plans down the line was arguably flawed since many restaurants repeatedly violated the standards set by corporations and officials, which violated trust. However, the statistics show there were consistent sales once things leveled out.
Partnerships and different collaborations also were tactics used heavily. Healthcare workers and first responders saw an incredible amount of support because it was beneficial for maintaining a positive brand image. QSR offered a lot of discounts to these individuals, and they continued to implement these strategies through various social media campaigns and mobile app developments. Delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats quickly aligned themselves with QSR, and it led to a sharp increase in brand power for everyone involved. Different individual testimonials provided a stark look into daily life for the average person during this time and were incredibly popular, but this ended up being yet another trend.
Looking at the numbers, it’s important to see how the reach of individual brands coupled with engagement with campaigns influenced sales. QSR that adapted to new technologies and methods found a much better response on average than brands that were slow in their response. Using brand research tools such as the Likert scale can help tell researchers how likely consumers are to advocate and the equitable valuations for these companies because of their tactics.
Quick Service Restaurants have a stronghold on consumers within the food industry. The survival of individual brands depends greatly on how they position themselves in the market during times of crisis. New technologies, responsive advertising campaigns, and proper analysis of these efforts are just a few ways brands create value and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Sources:
The QSR 50: The Fast-Food Industry's Leading Annual Report | QSR magazine
Long-Term Trends Emerge from COVID-19 Impact on Quick-Service Restaurants, Retail - Woolpert
Marketing basics from Taco Bell's incoming CEO and more takeaways from CREATE: The Experience (restaurantbusinessonline.com)
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