The NRA Show 2012.

Several of our Roosters attended the May 2012 NRA Show, which brought together more than 61,000 restaurant, food service, and hospitality pros from approximately 100 countries. The Show, which was produced by the National Restaurant Association, gave leaders an opportunity to discuss business profitability drivers while shaping the industries’ futures.

The Big Red Rooster team returned from the Show excited to explore how food service trends will affect our restaurant clients’ operations. The NRA Show gave us opportunities to share our latest drive-thru POV while attending various food service and QSR-focused sessions.  Our associates found particular interest in a panel discussion that uncovered how U.S. veterans can benefit from franchise opportunities.

If you attended the Show, what session and/or topic did you find most beneficial? Be sure to share your thoughts by posting on our Facebook page, mentioning us in a tweet, or sharing in the “comments” section of this post.

Baby Boomers’ social, non-hierarchical, tech-savvy offspring are finally coming of age. They’re graduating from college, landing jobs, buying homes, forming relationships, and having children.

Millennials will be 85 million strong by 2015, making them part of the largest living generation in history. Retailers and brands that want to attract this consumer group must take strides to understand Millennials’ purchasing decisions and shopping behaviors.

The IRDC Roadshow: Millennial Edition aims to help retailers engage and attract Millennial shoppers. The full-day program will take place on Thursday, June 7 at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza.

The Roadshow offers a wide range of presentations, roundtables, networking events, and case study presentations that hone in on Millennials’ wants and needs. Big Red Rooster VP Emily Miller’s presentation will highlight how parenthood affects Millennials’ attitudes, purchase dynamics, and shopping behaviors.

Visit the IRDC website to view the full agenda. Registration information is also available on the IRDC Roadshow site.

We hope to see you there!

Big Red Rooster recently expanded into a new space, which allows us to grow our team and its vast capabilities: all while solving our clients’ multidimensional needs.

We love buildings with rich history, so it’s no surprise that our 398 S. Mill Ave. location is laden with it. Our new office used to be known as The Tempe Hotel, which was built in the 1880s and burned to the ground in 1894. It was rebuilt in 1899 as the Casa Loma and served as an early-day focal point in Tempe’s business district. Today, the three-story building is home to a restaurant, a shoe store, and several companies.

One of our Roosters, Raelynn Pomichter, snapped a few photos to share with you. Don’t be shy: Go ahead and take a quick peek at our new location’s exposed brick walls and quirky decor.

Want to come see our space in person? Need to update your records? Visit our contact page.

Tell us about your first job.

I graduated with an industrial design degree from Pratt. I really wanted to be a painter and a sculptor, but Pratt didn’t offer sculpture classes. I asked, “Where can I learn to weld and cut things?” Everyone said I should study industrial design.

So that’s what I studied, and I loved doing it. I took my first job at a small boutique design business in Detroit. I stayed for a little less than one year due to culture shock (I was a New Yorker.) In that short time, I received a very rounded education. I was a product designer, a graphic designer, and an interior designer. I did a little bit of everything. I always enjoyed (and still do) knowing a little bit about a lot of things.

So how’d you end up working in the brand experience realm?

I lived in New York at a time when there were more jobs than people to fill them. I spent the first decade of my career searching around for what I loved the most. I eventually moved to Boston and became a partner at a 50-person consulting office, which focused on branding. Following this, I spent almost 20 years leading Fitch Worldwide, a global consultancy.

I came to the realization that everything is about the brand. Brand is as big of a word or as little of a word as you want it to be.

At the same time, I also realized that I was more fascinated by the interaction between clients and their consumers than I was by the design process. At that point, I started transitioning from the practice of design to the business of design.

Tell me how Big Red Rooster has evolved since 2002.

My business partner Aaron Spiess and I started Big Red Rooster in 2002 with a simple principle: that anything was possible. It was a mantra we thought would never grow old. We wanted to create a business that had no boundaries: a business that was limitless in connecting companies and consumers.

Early on, we defined our business as a multidimensional brand experience company. Believing that, along with the theory that anything was possible, allowed us to modify, flex, and grow while keeping current. Our goal was to not be self-limiting in how we defined ourselves or how the market defined us.

When we started Big Red Rooster 10 years ago, Facebook, Twitter and smartphones didn’t exist. In some ways, everything has changed in those 10 years. But human beings (who happen to be shoppers, consumers, purchasers, customers, and users) haven’t changed at all. The way they communicate, the speed at which they communicate, and the things they communicate about have modified. But their basic needs, desires, and wants are pretty similar to the ones we’ve had for the last 10,000 years.

What’s the driving force behind creativity?

The future is going to happen. Either we will influence it or it will influence us. The real excitement in life is helping design the future. The past is important because it prepares you for that event, but the future hasn’t been invented yet. Nobody knows for sure what will influence it. You do have to be curious about what will be — it’s the driving force behind creativity.

Some people see a blank page and feel petrified because it can be anything. Others get wildly excited because it could be anything. We’ve populated our company with people who see the blank page as the future yet to be conquered.

What’s your favorite part about your job?

The texture of the many things I get to touch.

I have the luxury of being able to dabble in the things that interest me most. I’ve always been fascinated by our clients’ businesses. And I’ve been equally fascinated by consumer dynamics.  Every day, I get to learn something new about consumer attitudes, learn something new about our clients, give my opinion (which is usually ignored,) and stay young.

Tell me one thing about yourself that may surprise others.

My other great passion is music. As morejellybread, I compose and perform electronic music (or “cosmic fusion,” as I define it.) Music allows me to create without a client.

I also spent a summer as a chef in a French restaurant during my late twenties. Rather than learning to cook in general, I learned to cook 10 dishes really well. Everyone loved the food, but I never learned to cook anything else! The full-time chef eventually came back from France, and my career as a chef was alas over.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

If you are really competitive, you would do better never to compete. If you design your own race and can run it alone, you’ll always win.

This is a world of everyone wanting to be first to be second, but somebody has to be first.

What’s the No. 1 factor that will impact retail in the next five years?

The obvious answer is digital communications. And of equal importance is the tiredness and sameness of existing retail formats.

In order to compete with the kinds of information and entertainment people receive digitally, retail has to provide something truly magical. So in the next five years, retailers are going to have to become magicians rather than just operators. The margin is always in the magic.

Do you have a “dream project” you’d like to work on?

The real challenge is to work on things you don’t dream about working on. If you dream about working on it, you probably have a solution in mind. Working with a client’s set of needs is like going on a voyage. You have a sense of destination, but the route you take to get there is still ill defined. You’re always learning and always challenged.

We’re proud to announce that we received a PRism Award for our “Innovate New Albany” integrated communications campaign, which was created for the City of New Albany.

The Innovate New Albany initiative aimed to leverage the city’s unique assets; inspire creativity, discovery, and commerce among existing businesses; and attract new, like-minded businesses to the community. The one-year campaign exceeded expectations and fueled business growth.

Please join us in congratulating our team and client, the City of New Albany, on their accomplishment!

If you’d like to learn more about the PRism Awards, visit centralohioprsa.org.

You guessed it: Big Red Rooster’s Columbus Office.

The Metropreneur recently visited our historic German Village office for its “At Work” series, which profiles creative Columbus work spaces.

Want a glimpse into our creative, innovative culture? Check out the Metropreneur article or stop by for a tour.

Several Roosters are packing their bags and heading to the NRA Show 2012. The Show, which will be held May 5-8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, brings together 58,000 industry pros from more than 100 countries. It’s produced by the National Restaurant Association.

If you’re heading to the Show and want to connect with our team, email Jen Harbeson. We bet she’ll be willing to give you the scoop on our latest drive-thru brand experience report, too.

Columbus, Ohio April 24, 2012 —Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) take great strides to refresh their brands and redesign interiors. Dining rooms immerse guests in brand experiences, but more than 60 percent of guests prefer to receive fast food through the drive-thru.

Big Red Rooster, a multidimensional brand experience firm with QSR clients such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries, White Castle, Columbus, Ohio-based Piada Italian Street Food and Chicago-based Tom & Eddie’s, identified opportunities to differentiate drive-thru experiences in its latest Point of View (POV) report.

“Although fast food drive-thrus improved operational efficiency over the last four decades, the impersonal, drive-around-back experience remained relatively the same,” Executive Vice President Dan Stanek said. “Big Red Rooster sees the drive-thru as an incredible opportunity to innovate.”

Stanek said reimagining and advancing the drive-thru experience will help QSRs connect with guests and build loyalty.

Opportunities highlighted in Big Red Rooster’s POV include:

Meeting guests’ personalization needs

• Minimizing visual barriers between drive-thru guests and staff creates opportunities for face-to-face interaction. Incorporating video will increase engagement and humanize the experience.
• Open-view windows give drive-thru guests a better look inside. Allowing them to see signs of life, such as the cook staff in action, builds trust.
• Smartphone technology can enable preorder/prepay capabilities, support loyalty programs and store menu preferences, creating a customized experience.

Catering to the mobile (in-car) dining experience

• On-the-go drive-thru guests prefer to stay in their automobiles and get back on the road. Auto-friendly packaging, such as lap trays or containers that fit into standard cup holders, makes unwrapping, securing and eating food easier.
• QSRs can retain guests through designated “park and eat” spaces. Extending WiFi into the parking lot, providing a branded radio station or offering guest-controlled television screens enhance the experience.
• A vending machine filled with on-the-go items, such as stain removers or gum, showcases that restaurants understand mobile diners’ needs.

Shifting for societal changes

• Urban living will gain traction as Baby Boomers downsize from suburban homes and gravitate toward walkable communities. Walk-up windows can accommodate on-the-go walking and biking guests, and bike racks provide added convenience.
• As the population develops strong commitments to sustainable lifestyles, the idea of what constitutes a good neighborhood changes. QSRs can communicate neighborhood involvement through an electronic bulletin board. This board could announce community events and promote wellness programs.
• Providing electric car charging stations and placing recycling receptacles along the drive-thru path highlight environmental consciousness.

“QSRs need to evaluate their drive-thru experiences and create touchpoints that support their brands,” Stanek said. “Drive-thru solutions can be as varied and unique as the QSRs that choose to pull forward.”

Visit bigredrooster.com to view the full report.

About Big Red Rooster

Founded in 2002 by Martin Beck and Aaron Spiess, Big Red Rooster is a multidimensional brand experience firm that creates the touchpoints, environments, communications, products and services of tomorrow.  With offices in Columbus, Atlanta, Boston and Phoenix, our global client roster includes world-class brands such as The Home Depot, American Express, Jack Daniel’s, Wrigley, SC Johnson, Office Depot and Nike.

Contact:  Vicki Eickelberger, (614) 255-0200 veickelberger@bigredrooster.com

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Big Red Rooster partnered with Convenience Store Decisions, Convevo Partners, Bill Reilly of F&B Marketing Solutions, MSA, and Paradigm Sample for the 2012 Extreme Makeover: Foodservice Edition contest.

The winner, which will be announced in Convenience Store Decisions’ June 2012 issue, receives a complete foodservice makeover. The winning company and its new foodservice image will be showcased at the 2012 NACS Show, too.

Interested participants must complete this 14-question survey by May 11. Contest rules can be found on CSD’s website. 

Miami, Fla.-based Tom Thumb Food Stores won Convenience Store Decisions' 2011 contest. The chain received an extreme brand makeover.

Columbus, Ohio March 28, 2012 —Big Red Rooster, a multidimensional brand experience firm that creates the touchpoints, environments, communications, products and services of tomorrow, announced 10 new hires across its Atlanta, Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio offices today.

Atlanta Office hires include:

• In his role as project manager and architect, Michael Hallisey, AIA, manages architectural projects for Big Red Rooster’s quick-service restaurant (QSR) clients. Hallisey previously worked as a site-adapt architect for Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds in Birmingham, Ala.

• Senior Graphic Designer Brandon Luther uses a strategic approach to develop highly innovative, creative visual communication solutions. Before joining Rooster, Luther held a senior art position at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

• Sarah Zamorski joined Big Red Rooster as an onsite packaging coordinator. In her new role, Zamorski manages packaging projects among Big Red Rooster’s offices. She previously held a project coordinator position at Phase 3 Media in Atlanta.

Columbus Office hires include:

• Creative Manager Clancy Boyer aligns brand expression with business objectives, driving innovative strategies and creating connections between people and ideas. Before joining Big Red Rooster’s team, Boyer held a senior design position at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati.

• Senior Strategist Julie Campitelli utilizes qualitative and quantitative methodologies to uncover shopper/consumer insights, driving clients’ conversion and growth. Campitelli previously held a senior project director position at SmartRevenue.

• Katherine Kline joined Big Red Rooster as a senior designer. She brings more than 15 years of global design expertise to the firm, creating unique environments and solving problems through a customer experience perspective. Before joining Big Red Rooster, Kline worked at Ralph Appelbaum & Associates in New York City.

Rooster, which continues to expand its architectural services function, also welcomed four CAD technicians to its growing Phoenix team. In their new roles, Danny Gonzales, Landon Newingham, Stephanie Piegzik and Michael Stainton prepare technical drawings and plans for Big Red Rooster’s client projects.

About Big Red Rooster

Founded in 2002 by Martin Beck and Aaron Spiess, Big Red Rooster is a multidimensional brand experience firm that creates the touchpoints, environments, communications, products and services of tomorrow.  With offices in Columbus, Atlanta, Boston and Phoenix, our global client roster includes world-class brands such as The Home Depot, American Express, Jack Daniel’s, Wrigley, SC Johnson, Office Depot and Nike.

Contact: Vicki Eickelberger
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