Video Voyeur #9: Applebee’s Videos Add Sizzle to the Steak

Posted on Feb 24, 2012 in Social Video, Video Voyeur | 0 comments

By Larry Thomas, Latergy

If you are not one of the million customers who eat every day at America’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar, and even if you are … you may or not be surprised to learn the following – as I have, while working with Latergy partner, DFPR, and their client - Applebee’s:


Applebee’s is the world’s largest casual dining chain, nearly 1900 locations in the United States alone.


They have fed more than a million veterans and active duty military for the past three Veterans Days.


They are the only national restaurant chain with entrees endorsed by Weight Watchers.


Their Under 550 Calories menu offers five ‘real food’ entrees, full portions of steak, chicken and shrimp.

Given the market leader’s value proposition, popularity and position (locations, locations, locations) … the familiar casual dining restaurant would sell whatever they highlight on the menu.

So, it is worth noting – as I did on a recent visit to the Middletown, NJ location – that Applebee’s chooses to focus on the healthy menu options with tasty pictures of full portions, full flavors that certainly do not look like diet food.

See it and hear it to learn more:

 

 

They use video to deliver key message points and tell a story about quality and taste – not sacrifice of flavor or portion – that they hope will make your mouth water and send you to the local Applebbee’s to smell it, feel it and taste it.

By now, I think you received Applebee’s message: This is not diet food! It’s carefully prepared, full portion meals. My message is that the video marketing and PR campaign, which also included a co-op ground media tour and other cross-platform tactics from the chain’s agencies feeds my hunger for visual storytelling.

And, FYI, I had a Reuben and French onion soup with fries. The friendly waiter kept refilling my Coke (Jack Daniel’s was extra:)). I chose not to notice the calorie count. My wife had the U550 sizzling Asian shrimp dish. We both were happy, especially when the check came.

Please share your thoughts.

 

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Larry is president of Latergy, a video services boutique that provides multimedia content strategy, production, distribution and measurement services to professional communicators. Prior to Latergy, Thomas pioneered online video marketing and PR as co-founder and president of PR Newswire’s MultiVu and COO of Medialink Worldwide, a NASDAQ company that was sold to a VC-backed competitor. He lives in NJ with his wife, Sherry Lynn, and their plethora of pups. Contact him at lthomas@Latergy.com.