* This article is from the Oct/Nov issue of Fast Casual magazine. Click here to subscribe.
To talk about marketing the fast-casual concept to males is rather baffling to Bill Guilfoyle. As an associate professor at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., he hasn't noticed this phenomenon on a mass-marketing basis.
"I'm curious where you got this from," he says. "It's interesting."
That puts regional chains like Atlanta-based Wing Zone and Tulsa-Oklahoma's Coney Beach at the forefront of a new movement.
Why the fast-casual market should to appeal to young males between the ages of 21 and 34 isn't mysterious. Guilfoyle said this demographic consumes 88 percent of the beer in this country, and accounts for 60 percent of fast-food sales.
"If they can get even a small percentage to switch over to fast casual occasionally, they will be in good shape," he said.
Male Appeal
Since the days of Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King, researchers have documented that women purchase or influence the purchase of more than 80 percent of all products and services in the United States. College professors and marketing MBAs have studied women's buying habits and have written millions of words reporting their findings. And they've come to a nearly unanimous proclamation: Men are easier to sell.
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But that doesn't automatically wrap up the topic with a nice, neat bow.
Scientists, too, have data to throw on the fire. They've discovered that women are more likely to have the thick tissue between both sides of their brains connected, as opposed to men. That means communication between both sides of the brain travels more quickly for women, who have hundreds of thousands of more electrical impulses than men.
So, certainly, a sexy picture in a brand's advertising campaign speaks a thousand words to the males within reach, whose tendencies to single-minded focus mean they likely never will read the copy. That's precisely why Wing Zone picks a particular campaign and hammers it exclusively during a season – complete with pictures that show just how large their hot wings are.
"Guys don't want tiny bar wings, 14 to a pound," said David Kaiser, Wing Zone's vice president of operations. "We don't play games where 10 is a small portion and 12 is large, either."
Wing Zone also ties its promotions almost exclusively to sports events: Super Bowl, Final Four, tailgating.
The Old College Try
Guilfoyle holds up Burger King as the reigning advertising champ for the male market. Thanks, in part, to its king character.
"The king is catching a football at the football game. What could be more male than that?" he pointed out.
Male humor, such as pushing a van off a bridge, also is a slam dunk to imitate.
But there's one major ingredient QSRs have in their successful advertising recipe that few fast casuals can duplicate: unhealthy food.
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The fast-food market pays homage to this basic trait without qualms, naming their burgers Big Mac, Whopper, and Fat Burger. Some even brag that "we're not eating vegetables here." And they're raking in the profits from the message.
It's the antithesis to what a majority of fast-casual restaurants stand for, but Coney Beach, owned by Beautiful Brands International, is willing to give it a shot.
Coney Beach combines a trendy, retro beach boardwalk interior with menu items like all-beef natural casing hot dogs, gourmet Black Angus hamburgers and loaded fries.
"The menu is the main reason guests will love Coney Beach," said Beautiful Brands founder and president, David Rutkauskas. "There's no doubt the market is ripe for a gourmet hot dog and burger restaurant."
Likewise, Wing Zone offers 8-ounce burgers to tempt its male market. "You'll be full when you finish this one," Kaiser said. "It can satisfy a guy."
And, of course, it doesn't get much more masculine than hot wings. Although the restaurant's demographics show a 50/50 split between men and women diners, 60 percent of those orders are for delivery, so Kaiser suspects the man wants wings but the woman calls in the order.
Wing Zone recently began to offer a packaging tray that doubles as a trash can for the bones. It was invented by two guys and appealed to the restaurant's male founders, Matt Friedman and Adam Scott. They made sure to give it a masculine name as well: SnacDaddy.
But Guilfoyle had just one warning: These restaurants need to ensure they have a separate message for women, too. "You can't do one campaign that's appropriate for both males and females – you need to send very different messages to both," he noted. "They are just very different in how they shop."
