This report considers the marketing, promotion and advertising strategies used in the eating out market and will explore the process that allows an eating out organisation to maximise the effectiveness of its marketing budget, thereby achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.

Ultimately these strategies have one core aim, to improve customer satisfaction in order to bolster sales and consumer expenditure. Ideally, the marketing strategy should be one aspect of a wider corporate strategy, which will determine a firm’s engagement with the market. The strategy will consist of a series of tactics that integrate into a cohesive whole. Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive and may be only partly the result of planned, conscious effort.

The more fragmented the media becomes, the more integration is required by advertising and marketing initiatives. At the same time, the traditional mass marketing approach to advertising is becoming less relevant as consumers become savvier about the function of advertising and more aware of being sold to. This begs the question that is central to this report: Is advertising worth the expense?

This report will show that integrated marketing communication is of growing importance, with public relations and promotions increasingly seen as central to the marketing strategy, with advertising playing a role only for a select group of major chains.

In addition, the report offers a unique insight into which factors are the most influential to consumers when deciding where to eat out, as well as gauging quantitative evidence regarding consumers attitudes towards restaurant marketing and promotion. The exclusive primary consumer research was carried out for Mintel by Ipsos Mori amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,056 adults aged 15+ between 31 October and 6 November 2008.

Main report themes:

• How effective is main media advertising in the eating out market and if it is generally seen as ineffective, why is so much invested in it?

• PR is often seen as a very powerful weapon in this market, but how does it compare to main media advertising: can it be a double-edged sword?

• Promotions are increasing in frequency, why is this and how will the recession impact on their usage and nature?

• The internet can be used for advertising, PR and promotions but where do its strengths lie and how is it being used in practice?

• Knowing the customer is rising in importance and the industry has seen the growth in new CRM tools, which are now even open to small outlets: how are these changing the marketing activities of outlets?

• What factors drive consumers to choose one restaurant over another and what implications do these have for eating out marketing?