Monday, 06/03
6:30 PM Central
7:30 PM ET
Welcome Cocktails
King Terrace (at the Hotel)
Tuesday, 06/04
7:45 AM Central
8:45 AM ET
Coffee Service Available
Canray Foyer
8:00 AM Central
9:00 AM ET
VIP 1:1 Meetings
Canray A
8:30 AM Central
9:30 AM ET
Breakfast Buffet Opens
Canray Foyer
9:15 AM Central
10:15 AM ET
Sponsor Breakfast Presentation
Canray Ballroom BC
9:35 AM Central
10:35 AM ET
Opening Remarks
- MC
- Erin Everhart, Senior Director of Event Programming, MediaPost
9:45 AM Central
10:45 AM ET
Keynote: White Castle’s 103-Year Journey into Craveability
Few QSRs can say they’ve outlived the century. White Castle is one of them, and we have them to thank for pioneering the fast-food hamburger industry.How has this iconic brand still maintained crave-worthy after all this time? CMO Lynn Blashford will share their history of crave advertising and how they’re modernizing their marketing strategy with each new generation – just in time for the 20th anniversary of the cult-classic movie, “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.”
- Keynote
- Lynn Blashford, Chief Marketing Officer, White Castle
10:15 AM Central
11:15 AM ET
Panel: Balancing Brand Marketing and Value Messaging in Your Media
Menu variety and affordability are the top two things customers look for when researching new restaurants, and there are more options than ever for them to choose from. How do we balance our strategy between brand awareness to find new customers and a strong value incentive to convince them to purchase? Our panel shares their learnings on how this comes to life across their menu offerings, creative strategy and media buying.
- Moderator
- Erin Everhart, Senior Director of Event Programming, MediaPost
- PanelistS
- Beth Hardy, VP of Marketing, Modern Market Eatery
- Jami Horowitz Kimbrough, VP of Marketing, Surcheros
- Justin Whitehead, Director of Media, Cicis Pizza
10:40 AM Central
11:40 AM ET
Sponsor Spotlight & Coffee Break
11:10 AM Central
12:10 PM ET
Case Study: Growing Up While Staying Young: How an Iconic 40+ Year Old Brand Evolved Alongside Its Core Customer
Brand awareness has never been an issue for Chuck E. Cheese. As a staple of children's birthday parties with arguably the most famous mouse character for over four decades, most families have spent a Saturday enjoying pizza, games, and shows by Chuck E.'s renowned animatronic band. When the pandemic struck, an entire generation of children missed out on experiencing its unique charm firsthand. Blake Johnson, Senior Director of Brand Marketing, shares how this period was used to rejuvenate the brand. This included updating more than 400 fun centers nationwide, integrating new technology, and introducing fresh family-fun and active play options to cater to the modern child.
- Presenter
- Blake Johnson, Sr Director of Brand Marketing, CEC Entertainment
11:35 AM Central
12:35 PM ET
Panel: Keeping Up with the Evolving Omnichannel Customer Experience
It seems like every day there’s a new way for customers to interact with your brand. The media landscape is constantly changing, the industry is saturated with celebrity endorsements, and good content is more important than ever. How do we adapt our media strategy to reach people at the right time and right place? What opportunities exist for creative efficiencies? What’s going to happen when the third-party cookie finally goes away?
- Moderator
- Teresa Buyikian, QSR Reporter, MediaPost
- PanelistS
- Marquis Duncan, Senior Manager - Social & Activations, Subway
- Cory Hinton, Head of Digital and Social Marketing, 7 Brew
- Joshua Sims, Head of Marketing, Big Chicken
12:00 PM Central
1:00 PM ET
Roundtable: Media Planning in the Attention Economy
- Featuring
- Marquis Duncan, Senior Manager - Social & Activations, Subway
12:00 PM Central
1:00 PM ET
Roundtable: Modernizing Your Marketing Strategy For Gen Z and Beyond
- Featuring
- Lynn Blashford, Chief Marketing Officer, White Castle
12:00 PM Central
1:00 PM ET
Roundtable: Balancing Brand Marketing and Value Messaging
- Featuring
- Justin Whitehead, Director of Media, Cicis Pizza
12:45 PM Central
1:45 PM ET
Sponsor Lunch Presentation
2:00 PM Central
3:00 PM ET
French Quarter Walking Tour & Café du Monde visit
New Orleans Brewery Tour
Axe Throwing
6:30 PM Central
7:30 PM ET
Cocktail Party
Lucy's Restaurant (Meet in Lobby at 6:15pm)
7:30 PM Central
8:30 PM ET
Dinner
Desi Vegas Steakhouse (Shuttle leaves from Lucy's @ 7:30 SHARP)
Wednesday, 06/05
7:45 AM Central
8:45 AM ET
Coffee Service Available
Canray Foyer
8:00 AM Central
9:00 AM ET
VIP 1:1 Meetings
Canray A
8:30 AM Central
9:30 AM ET
Breakfast Buffet Opens
Canray Foyer
9:15 AM Central
10:15 AM ET
Sponsor Breakfast Presentation
Canray Ballroom BC
9:35 AM Central
10:35 AM ET
Notes from the Emcee
- MC
- Erin Everhart, Senior Director of Event Programming, MediaPost
9:45 AM Central
10:45 AM ET
Keynote: Quality Over Quantity | Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s Loyalty Evolution
Loyalty can be a tricky concept when you’re not a brand aimed at driving the lowest price. For Tropical Smoothie Cafe, it means developing a disciplined approach to promotions to drive incrementality and maintain its position as a premium brand. Melissa Cummings, VP of Digital Marketing, will share how they achieved a 50% increase in Tropic Rewards members through stair-stepped, pulsed and gated moments, how they’re sustaining that growth, and how they’re building trust with their franchisee base through disciplined measurement and results sharing.
- Keynote
- Melissa Cummings, VP of Digital Marketing, Tropical Smoothie Cafe
10:15 AM Central
11:15 AM ET
Panel: Crave-Worthy Personalization Tactics for Your Marketing Campaigns
If 2014 was the year of mobile, 2024 is the year of personalization. Customers today want a two-way relationship with brands they do business with, and that starts with relevant, engaging content. Learn hands-on tactics marketers are using to better personalize across channels, including data gathering tips to enhance a customer’s profile, audience segmentation strategies, automated customer journeys, triggered campaigns and more.
- Moderator
- Teresa Buyikian, QSR Reporter, MediaPost
- PanelistS
- Erik Collins, Director of Marketing Technology, Del Taco
- Blake Johnson, Sr Director of Brand Marketing, CEC Entertainment
10:45 AM Central
11:45 AM ET
Sponsor Spotlight & Coffee Break
11:15 AM Central
12:15 PM ET
Case Study: 50 Years Young | Mellow Mushroom's Rebrand & Digital Transformation
Mellow Mushroom had an awareness problem. Their stone-baked pizzas were a fan favorite, but their logo wasn’t recognizable, their digital presence was fractured, and there was little brand consistency across their 163-locations. Enter the brand’s first rebrand. Anne Mejia, Mellow Mushroom's VP of Brand Development, shares how the beloved pizza brand updated its look, digital presence and in-store environment to kick off the brand’s 50th anniversary – and gives us a taste of what’s coming next.
- Presenter
- Anne Mejia, VP of Brand Development, Mellow Mushroom
11:35 AM Central
12:35 PM ET
Fireside Chat: The Right Way To Work With Franchisees
Of all the stakeholders you work with, your franchisees are the most important. Corporate marketing may be responsible for the brand, but franchise owners are the backbone of the business and the closest to the customer. So how do we make this relationship as successful as possible? Join us for a fireside chat with Russ Romeo, Sr Director of Marketing Activations at Checkers/Rally's, to hear how he's optimizing his field marketing team, partnering with his franchisee owners, and activating across the co-ops -- all while keeping a keen eye on profitability.
- Interviewee
- Russ Romeo, Sr Director of Marketing Activations, Checkers/Rally’s
- Interviewer
- Erin Everhart, Senior Director of Event Programming, MediaPost
12:00 PM Central
1:00 PM ET
Roundtable: Building The Best Franchisee/Corporate Relationship
- Featuring
- Jerrod Mitchell, Vice President of Marketing, Flynn Group (Panera Bread + Arby's)
12:00 PM Central
1:00 PM ET
Roundtable: Building Fandoms in the Fast Casual Industry
- Featuring
- Nicole Portwood, CMO, Salad and Go
12:00 PM Central
1:00 PM ET
Roundtable: Loyalty Technique That Drive Customer Frequency
- Featuring
- Sammy Shaffer, Director of Marketing, City Barbeque
12:45 PM Central
1:45 PM ET
Lunch
2:00 PM Central
3:00 PM ET
Manchac Kayak Swamp Tour
Swamp Airboat Tour
Creole Queen Historic Cruise
6:45 PM Central
7:45 PM ET
Cocktail Party
Commander's Palace (Shuttle leaves @ 6:30 SHARP)
Please take note of the dress code for Commander's Palace:
- Business Attire
- Jackets are preferred for gentlemen
- Collared shirts and closed-toed shoes required for gentlemen
- No shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts, sweat shirts or sweat pants
- Jeans are discouraged; ripped jeans are not allowed
7:45 PM Central
8:45 PM ET
Dinner
Commander's Palace
Thursday, 06/06
8:00 AM Central
9:00 AM ET
Breakfast Buffet Opens
Canray Foyer
9:30 AM Central
10:30 AM ET
Q&A: Building Fandoms in the Fast Casual Industry
There is nothing more gratifying than converting the drive-by, one-time purchaser to a loyal, committed customer: a fan. And Nicole Portwood, CMO of Salad and Go, knows a thing or two about building fans. With more than 25 years of experience in CPG, liquor and entertainment marketing – including launching Jennifer Lopez’s cocktail brand Delola — she’s now spearheading the brand that plans to open one new restaurant a week in 2024. Join us for a fireside chat with Nicole to learn how she’s evangelizing her customer base, bringing delicious, affordable and convenient food to all.
- Interviewee
- Nicole Portwood, CMO, Salad and Go
- Interviewer
- Erin Everhart, Senior Director of Event Programming, MediaPost
10:00 AM Central
11:00 AM ET
Panel: Loyalty Strategies for the Price-Sensitive Customer
While the average inflation rate has steadied since its peak in 2022, we’re still grappling with higher prices across the board due to the rising cost of goods. QSR and fast casual marketers turn to loyalty programs to drive acquisition and retention, but how do you craft a sustainable discount strategy, so we’re not in a race to the bottom? And while value is a key decision factor, it’s not the only thing that makes a customer loyal. Join us for an in-depth discussion with loyalty experts from top brands on how they’re rethinking their 2024 programs.
- Moderator
- Sammy Shaffer, Director of Marketing, City Barbeque
- PanelistS
- Jon Asher, CMO, Nekter Juice Bar
- Joanna Bonder, Sr. Director Loyalty and Digital Channel Marketing, Zaxby’s
- Samantha Bryan, Sr. Director of Marketing, Willy’s Mexicana Grill
10:30 AM Central
11:30 AM ET
Summit Concludes
None