• by Mike Bloxham , Op-Ed Contributor, September 27, 2012

How to influence the millions of people that flock to a quick-service restaurant (QSR) for a burger, a slice of pizza, some fried chicken or anything else on offer during the weekday lunch break?

It’s a questions that has literally billions of dollars attached to it in any given week. This analysis of USA TouchPoints that examines adults 18-64 who visit a QSR between 12pm-2pm on a weekday makes it clear which media offer the greatest potential to reach consumers in late morning consideration window.

• Perhaps the most notable take-away from the analysis is the extent to which all the media included returned to the same or similar levels of reach before and after the lunchtime period. That suggests the QSR represents a break in behavior, rather than a point at which behavior thereafter changes. People go back to work; they continue shopping or running errands and so on.

• There is a significant gap -- that is maintained before and after lunch -- between the three media delivering the greatest reach 18-64s. Computers can be assumed to relate heavily to workplace use, Radio to use driving to and from the QSR and also among those shopping or running errands in the late morning and the Mobile Phone is probably accounted for
by a combination of both work and people running errands.

• Clearly, the Computer, Radio and the Mobile Phone would be the media of choice for reaching these customers-to-be in the hour or so before they make their final choice. The extent to which these same media dominate after lunch would suggest they hold potential for some kind of communication based less on influencing imminent purchase than
building the brand consumer relationship and brand preference -- possibly through social media, an app or an on-air promotion.