• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 29, 2015

By and large, steakhouses have enjoyed better performance than many other restaurant categories since the recession. 

In 2013, the top 10 U.S. steakhouse chains saw a healthy average sales increase of 7%, according to Technomic.

So it’s not surprising that Outback Steakhouse has been performing better than Carrabba’s and Bonefish Grill for their mutual parent, Bloomin’ Brands.

Outback’s U.S. sales rose from $2.4 billion in 2012 to $2.46 billion in 2013, according to Statistica.com. And continuing Outback’s generally superior results of recent times, Bloomin’ reported that the chain’s U.S. comparable-restaurant sales rose 5% in 2015’s first quarter, versus 1.9% and 0.9% comp-store growth for Carrabba’s and Bonefish Grill, respectively.

Nor is it surprising that Bloomin’ is investing in a major new advertising campaign to maximize Outback’s potential. While Outback, one of the largest casual-dining chains in the industry (nearly 800 U.S. locations and a growing international presence), is a star within Bloomin’, it has come up against faster-growing competitors like Capital Grille in recent times. 

Outback’s new “Bold at Steak” campaign, from Deutsch NY, emphasizes the now nearly 30-year-old chain’s core brand promise: great, affordable steaks. 

The television creative, which debuted during prime time on May 26 in 30- and 15-second formats, features visceral images and sounds to tempt steak lovers, in particular. The first spot introduces a new wood-fire-grilled flat iron steak, showing the meat sizzling on just such a grill; fresh vegetables and herbs get secondary billing. (The chain is also introducing two other new steak items, along with three new “premium” side dishes.)

The ads — which also span print, Web, mobile and social channels, plus in-restaurant materials — feature a new tagline: “Outback Steakhouse. Done Right.”

“Outback invented the concept of serving quality steaks at an affordable price in an unpretentious, relaxed atmosphere, and our guests look to us as the steak authority,” said Outback Steakhouse President Jeff Smith. “With the new campaign, we’re not only celebrating our steak heritage; we're also inspiring our guests to be bold, and to never settle, when it comes to dining.”

The brand’s steak “authority” is being dramatized by urging consumers to sign an online petition to make steak America’s “first official food.” The petition, posted online on May 27, is being promoted on the brand’s social media channels. It was showing under 100 signatures as of late afternoon on May 29.

The campaign also marks a significantly greater emphasis on social media and mobile by Outback. That includes pushing the campaign’s images and messaging out through the brand’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels and most notably, through dedicated ad spending on Instagram. That makes Outback the first casual dining restaurant to launch a campaign on the platform, according to the company.

Outback believes that its Instagram ads, featuring “mouth-watering,” steak-spotlighting photography, will likely yield more sharing and interaction than any other kind of mobile ads, Outback CMO John Schaufelberger told Mobile Commerce Daily.

“We are rotating through sponsored ads for the next several weeks that visualize and reinforce our steak expertise and what makes us the steak authority,” Schaufelberger said. “Each ad showcases a different steak moment, cooking technique or cut.”

The Instagram and overall social media focus of this campaign supports Outback’s mobile ordering initiatives. Last fall, the chain streamlined its reservations and waiting process by introducing a Click Thru Seating feature, available on Outback’s 365 mobile application and online, MCDreported.