In North Olmsted, Ohio, Red Lobster has rolled out new décor, part of an effort to broaden the chain’s appeal.
THE dripping lobster claws and bouncing morsels of fried shrimp are gone, replaced by plates of steaming fish, rice and vegetables.
The restaurant’s new menus put greater emphasis on freshness.
The kitschy fish-shaped tables will gradually be replaced by more natural-looking décor featuring stone and wood. Hamburgers will disappear from the menu, and oldies music will be replaced with a more contemporary mix.
The changes are part of the biggest makeover that the Red Lobster restaurant chain has undertaken in its almost 40 years. Acknowledging that its restaurants are perceived by some people as frumpy and downscale, Red Lobster has embarked on broad changes that are intended to woo wealthier diners — the kind who are less likely to cut back on eating out as gasoline prices rise and home equity falls.
So far the most visible part of the effort is a national television campaign that features healthier-looking fare and a message that emphasizes freshness rather than low prices. Two new spots have dominated prime time this month, carrying the new tagline, “Come see what’s fresh today,” which replaces the longtime slogan, “For the seafood lover in you.”
Kim Lopdrup, president of Red Lobster, says that the marketing initiative is part of a three-stage effort to revamp the brand. The first phase involved improving operations so that customers got what they ordered and did not have to wait too long. The second phase is aimed at changing the public image and perception. The third part will be dedicated to increasing sales at existing restaurants and perhaps adding locations.
“Our vision is to be where America goes for seafood,” Mr. Lopdrup said in a telephone interview. “We are working to become the Toyota of casual dining. They have high quality and among the lowest cost structures, and have been able to offer superior value.”
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Executives at Red Lobster, part of the Darden Restaurants chain (which also includes Olive Garden and other brands), say they are not turning their back on their traditional patrons, whom they refer to as “heartland” customers who are typified by “soccer moms.” Those customers, the executives say, will welcome the culinary and design makeover. The executives said there would be little or no price increase.
A new team of executive chefs will not only reformulate the recipes but also maintain blogs on the company’s Web site about the proper preparation of fresh fish. The restaurants’ new interior design — which has already had its debut in North Olmsted, Ohio, and Inglewood, Calif., and will open in Dallas on Monday — is meant to look sleeker and less cluttered.
The more sophisticated ambience, which is meant to evoke the Maine coast, is reflected in the television commercials. The “Fresh Fish” spot — with the steaming plate of fish — closes with the image of a lighthouse and the squawk of a sea gull. It is appearing on all the main broadcast and cable networks, including TBS, TNT, USA, Lifetime, Food Network, HGTV, Spike and ESPN.
A second commercial promotes what Red Lobster calls the “American Seafood Adventure,” a menu with regional dishes like New England lobster and crab bake and a maple-glazed salmon dish inspired by the Pacific Northwest.
Salli Setta, executive vice president for marketing, said that Red Lobster’s studies have found that seafood is considered the most “crave-able” food among people who dine out.
“Freshness is the single biggest criteria consumers use to judge a seafood restaurant,” she said. And when Red Lobster asked people about their views of the brand, they said they didn’t think the fish was as fresh as it could be.
“That’s a dated perception, given the amount of innovations we’ve made,” Ms. Setta said. “So we stepped back and said, ‘We need to communicate so many points about freshness, culinary ability and quality.’ ”
Asked to define what Red Lobster means by fresh, Ms. Setta responded, “It’s as fresh as anything you’d find in a top-tier seafood restaurant.” The chain delivers fish to its restaurants six days a week.
The new spots are by Red Lobster’s creative agency, the Richards Group of Dallas, which also handles planning for the brand. Zenith Media of New York handles the company’s media buying.
“Freshness is a very difficult concept to convey through electronic media,” said Chuck Schiller, group creative director at the Richards Group. In making the commercials, he said, “every take gets a fresh plate.”
Although the rising steam seen on screen is real, Mr. Schiller revealed one of the secrets of the trade: It is not all coming from the food. Food cinematographers sometimes use a steam iron to improve the effect. “These ads are more invitational, about the culinary expertise that’s the cue to freshness,” he said. “Great seafood merely needs to invite you, not sell you.”
Red Lobster’s annual ad spending is $95 million. The company would not say how much it was spending on its overhaul.
Given its desire to drive customers to its restaurants every night of the week, Red Lobster allocates almost its entire ad budget to television. That is unusual, given the vogue for marketers to shift their budgets away from traditional media toward online outlets.
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Despite some softness in the $70 billion casual dining industry during the first half of the year, Red Lobster’s same-restaurant sales for June were up nearly 7 percent compared with June 2006. Mr. Lopdrup said that summer grilling promotions were a factor.
Malcolm M. Knapp, a food industry consultant who has advised Red Lobster, said promotions like “Shrimpfest,” which has traditionally run in April and May, have helped Red Lobster during certain months but have also led to unevenness in quarterly sales figures. He said that the company’s effort to attract wealthier diners is a good move, given that households with an annual income of more than $70,000 account for half of all food eaten away from home.
“There is no question in my mind that it’s an overdue strategy,” Mr. Knapp said. “They felt they had to get certain things aligned before the big push. It’s absolutely the right strategy.”
Joe Buckley, a restaurant analyst with Bear Stearns, said that Red Lobster has a patchwork of restaurants with “a broad spectrum of looks and feels,” reflecting previous brand-image campaigns. “It’s a brand that’s been around a long time, and the consumer has an established view on what Red Lobster is. To broaden it will take some time,” he said.
Zagat, the restaurant guide publisher, released its first casual dining guide in April, and Red Lobster received “good to very good” scores. But customers said it was “dowdy” and had long lines.
One of Red Lobster’s satisfied customers also illustrates the chain’s biggest challenge. “My wife swears by their fish,” Mr. Knapp said. “She just can’t get her friends to try it.”
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