10 Marketers to Know: Huddle House CMO Marc Butler

Few brands have as rich a history as Huddle House. Founded in 1964, the full-service family restaurant chain has been been a mainstay of breakfast and comfort food across the nation for generations. But that's not to say thing's have changed over time. In 2011, Huddle House revised it branding to keep up with the times, introducing a new logo and a larger restaurant design. Heading up the 400-unit chain's overhaul is Chief Marketing Officer Marc Butler. Coming from an agency background with firms like J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, Butler switched sides when he was recruited by Church's Chicken as Director of Marketing before joining the Huddle House team in 2011. We asked Marc for his take on the current state of marketing and what trends to watch out for within the franchising industry. 1851: How did you get into marketing? Butler: I always had a fascination with advertising agencies. I probably watched too much Bewitched as a kid and thought Darren had a cool job. I just gravitated to advertising in college and ultimately realized I was more of a number cruncher than a creative guy, which lead me to media planning at an advertising agency. I had an epiphany early in my career while working on the Taco Bell business. Most of my counterparts really didn’t like working on restaurant brands. They wanted to work on more exotic brands. I actually loved the restaurant business and identified with the brand because I ate there so much when I was younger. I was fascinated with all the thought and planning that went into convincing people to buy a 49¢ taco. I thought since I identified closely with restaurants and I enjoyed marketing in the food arena I should follow that path and see where it takes me. I’ve been doing it for a little more than 20 years and still genuinely enjoy coming to work every day. How important do you feel the consumer relationship is to franchise development?  I think it’s very important. Investors want to put their money into brands that are appreciated and well respected by customers. That’s one of the real benefits of franchising. You, as a franchisee, are not only buying into the business model and operating system, you are also buying into the credibility and good will of a brand. The brands experiencing the most growth right now are those that not only have sound unit economics, but also have a strong brand appeal. How important is social media for your brand? The first rule of marketing is never to make a decision based on your own personal opinion, but social media has actually become a pretty important part of my life. I’m able to maintain relationships with people I haven’t seen in years and frankly don’t have time to see. Because it’s important to me, it’s important for the brands I frequent to have a presence in social media. This is especially true of restaurants. I feel a much greater connection to restaurants that are active in social media. We initially got into social media to appeal to a younger audience, but actually found the older segment of our customer base wanted to interact with us. We actually have a broad range of ages involved with our social programs. Do you have any tips for franchisees when it comes to local store marketing?  Yes, don’t ever underestimate the power of local store marketing. Always set aside part of your time each week to get out and connect with people in your community. If you are out in the community inviting people to come to your business customers will respond. People love to have a personal connection with a business. They love to be called by name and they love knowing the names of the people who are serving them. Chick-Fil-A has done an outstanding job of getting involved with their communities, particularly with the schools. Develop a relationship with your local schools, churches and neighboring business and you will reap the benefits. Do you feel advertising has shifted? Do you recommend a shift in budget towards digital?  Of course there has been some shifting. TV is still the 800-pound gorilla and probably will be for some time to come. I will always recommend TV for a brand that can afford it, assuming they have a broad footprint and need a broad reaching vehicle. That said, I find I have less and less time to watch TV or read newspapers, but I check my social media sites daily and I’m a frequent user of coupon sites like Groupon, Scoutmob and Half-off Depot. I found some research recently that said 30% of consumers are making their decisions on where to dine based on coupons offered and 20% would leave one brand for another if that restaurant offered a better coupon. With the amount of people that have adopted smart phone technology, digital media gives you the ability to reach that customer almost anywhere and at anytime. In a competitive industry like the restaurant business I think it has to be a part of your media mix.