Quick Service Restaurant

Dunkin' Donuts has tapped an agency marketing/advertising veteran to head up its U.S. marketing efforts.   The company appointed Tony Weisman, 57, to the position of U.S. chief marketing officer, effective in late September. He most recently served as the North American CEO of DigitasLBi, a global digital agency network, which has worked on the Dunkin' Donuts account for some six years.   

Those dancing and singing animatronic characters may become a thing of the past at Chuck E. Cheese.   The restaurant chain, famous for its triple combination of pizza, token-operated games and iconic (if now outdated) animatronic shows in which Chuck E. and his robot pals periodically sing and dance, has debuted a more modern look. And there is not a robot in sight.   

The largest restaurant chain in the world has unveiled a tech-savvy, makeover that seeks to reinvent its customer experience for a digital age.  

Baskin-Robbins is making sure its customers get their ice cream fix exactly when they crave it.   On July 6, the quick service company launched a service that enables customers in 22 cities to order ice cream online and have it delivered in under an hour. Through its partnership with DoorDash, Baskin-Robbins shoppers can order a variety of frozen treats — from pre-packed quarts to sundaes — either online or via the DoorDash mobile app. The app is available for Android and iOS devices.     

McDonald’s is leveraging a hot app to encourage teens to join its workforce.   The fast food giant is embarking on an aggressive summer hiring spree that aims to employ 250,000 restaurant employees across more than 14,000 restaurants operating in the United States. Eager to get the attention of millennials — its sweet spot — McDonald’s is taking a new approach.  

The parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins has ended its hunt for a new chief financial officer.    Following a comprehensive search for a permanent CFO, Dunkin’ Brands has promoted Kate Jaspon to the position, effective June 5, 2017. Jaspon was appointed the company’s interim CFO when Paul Carbone left the position in April to become COO at a specialty retail chain. She will report directly to Dunkin' Brands' CEO Nigel Travis.  

There’s a new Facebook icon that users are sure to “like:” a food ordering service.   Rolling out to select users, Facebook’s new “Order Food” option can be found on its navigation menu — both online and mobile app. The service aggregates all supported restaurants together on one page, making it easier for Facebook users to place orders with their favorite restaurants, according to TechCrunch.  

More hungry customers can now get their Big Macs, fries, beverages and desserts delivered right to their door.   As of Wednesday, May 17, McDonald’s is expanding its delivery service to customers in Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus and Phoenix. Through its partnership with UberEats, the company’s “McDelivery” program now encompasses up to 1,000 restaurants in the United States.  

The Harris Poll has released its 29th annual study of America’s top brands, and Kohl’s is one of the retail brands on top.   Kohl’s earned the top position in the department store category of the poll, in which more than 100,000 U.S. consumers assessed more than 4,000 brands across more than 450 categories.    Other retailers named as Brands of the Year included:     Luxury department store: Nordstrom  Off-price: TJ Maxx 

Amazon’s cloud computing platform is helping Dunkin’ Brands has secured its customer-facing processes by moving to the cloud.