The Opportunity:
CKE Restaurants incorporates four quick-service restaurant (QSR) concepts including Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., Green Burrito, and Red Burrito, which make up a network of franchised and company owned locations totaling about 2,900 stores in the United States. CKE was in need of a full service in-store marketing partner who could support the production, fulfillment, and distribution of their vast marketing materials. CKE currently executes 10 concept wide marketing campaigns per year, as well as local marketing initiatives by region, on down to a single location.
CKE needed a vendor partner that could address their challenge of compiling and managing store attributes, with as many as 100 attributes per location. The unique Store Profile Intelligence dictates which specific marketing materials are delivered to each location based on the collected data such as:
- Physical characteristics of the store (a stand-alone store, number of drive-thrus, number of registers and windows, type of menu boards static vs. digital)
- Products and/or services offered (brand offerings, menu options)
- Demographics of surrounding community (pricing strategy, messaging and imagery that reflects targeted population)
- Local regulations (exterior signage ordinances)
- and much more
The Solution:
KDM P.O.P. Solutions Group’s proprietary technology platform, called INTELLITRAK™, is a custom online ordering and project management tool that collects attributes about each store location, designed to help eliminate the waste of unused marketing materials, save time, and vastly improve the impact of in-store promotions. Since the information is dynamic, that means the data is continually evolving. The INTELLITRAK™ System is fully customized and was able to support CKE’s nearly 3000 “users”.
KDM also implemented a dedicated Field Support Team for any questions, concerns, and training needs.
INTELLITRAK™ is fully integrated into KDM’s print production and fulfillment workflow. KDM’s single source solutions include in-house print production capabilities covering all of CKE’s printing needs: Large Format UV Offset, Conventional Offset Printing, Digital Printing, Screen Printing, and Flexography. Finishing, Kitting, Fulfillment, and National Distribution, are all executed in-house as well.
The Result:
By integrating Store Profiling Intelligence into KDM’s production workflows CKE is guaranteed that we only produce and ship the required merchandising elements associated with the specific profile, or DNA, of each location. CKE “users” can only order a POP kit that will fit their profile. INTELLITRAK™ maintains approximately 100 attributes and item types for each store. KDM has been able to significantly reduce the risk of obsolescence, cut unnecessary production expenses, and provide improved Brand Compliance related to real estate positioning and campaign execution. By utilizing Store Profiling Intelligence in its purest form KDM has been able to reduce production and fulfillment expenses by 14% to 22% depending on the mix of campaign elements.
In addition, KDM developed a “Vendor Consolidation Program” that allowed CKE to take advantage of KDM’s ability to eliminate the need for outsourcing by producing the bulk of marketing elements in-house. The benefit for CKE yielded not only schedule compression, thus allowing more time for creative development, but a further reduction in the overall production spend by an additional 10% to 12% over the previous year.
KDM is proud to support our partners at Carl’s Jr./Hardees’s, America’s top 15 quick-serve restaurant chain. Learn more about CKE Restaurants