Podcasts about bloomin brands

Bloomin Brands's Q4 2023 earnings call, unedited

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index gives us a sobering outlook, Starboard takes a 9.9% stake in Bloomin Brands looking to make some postitive changes and rig counts keep dropping. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chinchillapicking/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chinchillapicking/support

Nesse episódio falamos sobre um dos pilares-chaves da Ambidestria Organizacional, o pilar de Estratégia e Direção. Nas organizações ambidestras a estratégia não só foca no core business garantindo uma excelente execução do dia a dia mas também explora o futuro, incluindo a inovação dentro da estratégia do negócio. Nossa convidada é Renata Lamarco, publicitária com quase 20 anos de experiência, é atualmente Diretora Sênior de Marketing e Vendas da Bloomin Brands no Brasil, comandando as estratégias do Outback, Abbraccio e Aussie Grill. Ela explora como o modelo de estratégia passou por uma mudança estruturantes há alguns anos e dita um novo olhar sobre os negócios. Acompanhe as novidades pelo IG: @ambidestra.sou e pelo site www.ambidestrasou.com.br #ambidestra #ambidestrasou #planejamentoestratégico #liderançaambidestra #gestãoambidestra #ambidestriaorganizacional

We brought on Michael Halen the senior restaurant analyst at Bloomberg. Our goal was to have a discussion about the restaurant industry to gauge trends in the space. 1. How to breakdown the industry 2. Trends in the space 3. How inflation is creating demand for automation 4. Emerging brands. 5. More This is a must listen! Michaels Podcast: Choppin it up Michael Halen Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/mikehalen 0:00 Opening 2:25 Michael Halen's background 3:45 Intro to the restaurant industry 8:20 Margins by segment 13:00 Brand value and digital 15:50 Bloomin Brands inflecting 19:00 Unit economics 22:18 Current trends 30:30 Automation trends (Chipotle Chippy) 39:20 Digital trends buildings moats and relationships 43: Emerging brands 46:20 Outro _______ Disclaimer: Avory & Co. is a Registered Investment Adviser. This platform is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Avory & Co. and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Avory & Co. unless a client service agreement is in place. Listeners and viewers are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. “Likes” are not intended to be endorsements of our firm, our advisors or our services. Please be aware that while we monitor comments and “likes” left on this page, we do not endorse or necessarily share the same opinions expressed by site users. While we appreciate your comments and feedback, please be aware that any form of testimony from current or past clients about their experience with our firm is strictly forbidden under current securities laws. Please honor our request to limit your posts to industry-related educational information and comments. Third-party rankings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results. These ratings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client nor are they representative of any one client's evaluation. Please reach out to Houston Hess our head of Compliance and Operations for any further details. Find more here https://www.avory.xyz/disclaimer-page #InsideScoop #Inflation #Economy

Join me in following an outstanding career path of a young punk rock college kid to an uber talented corporate executive chef of Fleming's, part of the Bloomin Brands portfolio. Jeremy is a passionate leader and creator with many stories to tell and job titles to match. His twists and turns from a know nothing line cook, to manager, to supply chain, to R & D for Carrabba's Italian Grill, and finally at Fleming's have been non-stop for 20 years. Please enjoy hearing his story and some laughs along the way! His success is a direct result of hard work, perseverance, and having the talent to agile in a constantly challenging and changing environment. Please share this episode, and others, with industry friends and professionals! I would like to share my story and other's, while providing a multitude of insights and tips on how to succeed and make an impact in the hospitality industry. www.vincentkassay.com will lead you to my website. Schedule an appointment and we can share a journey of success! Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/vincent-kassay7/support

Join us on Be Brave at Work as we continue our conversation with Joseph DiRoma, Managing Partner of The Successful Male North America. Joseph held positions as managing partner of a multi-million dollar restaurant leading teams in operations, to overseeing productivity for 189 locations creating initiatives to enhance adjusted operating margins and simplify operational execution. In this time at Bloomin’ Brands, Joseph discovered his passion for people development. Links of Interest LinkedIn JoeDiroma.com TheSuccessfulMale.com I'd really appreciate it if you would click the like button above and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! More information about Ed, visit Excellius.com © 2021 Ed Evarts

Join us on Be Brave at Work as we welcome Joseph DiRoma, Managing Partner of The Successful Male North America. Joseph held positions as managing partner of a multi-million dollar restaurant leading teams in operations, to overseeing productivity for 189 locations creating initiatives to enhance adjusted operating margins and simplify operational execution. In this time at Bloomin’ Brands, Joseph discovered his passion for people development. Links of Interest LinkedIn JoeDiroma.com TheSuccessfulMale.com I'd really appreciate it if you would click the like button above and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! More information about Ed, visit Excellius.com © 2021 Ed Evarts

The Wall St. consensus says the Fed won’t taper this year, but one top strategist says “yes they will.” He’ll join us to explain why. Plus, some experts say the government should step in to help the U.S. regain its former dominance of the chip industry. We’ll debate that move. And, Bloomin’ Brands hits a fresh intraday high on the back of a big earnings beat and strong U.S. comparable sales. We’ll speak with the CEO about the restaurant recovery.

Chirag Bhatt has been involved in food safety for 4 decades. After working with the local regulatory agency in the city of Houston for over 26 years. Chirag joined Bloomin’ Brands as their Global Regulatory Compliance Manager. Then Sysco Corp as Regulatory and Technical Services Director. And most recently with retailer Buc-ee’s, as a Director of Food Safety and QA before starting his own food safety consulting company. He has served as Chair for the National Restaurant Associations Quality Assurance executive study group. And currently serves as an Education Advisory Board member with Food Safety Summit and is an advisory council member with Sani Professional. Chirag holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Chirag [14:40] about: The interconnectedness of the food supply chain Inspection challenges at a local level Food Code compliance Effects of COVID on the distribution chain Supply chain vulnerabilities Meal and food delivery The effects of local culture on food safety The interface between consumers and foodservice/retail Trying to be proactive rather than reactive Consumer messaging Current food safety trends Resources First Quarter of 2021 Brings Only Two Multistate Foodborne Illness Outbreaks (1:00) AFDO Resources for Reopening Restaurants [3:58] Advice on Preventing Mislabeling [7:11] We had a letter from a listener about label related recalls who wrote: “At my company, we have separate rooms for our products and even have a separate facility for peanut butter to ensure there’s no cross-contamination and for allergen control. We keep labels for those specific products in each room and QA audits them monthly to make sure they didn’t get mixed up.   We have caught some product mislabeled in the middle of a run recently. We got lucky that we caught it before we finished the run so we could correct it, but this still prompts an investigation and a corrective action. What do most companies do to avoid mislabeling product? Do they have lockers in the rooms themselves or elsewhere?” Food Safety Magazine’s Editorial Director Barbara VanRenterghem reached out to one of her contacts at Conagra who responded: “In general, we store all labels completely separate from the production lines (in completely different areas of the plant) and only bring those labels to the line (or even into the production room) that are for the specific product being made at that time.  The pre-production checklist requires a member of our team to verify that the label on the line matches that for the product being run.  We then remove a label from each roll or packet of labels and affix it to the production paperwork.  This paperwork is reviewed and signed off by a supervisor before the product is released to trade. Whenever we do a product changeover for the line, we require that all labels are removed from the line area or entire room prior to any new labels being brought to the line or into the room.  This helps to ensure that the pre-production checklist verifies all labels brought into the room for each run.  It is a violation of our internal policies for more than one batch of labels to be at a production line at any one time.   One of the best ways to confirm label accuracy occurs on those lines where we have bar code readers on the lines themselves.  We are moving toward as much automation as possible in all aspects of our business and label control and verification is a great example of how automation can help.  Of course, this requires that the programming be accurate in our production software! Finally, the ultimate verification process is with the individual people running the lines.  In companies with a good food safety culture, every line worker feels it is their duty to help confirm that the right product is in the right container with the right label and all of our food safety and quality parameters have been followed.   I know that your listener probably knows all of this and it sounds like they are doing a great job.  In any system, no matter how good it seems, mistakes can and do happen.  It always comes down to following your procedures and having well-trained people on the lines that care about what they are making.  Not sure if this helps much but willing to answer any specific questions.” • • • Register now for our webinar Global Food Safety Series: Australia. Featuring Lone Jespersen, Ph.D., Cultivate, Rachel Downey, Bulla Dairy Foods, and Diana Pregonero, 3M Food Safety. This is part two of our five-part series. Part one examined Europe, parts three to five Asia, North America, and Latin America. Registration is open for the Food Safety Summit, coming to a computer near you, May 11-13. This year’s theme highlights Food Safety Lessons Learned from the Global Pandemic and so much more. Our best-in-class virtual experience has now added a video chat feature so we can all connect again!  We Want to Hear from You! Please share your comments, questions, and suggestions. Tell us about yourself—we’d love to hear about your food safety challenges and successes. Here are a few ways to be in touch with us.  Email us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at podcast@foodsafetymagazine.com

In this episode of the Virtually Limitless Podcast our host Justine Mader interviewed Joseph DiRoma. Joseph DiRoma is the Managing Partner of The Successful Male North America. He spent nearly two decades in the hospitality industry with the last decade being at Bloomin Brands. Joseph held positions as managing partner of a multi-million dollar restaurant leading teams in operations, to overseeing productivity for 189 locations creating initiatives to enhance adjusted operating margins and simplify operational execution. In this time at Bloomin Brands, Joseph discovered his passion for people development. Being a product of personal transformation himself, he wanted to provide support for others to discover their full potential and gifts. Joseph is a Newfield Certified Coach trained in ontology, somatic dispositions, and emotional intelligence, and specializes in personal development and leadership. He is married with one child and in his spare loves to read, go to the movies, exercise, and of course go to the beach. His top five core values are love, faith, integrity, humor, and legacy. He’s bringing The Successful Male movement to the United States to awaken as many men as possible. Men are suffering and it’s time that changed. ​Want to see more of Joseph?

Achieve meaningful relationships, greater vision, success on your terms, internal alignment, and financial independence... Today's guest is none other than Joseph DiRoma. Managing Partner of The Successful Male North America, he spent nearly two decades in the hospitality industry with the last decade being at Bloomin Brands. Joseph held positions as managing partner of a multi-million dollar restaurant leading teams in operations, overseeing productivity for 189 locations creating initiatives to enhance adjusted operating margins and simplify operational execution. Learn his core values where he's bringing The Successful Male movement to the United States changing their lives.

Tommy is the Co-Founder of The RoundTrip Group (RTG), a marketing, advertising, media and sales consultancy firm based in the New York City area. RTG's goal is to help marketers better sell to their customers, agencies better sell to clients, and vendors better sell to agencies. By quickly and clearly identifying simple solutions to today's complex business challenges, RTG helps businesses in the industry "sell-in" and "sell-through" more effectively, thus driving profitability. Additionally, Tommy is also a Strategic Advisor to Glewed.TV, a privately-owned ad-support video on demand platform that is revolutionizing the streaming space. Prior to founding The RoundTrip Group, Tommy spent 24 years in the media industry driving business growth via communication solutions for some of the world’s most well-known brands.  Throughout his career, Tommy has been known as strategic, innovative, transformation expert who has a knack for quickly identifying and simplifying business challenges and coming up with innovative communications solutions that are laser focused on driving positive business outcomes for his clients. Tommy began his career in 1995 in the media department at the Grey Global Group (prior to acquisition of the group by WPP) in New York.  During his first 3 years at Grey, Tommy helped develop and modernize communications plans that propelled Procter & Gamble’s Pantene to the #1 hair care brand in the United States.  During his time with Grey he also managed the ConAgra portfolio of food products helping to successfully launch the well know Marie Callender’s frozen food line. In 1999, Tommy helped start up a youth and entertainment company, GWHIZ Entertainment, funded by Grey Global Group.  During his tenure there, he helped grow the agency from 1 client to over 15 in a 5-year span working with clients such as Dairy Queen, W Hotels, Topp’s Confection, D-Lish Fragrances, Konami Video Games and US Cellular.  He was part of a team that created the first in-game advertising experience in the industry via a partnership with Reebok and Konami and he also developed and executed the industry-first “wireless scavenger hunt” using SMS for US Cellular.  In 2004, Tommy was recruited by Publicis’s Starcom Mediavest Group to transform their unprofitable operation in Puerto Rico. As the VP, Managing Director of our Puerto Rico office, he helped to not only establish SMG as the first stand-alone media agency in the marketplace, but also helped transform the profitability of the operation by securing new business, diversifying their service offering and restructuring marketplace deals.  During his tenure, Tommy helped to elevate the talent and product across some of our most well-known global brands in the world including P&G, Kraft, Kellogg’s and Visa.  Under Tommy’s leadership the media team won a Cuspide, Puerto Rico’s most celebrated industry award. In 2007, Tommy relocated to Mexico to take on the challenge of recapturing the Coke business in their largest market in the world.  For three years Tommy transformed and led a team that won back the business in unprecedented fashion – in less than 3 years and without a pitch.  The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta cited this as a “first-ever” in their organization.  During his time running the Coca-Cola business he helped grow market share across the beverage portfolio to over 80% and more importantly grew Coca-Cola’s water brand, Ciel, and won the monthly share game against Danone’s long established Bonafont brand.  His team also won silver at the Circulo Oro Festival for Media Innovation for work done on behalf of Coca-Cola’s energy drink, Gladiator. During his last two years in Mexico, Tommy led business development discipline in LATAM for SMG as part of the Global Growth Team.  In 2010, he helped lead the Mexico office to an incredible 9 wins during that year picking up clients such as Banamex, Burger King, Subway, Expedia and Cadbury to name a few.  In 2011, he continued helping the region grow landing a big regional win in Mead Johnson and expanding the Subway business to include 6 additional markets.  Tommy was also instrumental in helping establish both a Content and Data & Analytics discipline within Latin America for SMG. In 2012, Tommy returned to the United States to run Mediavest’s business development practice.  During his time in this role, Mediavest experience unprecedented growth winning over $2.5B dollars in billings by winning clients such as Honda, Converse, Travelers, Brown Forman, Bloomin’ Brands, and Keurig Green Mountain.  In 2013, Mediavest won Adweek’s Agency of the Year as a result of its massive growth. In 2014, Tommy returned to the world of day-to-day business management where he oversaw the global businesses for Mondelez and Brown Forman and the domestic business for Sprint.  As an SVP, Global Managing Director, Tommy was responsible for the operations, talent and product for Mondelez across 40+ countries in the regions of North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.  For Brown Forman he oversaw the communications, which included both above the line media and below the line events.  Tommy led the Sprint business during a transformational time when they were looking to prepare themselves for a sale and/or merger, thus there was a massive focus on communications that could be measured and attributed to sales.  Sprint eventually merged with T-Mobile. In 2017, OMD tapped Tommy to take over and transform the Nissan business in North America.  He quickly shifted the team’s hub from Los Angeles to New York in order to have better connectivity with the clients.  Tommy helped assemble a new team of cross-athletes who were fluent in offline and online channel planning.  With this newly built team they transformed how they approached business, building a unique communications framework that was grounded in building brand over time and driving sales over night.  The use of 1st, 2nd and 3rd party data was essential in driving both targeting and messaging decisions.  Lastly, and most importantly, Tommy’s team regained the confidence of the Nissan clients so much so that Nissan renewed its contract with OMD for another three years. Tommy is originally from Charleston, SC and attended the University of Florida in Gainesville where he graduated with High Honors with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising.  He’s been married to his wife, Meredith, for over 15 years and they have a thirteen-year-old son, Gaven.  Tommy’s passions include scuba diving, traveling, music and gardening.  www.theroundtripgroup.com Full Transcript Below Roy (00:01): Hello, and welcome to another episode of senior living sales and marketing. I'm rolling. Uh, we are very fortunate enough today. We have an awesome guest, uh, Tommy Nolen. He is the seat, uh, the co founder and the chief marketing officer of the roundtrip group. They are a marketing advertising media and sales consultancy firm based out of New York city. So I'm not going to waste any more time. I want to get straight to Tommy. He's got a lot of great things to talk to us today about marketing, uh, to the, uh, senior, to the baby boomer population and some great advice on how we could put that to work, to help us in the senior living space. So, Tommy, I'm going to turn it over to you, if you would tell us just a little bit, you know, kind of about your background and how you got here and a little bit about what y'all do. Tommy (00:58): Great Roy, uh, well, uh, first off, thanks for having me on, I'm happy to be here this morning and, uh, hopefully, uh, in part, a little bit of wisdom and a little bit of what we've learned at the roundtrip group, uh, you know, in, in terms of, uh, marketing to seniors and really kind of the future generation of, of your customer base. Um, just to quick, quick bit on, on how I got here, you know, as you said, I'm the cofounder of a marketing consultancy and, you know, our focus is on helping people sell better. Uh, we say we like to help marketers better sell to their customers, agencies, better selves and their clients and, uh, vendors better sell to agencies. And, um, you know, we, we look at ourselves as a, as a collaborator, not a competitor, um, in the industry. Uh, and we started at about a year and a half ago. Tommy (01:53): Um, prior to that, uh, I spent about 25 years in the advertising business partner. Uh, Barbara Martinez spent about 30 years in the business. And, um, you know, uh, during that time I worked with some of the largest, uh, I would say most sophisticated marketers in the world. Um, people like Proctor and gamble, uh, Nissan Coca Cola, the up, you know, well known brands that you've, uh, you've heard of. Um, and, you know, I would say, uh, you know, each with a different approach to talking to consumers, but, um, uh, also allowing you to learn different things along the way. Um, you know, during my 25 years, uh, I worked in big agencies. I ran agencies, uh, ran business domestically, regionally, globally, uh, lived in Latin America for eight years. So, um, you know, my, my entire career, um, has been selling in, in some way shape or form, and the most effective way to do that is to really, uh, understand your customer. And, and, um, as you, we recently just finished a project where, uh, we had a lot of focus on kind of the baby boomers understanding them and, uh, and what that means for marketing. Roy (03:12): Yeah, no, I'm going to just give you some kudos. You're doing a good job. I drive a Nissan and I do drink a lot of Coke, so whatever, whatever you did to help them is work. And so, yeah, I'm not going to let you off the hook too. You know, we, uh, we had a talk last week a little bit, and so I'm still jealous. I talk every day about, um, you took, you had an opportunity to take a gap six months and, um, I guess this was when you were a little younger, but you were able to travel around, um, uh, what were you in Europe when you were traveling? Tommy (03:48): Uh, no, I actually, and you know, the, the ironic thing is my business partner at the time was my boss and she was the one that, uh, allowed me, uh, take a six month leave of absence. And I traveled, uh, across Asia, uh, Australia and, um, a couple of parts of Africa and, you know, uh, I always say to people, um, it was, uh, something that I'll never look back on and, or Brett, um, I, you know, never wanted to be somebody who said, I wish I would have, uh, and, you know, uh, while a lot of people, I think, uh, thought I may have been making a mistake in my career. Um, I think it was the exact opposite whenever I, uh, you know, had my resume out there and would talk to people. Uh, they actually didn't want to talk about my job experience. Tommy (04:38): I wanted to talk about my, my travel and, you know, their, their, their comment was always wish I had to get to that. Um, it was, uh, it was a great experience, um, enables you to understand, uh, that, you know, in the end, uh, consumers around the world or are a lot more similar, uh, than they are different. Um, and, uh, it was a, you know, a trip I'll never forget, uh, had some amazing experiences, uh, hiked, Kilimanjaro, um, you know, Trek, the great wall of China. Uh, I was a scuba diving and the great barrier reef. So, uh, it was a triple the lifetime. And, uh, one that I would recommend anyone who, uh, maybe has the opportunity to do it, take it. Roy (05:30): Yeah. I was going to say, we don't offer too much employment advice here, but if you're, if you're a younger person listening to this, if you have the opportunity, uh, fake it, you won't regret it. That's for sure. Well, let's get back to, um, you know, our consumer, our, I guess our approach in this industry has changed a lot from, you know, back in the day where people didn't really understand what senior living. So when they came in, we were able to explain it, basically, this is where you live, this is where you eat. And now we've kind of evolved into, you know, our consumers are very, very smart, do a lot of research and, um, you know, they know our product inside and out. So we kind of have to change our approach to start where they are. And, um, you know, instead of selling, uh, basically selling the structure, you know, to sell that dream. And so anyway, I wanted to talk to you about, uh, you were, your client was actually more of a, um, a medical, they had more of a medical model than what we do in senior living. But I think after we talked a lot of the lessons that y'all learned about the consumer for this, uh, really apply to the senior living space. Tommy (06:52): Yeah, that's right. We were, um, we're working, doing a little work, uh, on behalf of a healthcare provider, uh, in South Florida. And, you know, there, uh, I would say primarily a, a treatment facility, um, you know, really focused on accepting Medicare and Medicaid, um, and has built a great business, uh, you know, uh, amazing business. But I think, uh, one of the things that, you know, they're recognizing is that, uh, um, you know, the, the world is changing and, uh, you know, um, their core consumer today is really, what's known as the silent generation, that generation, uh, born between 1928 and 1945, but a generation that kinda drew grew up in, uh, the industrial age. Um, and what is happening is that they realized in the next 10 years, uh, you know, the silver tsunami, if you will, is going to be crashing down upon them, um, there will be a 40% increase in the number of people, uh, starting to, uh, age in if you will, to their services. Tommy (08:03): And these people are the baby boomers, uh, you know, generation that we've, we've heard about, uh, for, for decades. Um, you know, the size of them, uh, is, is enormous. And the reality is, is the baby boomers are completely different from the silent generation, right. Um, and, and, and that's a, that's a result of their life experiences. And, you know, what worked to attract, uh, you know, your current customer, if you will, the silent generation, I think this is very applicable to the senior living community, um, is not necessarily what's going to work to attract if you will, your future consumer, which is the baby boomer generation. Roy (08:47): Yeah. I think that was the most, um, poignant thing that you said in our previous conversation was that, you know, whatever we don't want to misquote you, you said it very good, but it was some basically is like, whatever we've done to get to this point, if we expect to get to 20 more years, we are going to have to change our focus and our, the way that we market to our consumers. Tommy (09:12): That's right. And, um, you know, I'll talk a little bit about just, just some of the experiences that shaped boomers, um, and, and, and again, how they're very different from the silent generation, right? If you think about silent generation, again, they kind of grew up in that industrial age. Um, and when we think about the baby boomers, right, they grew up in, in really, what's now known as the digital age. Um, and, you know, they are first and foremost, a generation of learners. Um, you know, according to a Pew research study in 2005, uh, the baby boomers are the most educated group to ever, um, move into retirement age. Um, you know, uh, a high school education was, was not, if you will, kind of the, the goal for the baby boomer generation, right. Uh, higher education became the norm, um, you know, going to college and, you know, always with the idea of being better than your parents. Tommy (10:14): And, and, uh, you know, again, the parents kind of got the high school education. Um, you know, they either worked in a factory, managed the factory, you know, they were in that industrial age and, and, you know, the world was baby boomers was, was quite different. And, you know, in addition to just going out and attaining, you know, college education, um, they didn't stop there. Uh, you know, uh, their careers started, uh, like I said, in the early days of the digital revolution and, and, you know, we're in multiple waves of that now. So continuing education was critical for them, um, you know, really to kind of keep up and, and, and keep up with where the world was moving. So, you know, that became kind of the secondary piece of their education, right? So it was first off, they go to college. Now they're doing continuing education courses, um, as part of their careers. Tommy (11:07): Um, and then, you know, if you look at, uh, you know, the, the learning, um, that they've embarked on in their life, it hasn't stopped. Uh, according to USA today in 2009, there were over 400,000 students above the age of 50 enrolled in community colleges. Right? So again, these are people taking courses for, um, you know, maybe a second career, uh, maybe just a topic that they're very interested in, but these, these, uh, these people who are coming into retirement age, um, they are highly educated. They are learners. Um, they thrive on, uh, you know, knowledge. Um, and I think that was the first that's first experience that, that you have to think about, um, that, that kind of shapes them. Uh, now a second, Roy (12:01): Sorry. I was just gonna say, before we move on that I, you know, I can identify with that because of, you know, I've been a lifelong learner. I was kind of slow to do my undergrad and did it at night for many years, and then graduate at night. But, um, you know, you, people don't think about the learning that we do on the job. Like when I first started working, I mean, you know, we basically had a big chief tablet and a number two pencil, and now we've got computers, we've got zoom and, uh, you know, teams and all this electronic, um, all these electronic tools at our disposal and also my partner, she is a writer. And so, you know, she's always in seminars and conferences to, uh, you know, keep up with what the latest trends are, you know, whether it's digital or print, whatever. So definitely can, uh, identify with that for sure. Tommy (12:59): Yeah. And that's a, that's a great, great point, Roy, and that leads me to my, my sort of second, um, experience, if you will, that shape boomers. And, you know, I think that, um, you know, unfortunately stereotypes are real right. And, uh, I think a lot of times people have a perception that, um, the older generation is not necessarily, um, open to change, uh, you know, and not necessarily media savvy. Um, and it couldn't be further from the truth. Right. Um, really, when you think about it, the baby boomers were the pioneers of media expansion. Um, you know, they were the drivers of, uh, cable TV, uh, the drivers of, you know, the internet mobile. Um, you know, if you think about it, two of the most well-known tech pioneers, um, you know, in the world, Steve jobs and bill Gates, they're boomers. Right. Um, and so one of the things that you see is that, you know, um, boomers are, are, have always embraced, learned, and incorporated, um, you know, kind of new technology and media into their life. Tommy (14:15): Um, it's really second nature to them. Um, if you think about, you know, in their very, very early, early years as a kid, you know, it was radio, right? And, and now you think to where we are now, um, the, the proliferation, um, and, and just quite frankly, the sophistication of media has changed tremendously. Um, and they've been along that journey the entire time. Um, and really, you know, they've used this media and this technology to actually create a life that, you know, is really works for them. And it's a life of personalization. Um, it's a life of convenience. Um, you know, if you look at, uh, you know, gate out there today around the baby boomer, boomer generation, 75% of these boomers use social networks to keep in touch with their friends and family, um, they're actually heavier users and spend more time on social networks than the younger generation do. Tommy (15:17): Um, it's, it's been a great tool for them, right? It's a, it's a way to keep up with family all across the country or across the world, friends, you know, from, you know, that you've reconnected with that, that were childhood friends all the way up to, you know, your, your friends that you made throughout your work life. So, um, and these guys aren't afraid to, to, um, use the tools, um, online they're online consumers, you know, 84% of them plan trips, 64% of them, you know, buy flights online, a heavy percentage, actually do grocery shopping. Um, and I think, you know, one of the things that's very interesting and, uh, I think it's something important to consider, particularly in the senior living world, they have the greatest adoptation of voice devices, things like an Amazon echo, um, more so than the younger generation as well. So, you know, media expansion and, and, and learning, and, you know, embracing new media and new technology is second nature to them. Roy (16:20): Yeah, not again, I can just speak from my personal experience that, you know, I'm kind of at the, uh, the last, uh, at the, I guess the last of the baby boomers and my mother happens to be kind of in that first class, you know, the first group of M and a, as she is on Facebook, you know, she has friends that they have kept up since high school. Some of her work friends that, you know, she was with 40, 50 years ago and they, um, you know, they chat weekly for sure. And then just, uh, you know, going through this pandemic, the, the next step for her is she's actually started ordering a lot more groceries online. So yeah, it's, it's amazing. I never would have thought she would do that, but she has adapted to it very well. They don't always know how to use it. And sometimes the, uh, remote and I have to go back over there and like, I can't get this DV thing to work with. They, they have such a complicated setup that, uh, you know, you have to have, uh, an associate degree in engineering just to get the TV and the cable thing to come along. Tommy (17:29): Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, it is, uh, you know, and even something like pandemic rice has kind of accelerated that, right. Um, with a lot of, uh, of the older folks, um, being very cautious about going out, Hey, they, you know, shopping online and, and getting your groceries delivered to you. Right. It's, um, it's, in some cases may have forced the behavior. Um, but, but again, I still think a high percentage of them were already doing it. Um, and, and the pandemic might've just, you know, put a few more of them over the edge, but, you know, they, they are, um, very, very comfortable with new media and technology. And I think that's a, that's a, uh, a perception or stereotype if you will, that, um, you know, that they're not, uh, sophisticated in that sense, that that's really important, particularly for, um, folks in your space to understand. Um, because I think the tendency is to want to use kind of the, the traditional channels and the traditional means to connect with them. Yeah. Roy (18:31): And I think it's also good to realize that they're savvy enough, that they're doing a lot of research online, you know, about the different community services and things like that. So it's kind of, double-edged, you know, we have to remember that to reach out to them, but we also have to remember that, that, you know, when they walk into one of our communities, that they are armed with a lot of information about not only our particular community, but the competitors in the area as well. Tommy (19:01): Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, and, and, you know, when I, uh, you know, I I'll say towards the end of our conversation, when I, I want to kind of lay out some of the, you know, tips, if you will, for, for the, the, the audience out there on how to, to think about leveraging this knowledge and their marketing. Um, that's certainly a place that we're going to go because, uh, research is key for them, again, goes back to being a lifelong learner. Right. Um, you know, I think another important, um, experience that, uh, the senior living, uh, marketing community needs to think about, and, and not only the market community, quite frankly, that the operational community of these senior living facilities is that, um, this is a generation that believes they will be middle-aged forever. Um, you know, uh, the silent generation, right. Uh, the, I'll say, you know, story of retirement was, you know, finish up your, your, your job. Tommy (20:05): That's been a hard job, right. You know, potentially again, and in, you know, manual labor, um, you know, finish that up and go sit on the front porch in a rocking chair, um, you know, at your, your home that you've lived in for 30 years and, and just, you know, spend the rest of your, your, your years sipping lemonade and, and, you know, watching the birds fly around. Right. Um, that's not the boomer generation of all that, that was kind of the ideal for the silent generation, but the boomer generation, you know, um, they, again, feel like they're going to be middle age. Uh, you know, when you think about it, it's the first generation that's really been to a degree, I'll say obsessed with health proactively, um, thinking about their health, uh, you know, they, they grew up in the age of, you know, chain fond that Richard Ronan, Olivia Newton, John, right. Tommy (20:59): Exercising, you know, exercising, uh, you know, not just, Oh, I'm, I'm walking somewhere, but like making a point of here's my exercise routine. Um, and you, you know, watching their diet, uh, you know, watching what they eat. Um, you know, if you look at the information out there today, 40% of maybe more members plan to work until they die, uh, you know, um, they're, uh, they're a group that oftentimes they retire and they're 66% more likely than the previous generation to retire and then decide this isn't for me and return to work. Um, and so, you know, I, I think when you think about, um, you know, who these people are, they're, they're active, they're proactive quite frankly. And, um, you know, for them, it is, you know, how do I, how do I, um, you know, stay, uh, and keep my lifestyle is as normal as possible. Um, and, uh, you know, being active is what makes them happy. Uh, you know, this isn't a generation that's ever kind of been lazy and sat around. So, um, I think it's very important when you think about the offerings and your, your, your facilities, that you have a lens of who these people are and what they're seeking. Um, and I think that's very important because, you know, if it's just a community where we're going to just sit around, it might not be for them. Right. Roy (22:39): Yeah. And I think that need to stay busy and, you know, feel useful. Everybody wants to feel useful. I think, you know, just kind of thinking, as you're talking that the silent generation, you know, they were good with that it's retirement setting in the chair. And, you know, they, most of them had had physical jobs that probably took a toll on their bodies too. So they were, you know, tired and worn out when it was time to retire. Whereas with this baby boomer generation, lot of us, you know, office jobs. And so I think it, um, we're not ready to sit in a rocking chair and just give it all up. I mean, we want to remain useful, remain relevant, even, you know, through the later years of our life. And so many people are, I mean, you know, my stepfather, he worked probably, I think until he was 85 years old and, you know, got up every day and did the same thing. He slowed down a lot after that. But, uh, up until that point, you know, you couldn't, you couldn't pry him away from you, what he was doing. Tommy (23:49): Yeah. It's, um, it's almost like a, you know, they had the reverse in terms of careers, you know, the silent generation was, as you said, labor hard work, uh, versus the boomer generation was kind of sedentary in the office, sitting behind a desk and, you know, they're looking for the exact opposite experience in retirement. Um, so yeah, it's a great, it's a great point. Uh, you know, but again, it's one of the things that, uh, you have to think about when you're attracting this future customer. Right, right. Um, you know, one other thing that I, I think is, you know, I know you're based in the, in the Dallas area in Texas. Um, and I think, you know, uh, uh, parallel, but I'll draw to, you know, the project that we're working on this, this, this client was based in South Florida. Uh, and I think one of the things that, um, you have in both of those, uh, areas or regions is a huge Hispanic population, which quite frankly, is a, uh, an extremely important, um, you know, group consumer group in America now, uh, they, they're about 20% of the population, I think, over 60 million. Tommy (25:10): And, uh, you know, I think there's some learning that, that we have to think about here as well. And one of those is that, you know, this is a, uh, when we think about boomer generation, right. Um, in terms of language, oftentimes, um, they are second or third generation now, the Hispanic consumers. Um, and I think early on in our marketing, we thought, well, if it's a Hispanic consumer, we must speak in language to them, but, uh, meaning in Spanish and our messaging needs to be in Spanish and all of that. Um, but I think one of the things is important to understand is the boomers, uh, the Hispanic population, um, within the boomer generation. A lot of these are second and third generation. I kind of say English is not a secondary language. It's just a second language and they use it. They're completely comfortable with it. Um, often times they've used it, uh, you know, throughout their working career. So I think it's just a very important, um, element to think about and marketing, because, you know, the message you deliver in the language that a true delivered in is very important. Um, and you can't ignore the Hispanic consumers, um, any longer, just the sheer size of them, uh, and, uh, you know, their, their growth in the United States. Uh, and I think they will be a future consumer, uh, in, in senior living facilities, uh, as well for a long time Roy (26:44): Rent. Yeah. I think especially the, you know, California and through the, the Southern Southwestern and Southern States for sure. Tommy (26:56): Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, Speaker 3 (26:59): So, so, you know, there's, yeah, Tommy (27:02): All these real, I'll say learnings and or experiences that we've been talking about. And, you know, what I kind of say to people is, you know, when you're marketing and you're targeting people, um, it's about understanding who they are. And oftentimes we get caught up in understanding who they are at a point in time. Um, but I think with this generation, it's kind of very important to understand, um, what made them, who they are at this point in time and it's those experiences. And I think we can look at how these past experiences have shaped them and anticipate kind of their future expectations in terms of meaningful engagement and marketing and what their expectation is. And I think that's kind of a really important thing for us to consider and, you know, really, I have five takeaways if you will, for, you know, marketers out there, um, thinking about the, the older community and things that they need to keep in mind when I'm there, they're trying to connect with them, they're trying to sell their products and services. Tommy (28:18): Okay. And, and I would say, number one, you have to embrace technology and digital, right. Um, don't, don't be scared of it. Don't get caught up in the, the stereotypes. Um, because, you know, as we discussed earlier, um, this generation, they're not afraid of, of, uh, technology, they've adapted to it their entire life, uh, and, and that's where they are. Um, and I know that, you know, oftentimes, you know, maybe we'll think about, well, you know, they prefer to talk to somebody that's not always the case. You know, maybe they want to inquire about information or set up an appointment, you know, via text or email versus calling a number. Right. And I think that's something important to think about. And when you're doing outreach, you know, it may not be necessarily, uh, a traditional way of doing it, whether it's, you know, direct mail, um, you know, or something like that, uh, or, or in, in print and in magazines, you might need to think about, you know, more digital, uh, communication with them. Tommy (29:26): So I think, you know, first and foremost, you need to embrace technology in your facilities. Um, but also in your communication, like I kinda was thinking the other day. Right. And, and again, one of the reasons that voice technology is so popular with this generation is you think about, uh, what you can do with voice, right. I don't have to pick up a newspaper or I don't have to, you know, kind of go on my phone and, you know, and, um, I hate to admit it, but my eyesight's going, it's much easier for me to ask, you know, Alexa, what's the weather, um, or you've gotten a lot of appointments set up, right. I can set up an, a reminder, uh, you know, right then and there. So, you know, it's interesting, you know, I think about a facility where, Hey, maybe every room has an Amazon echo in it. Tommy (30:18): Right. Keeping people on track appointments, social events, whatever. Um, but it's really easy. So I think in the end, you guys have to embrace technology and embrace digital when you're thinking about the senior living, uh, you know, community these days. For sure. Um, you know, the other thing that embracing on of digital does is it unlocks personalization. And one of the things that you start to learn when you're studying the baby boomers is that they often feel, um, I will sort of say left out by marketers. Um, you know, they don't feel like marketers cater to them. They don't feel like marketers are, um, delivering personalized messages to them. Um, and quite frankly, it's a little bit frustrating to them, right. Uh, and so they do like personalization. And the one thing that, you know, um, you know, digital does, is it unlocks personalization, right? Tommy (31:34): Um, you know, you may prefer a facility for one reason, or maybe investigating a facility for one reason, but somebody else may have a completely different reason for, or rationale for doing it. And, you know, there's a lot of data out there and it enables me to deliver a different message to try and attract one consumer to my facility versus somebody else. So I'm highlighting different features. So it's not a one size fits all message. So, you know, again, if you go back to starting to embrace digital and technology, it unlocked personalization, which is one more way that you connect with consumers and I'm sure you see it all the time. You know, if you're on a phone call with somebody you're trying to understand what their hook is or why they're interested in the facility, and then you go deeper on that. Roy (32:26): Right. Yeah. And I was just going to kind of extrapolate that to the digital that, you know, and I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know that, you know, we can tailor our messages to key words that are, or, you know, even with some online platforms, if you look up, uh, if you look up something, it will send you a related message based on, you know, kind of what you're interested in. I get those all the time. And so I, you know, like you said, if we're looking for security or maybe, you know, more help, whatever the consumer is looking for, we can tailor a message exactly to that. Tommy (33:07): Yeah. And, and the bottom line is everyone, not just boomers, everyone responds to a message that's relevant to them, right. Or is more likely to respond to a message that's relevant to them. I, you know, the, the easiest analogy, um, is, Hey, if I just had a car accident and my car has been totaled, that's what I'm paying a lot more attention to all the car ads that are out there. But if I just bought a new car, you know, and you're showing me car ads, I'm not paying attention to it. So, you know, having something that's relevant to somebody certainly, uh, makes them stand up, take notice. Um, and, and, uh, you know, and quite frankly want to research, which leads me to my next point or next really kind of key thing, which is give them information, do not hold back. Uh, I think that oftentimes, and, and I know this, you know, from my, my automotive experience, right. Tommy (34:06): You know, uh, dealers, you should just say, Hey, get them, get them to the, just figure out a way to get them to the lot and I'll take care of it. Right. And you know, what we had to kind of explain to them is, Hey, it's a different ball game now, guys, um, there's so much data and information out there by the time somebody gets to a lot, they already know what car they want. They know what price there is fair, and they're willing to pay for it. Um, and you know, they want the experience to be fast and simple, right? They're not there to get any more information from the dealer because all of that information is available out there, uh, you know, online and, you know, again, being a generation of learners, they're used to investigating learning, reading. Um, and so I think you have to think about that in your communication. Tommy (35:00): Um, and particularly on something like, uh, you know, your website, uh, you know, I actually believe that, you know, in this situation, and, and it's not often that I say this, you know, I'm usually, I usually subscribe to the less is more, but I think for something like this, providing them more information is better. Um, you know, and I kind of say to people, um, a lack of information in their mind would either equate to, you know, um, would either frustrate them or, uh, equal you're hiding something, some sort of mistrust. So put it all out there, make sure that your, your website and, and, and all of your, you know, communication about your facilities is very, very detailed. Give them the opportunity to go deep. Um, you know, I think that's so important for this generation. Uh, you know, don't, don't, don't just be surface level. Roy (35:58): Yeah. And that's important. I mean, even in my life, I will, uh, you know, when I'm making a decision and I'm doing my research, I may pick up on something, a feature service that one company has that I see on their website or in their ads that, um, the competitor didn't show. And then, you know, you'll get the phone call after the sale. And it's like, uh, you know, I bought with somebody else and they're like, Oh, well, could you tell me why? And when you explain it, then they say like, Oh, well, we do that too. And I'm like, well, but I didn't know that because all the research that I did, it never really came out and said it, but your competitor was very upfront about all the services that they had. Tommy (36:40): Yeah. And it doesn't mean, you know, you're going to have, you know, everybody's going to get the complete answer that they want, and they're not going to have questions. Right. But, you know, again, the reality is these are people that figured it out. Right. And they, they, they, they want to be, they want to have as much information as possible in making a decision. And quite frankly, they'd rather sit with the information, be able to digest it on their own terms at their own pace. Right. Versus having to call somebody, you know, you're getting it verbally, you know, versus I can see it. Right. It's okay. I can see it, I can make my notes. So, so, you know, I, I just think it's a really important thing to, to think about. Um, probably hasn't been a traditional practice. Um, but I think he got a, you gotta be willing to go really deep, um, uh, with the information you're providing them. Tommy (37:29): Right. Um, you know, I think one other thing that's really important for, um, facilities probably to think about as well. Um, and, and mind you, the research that we were doing was, was for, uh, you know, a treatment facility for, for lack of a better term. And I know that senior living facilities aren't necessarily the same, but I think that it's very important given that these guys believe they're going to be middle-aged for life. Right. And they're very proactive that, you know, these facilities think about, you know, uh, I, I would say both, I kind of say reactive care, getting, promoting reactive caregiving, but also, you know, proactive kind of activities that keep your residents happy, healthy, you know, and social, right. Again, just, just knowing how active these, these, these baby boomers and want to be and anticipate being, um, I think you have to, you know, when you're marketing yourself, you have to quite frankly, create an create and communicate a vibrant community, not a quiet sort of sedentary community, uh, for lack of a better term, because it is a completely different generation, right. They want to be active. They want to know all the things that there are to do. Um, socializing is very important to them. Uh, and so I think that's an important thing and may not be how, um, senior living facilities have always, you know, marketed themselves. Roy (39:18): Right. Yeah. That's, that's important to be sure and highlight, you know, a, a lot of these, you know, communities that I deal with, they have a lot of great stuff, a lot of activities, but sometimes in our messaging that becomes very secondary and a lot of the consumers, adult children, you know, they just don't realize how robust the, um, the life can be. If, if the resident she used to make ma chooses to make it that way. Tommy (39:49): Yeah. I mean, you know, I, uh, I have a 95 year old grandmother that's, um, in a, in a, in a facility and she's been there for years, but, you know, whenever I go visit or I talked to her, you know, she's always talking about, you know, the card games with her friends, you know, uh, you know, unfortunately right now, in, in, in the pandemic, you know, one of the biggest things she just is, is being able to go, uh, you know, to dinner with her friends, you know, because they're kind of serving them in their, in their apartments. But, um, you know, the social aspect is really important. Um, and I think that's what keeps, keeps them going and, and, you know, uh, it's what they seek out. And I don't think, as you say, it should be a secondary thought in, in your marketing. Um, I think you need to bring that to the forefront, uh, quite frankly. Um, so I think that's a really important thing for, um, you know, and a difference between, into the silent generation and the boomer generation. I mean, just think about the names, right? Silent generation, boomer generation, right. Silent, quiet. I just want to be quiet and, you know, boomers like I'm here. Notice me, so, you know, it's in the name. Roy (41:05): Yeah. That's a good analogy. I like that. Tommy (41:10): Um, you know, I think the other, the final piece right. Is, and again, it doesn't apply to all facilities, but just be mindful of language. Right. Mindful of, uh, you know, um, uh, I would say in your, um, in your collateral, in your, you know, channels, things like that, um, you know, do you need to have, uh, you know, language that, that caters to bilingual people, um, and, you know, you probably want to have, uh, Hispanic versions of that, if that is something that somebody prefers that language, but also I'll take it, you know, beyond just language, Spanish, English, something like that, but also the words that you use. Right. Um, you know, I'll say one of the things that we were, uh, you would often see, probably not as, as common in the senior living, but what we're seeing with this, this, uh, you know, kind of, uh, medical, um, facility, we were working with, everything was patient patient patient, and that has a very kind of negative connotation. Tommy (42:23): And we were like, you know, the, the, these people are members of your community, right? They're, they're not, everything is not doom. And gloom patients just has kind of the connotation of being sick and being reactive. Um, and so I think it's important that the, the language that you use, right. Um, know we always, you know, kind of have a thing in, in the marketing world, everything communicates right. And language is important and words matter. Um, so I think it really has to do go through your, your copy with a fine tooth comb. Um, you need to train your staff right on how to communicate, because let's face it. If, if somebody's coming to visit a facility to, to check it out, um, your staff, you know, who's taking them around, they're, they're the frontline of marketing for you, right. And the language that they use, um, the, the, the positivity, the energy, all of that stuff communicate. Tommy (43:23): Um, and, and I think that's very important sometimes it's, you know, uh, you know, overlooked, but, you know, I'll kinda kind of go to what I think is just a phenomenal story and marketing. Um, and, and the consistency that they've built, and it is company chick filet, right. You don't go to a chick filet without somebody saying, it's my pleasure. Right. They have trained their staff so well, right. To communicate, to have smile, you know, the positivity. Um, I think that's, you know, and, and I'm, and I'm shocked, right? That, that more companies don't focus on that because your frontline workers are really one of your biggest forms of marketing and communication. Roy (44:15): Yeah. And we do, uh, you know, we do miss the point on that a lot that, you know, I talked to him, you know, my customers, a lot about the receptionist being one of the most important contacts in this whole marketing process, because they're going to be the person that you talk to when you call to set up an appointment to go in, or they're going to be the first person that you see when you walk in. So really, um, letting you know, messaging to all the employees about how important it is to have that positive, upbeat, because I do a lot of mystery shopping, a lot of in person. And when you are touring a community, the energy and the, like you said, the positivity of the person that's taking you on this tour, it's very important. I mean, it can change the dynamics because I've been in the same community with somebody who wasn't as good and the community tended to be Bleaker. And, um, then with somebody who was really positive, upbeat, it just, it changes the whole dynamics of what, how you perceive things. Tommy (45:25): Yeah. And I think, you know, um, you're right. And I think the point here is everything communicates. Um, I used to have, uh, one of my old CEOs who said that constantly everything communicate. And I think oftentimes we think a marketing is, you know, the ad I put out right. Or, um, you know, my website, but it's so much more than that. Um, and all of the touch points that the consumer engages with, from, you know, a website, uh, uh, quite frankly, even a, uh, another resident, right. You know, word of mouth, you know, it's one of the most powerful, um, you know, forms of marketing, but everything that, uh, is a touch point with your, you know, facility is, is a point of marketing is a point of communication and, and has the opportunity to either, you know, have a customer think very positively about you and, and, and, and the, the messages you're trying to send, or it can be very negative. So I just think it's a huge thing that often just gets overlooked. And, uh, and I think when you're talking about senior living facilities, the people are so important. Um, the people are what bring me energy. Um, the people are what bring the positivity. Um, and, you know, I can't stress that enough. Right, Roy (46:58): Right now it's a very important part. Well, Tommy, I do appreciate you coming on and sharing this insight. Um, you know, about the marketing to the baby boomers, it's going to be important, you know, for us to stay on point and be sure that we change our messaging, you know, for this group versus the silent generation. So, uh, before I let you tell everybody how they can get ahold of you, if you don't mind it, is there a tool or kind of a, or something that you do every day that you just don't think you could do without? Tommy (47:36): Um, yeah. I, you know, this may not be the traditional answer, but, um, uh, music is extremely important in my life. Uh, it's, it's been something that since I was, uh, you know, a young teenager, um, I've always, I've always listened to music, loved music, uh, you know, explored different varieties of music. And, um, I don't know that I could live without Spotify. And so every morning when I, when I get set up in my office, the first thing that I do is, you know, I, I get my computer open. Um, I get Spotify on and I, you know, depending on if I'm, you know, trying to be focused on something, if I'm researching something, you know, the music that I put on my, my Barry, but, uh, you know, that's a, that's a critical app for my, uh, productivity, if you will, um, on a daily basis. Yeah. Roy (48:35): Oh, no, I agree. I could not live without my music every day. And it's something about it. Just even if you're a little bit sluggish, if you get some good music on a good song comes on and no matter the genre just seems to pick you up, lift your spirit positive outlook. So that is awesome. Well, uh, if you wouldn't mind just tell everybody, uh, first off, who is your customer, what you can do for them, and then also just a, you know, how they could reach out and get ahold of you. Tommy (49:06): Yeah. We work with, um, we work with a wide variety of, uh, I'll say customers, right. Um, and, and we are truly collaborators, not competitors in the industry, but, you know, we work with, with, uh, any type of marketer who's looking to sell better. Um, and you know, we do work all the way from, you know, branding work and helping them position themselves in the marketplace and finding kind of a white space to, um, Hey, you just need, you need help actually. Uh, where, where should I be placing this message, you know, given who my consumer is. And, and, you know, so, you know, we work with, we work with actually agencies. We work with media vendors. Um, we also work with clients direct. So, uh, you know, we have a broad customer base, um, in terms of, you know, where, where you can find us. Tommy (49:59): Um, you know, probably the easiest thing to do is go to our website, which is www.theroundtripgroup.com. And there, it talks about who we are talks about our services, um, is all the information on how to contact, you know, uh, all of us in the organization. And so, you know, I would encourage any of the listeners out there if, uh, you know, you to need, or you just want to have a conversation and see if, if we might be right for you and can help you, uh, go to the website and don't hesitate to reach out to any of them. Roy (50:36): All right. Well, again, I want to thank Tommy Nolen with the round trip group, be sure and reach out to him and, uh, you know, see how they can help you. Uh, you can also find us www.seniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com, also Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Uh, you can also reach out to me@royatseniorlivingsalesandmarketing.com. It's been a pleasure Tommy, and until next time everybody take care. Thanks a lot.    

Episode 99 - How will tech play an even more important role moving forward with Levi Aron from SevenRooms Tech will play such an important role in how hospitality brands function and remain profitable moving forward. One of the most credible players in this space is SevenRooms. Levi Aron is the Chief Revenue Officer at SevenRooms, a guest experience platform for the hospitality industry. Prior to joining SevenRooms, Levi was the Australian CEO and Country Manager of Deliveroo, a London-based food delivery tech startup. Throughout his tenure at Deliveroo, Aron was instrumental in helping grow the service into 13 countries, over 500 cities globally. In addition to being a strong people leader, Levi’s drive for creativity, efficiency and innovation have seen him implement countless data-led strategies across organizations to transform the customer and partner experience. His previous experience includes roles at YumTable, Catch of the Day, and Roxberry Group. SevenRooms is a fully-integrated, data-driven guest experience platform that helps hospitality operators connect data across the guest journey. From neighbourhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, the end-to-end platform enables operators to automatically drive revenue and profitability by leveraging data to build direct relationships, deliver exceptional experiences, and increase repeat visits & orders. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures and Providence Strategic Growth, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including Bloomin’ Brands, MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Jumeirah Group, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Momento Hospitality Group, SkyCity Entertainment Group, Matteo Sydney, LDV Hospitality, Zuma, Altamarea Group, Major Food Group, AELTC, Chase Hospitality Group, D&D London, Corbin & King, Live Nation and Topgolf. The company was recently included on Inc.’s annual Best Workplaces for 2020 and Forbes’ Best Startup Employers 2020 lists. Please connect with SevenRooms here: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sevenrooms/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SevenRooms/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/sevenrooms Twitter: https://twitter.com/SevenRooms --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/principle-of-hospitality/message

Just as there are no two recipes that contain the exact same ingredients or measurements, there are no two success stories exactly the same. Recipe For Success features entrepreneurs, visionary leaders and innovators of all ages who will share their ingredients that make them successful – personally and professionally. Let's get cooking! Heather Geronemus trained as a professional ballerina while completing her Bachelor of Science in Marketing at New York University. At NYU, she also became a leader for the school’s Jewish Heritage Program, supporting and developing student mentoring, peer networking and education programs. Heather remained active in JHP post graduation as an on-campus fellow. She was honored by the organization in 2012 for her leadership and personal charitable efforts. Ms. Geronemus began her professional career at Bloomberg in New York as part of the publishing organization, later moving into the company’s financial products operation, where she held both marketing and product training roles. She moved to South Florida and joined Ultimate Software in 2010. Heather began her career at Ultimate Software in Marketing in 2010, promoting the company’s cloud based-human capital management and employee experience solutions. Heather now serves as the Director of Public Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility, overseeing Media, Customer & Community Relations. Ultimate is one of South Florida’s most respected technology businesses, supporting customers including the Miami HEAT, Bloomin’ Brands, Feeding America, SUBWAY, and Yamaha Corporation of America. The company is regularly recognized as an employer of choice, ranked in the top 25 in Fortune Magazine list of Best Places to Work for nine consecutive years. Heather is one of Broward County’s leaders, remaining constantly and actively involved with the South Florida community. Following the loss of her father, Dr. Robert Geronemus, to a drunk driver in 2009, Heather took a leadership role in Fort Lauderdale’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization. Heather established the Annual Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale in 2011 and has since then continually chaired the event. Heather is thrilled to chair this event for the tenth year in row, it has raised more than $2.5 million to date. In addition, she regularly represents MADD with local, state and federal elected officials, travelling to Washington D.C. to meet with Florida’s Congressional and Senatorial delegations. Heather’s efforts were recognized at MADD’s 2012 national conference, where she was awarded the Linda Kitazaki Volunteer Fundraising Award. She was named Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals at their National Philanthropy Day 2014 for her work with MADD Broward. She also received the 2011-’12 and 2014 MADD Florida Hero Awards for outstanding achievement, in 2019 this award was renamed the Geronemus/Unfried MADD Florida Hero Award in honor of Heather & Linda Unfried’s dedication to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Heather is proud to assume the Chair position on the National Board of Directors of Mothers Against Drunk Driving after serving as a Director and then Vice Chair over the last four years. Learn more about Ultimate Software at https://www.ultimatesoftware.com/. For more information about Junior Achievement of South Florida, visit https://www.jasouthflorida.org. Follow us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasouthflorida LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/junior-achievement-of-south-florida/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasouthflorida Twitter: https://twitter.com/JASouthFlorida

Bloomin’ Brand Inc. during the height of coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions made the decision to maintain its payrolls and not furlough or lay off workers amid the numerous lockdowns. David Deno, CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based Bloomin’ Brands, said the decision paid off in helping sales normalize when restaurant dining rooms were allowed to open some of their dining rooms. “When this first happened in mid-March, we wanted to do two things. One, we wanted to take care of our employees. And two, we wanted to serve great food in a safe environment — either in the restaurant or in peoples’ homes.” Because of state and local coronavirus restrictions, that soon became exclusively off-premise Bloomin’s brands, which include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and the newer stand-alone, drive-thru Aussie Grill by Outback. “We knew that if we could retain our people and pay them, even if they weren’t working, and not let them go, it would improve employee engagement [and] that would enable us to bring people back right away when the restaurants reopened,” Deno said. “We wouldn’t have to recruit people. And we wouldn’t have to train people. That is exactly what happened.”

Chipotle is slowly cementing its place as an institution in the food landscape, and this is in large part due to its incredible marketing efforts. From their NBA final ‘freeting’ to their involvement at the National Spelling Bee, the company is making huge strides in entrenching themselves into popular culture. Leading the marketing charge is our guest today, Chris Brandt, who has been CMO for 18 months. Before this, he held CMO roles at Taco Bell and Bloomin’ Brands, along with senior positions at Coca Cola and General Mills. In this episode, Chris sheds some light on what working at Chipotle has been like. When he started at the company, they were in the midst of a food safety crisis. While he worked with PR on damage control, he also spotted an opportunity to share how real everything at Chipotle was.

When we decide to start working differently, it often begins with just one or two teams taking the leap. For everyone involved, the first weeks and months are a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Not everyone has the courage to see things through. In this episode, we talk about SLAM teams (self-managing, lean, audacious, multidisciplinary), the early days of a transformation, and why leaders should stay the course when the going gets tough. Later, we’re joined by Doug Seacrist, from Bloomin’ Brands, who shares his story of reinventing the technology support function inside a huge system of restaurants. Learn more about Bloomin' Brands at https://www.bloominbrands.com/ Connect with Doug on LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/37TJt8u Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.com Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Liz Smith, Executive Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Bloomin’ Brands and deputy chair of the Atlanta Fed, joined Beverly Kirk to talk about the importance of embracing your failures in the workplace, learning the lessons, and moving on quickly. They also discussed her mission of creating gender parity on corporate boards.

James Mitarotonda, who has run activist fund Barington Capital since 2000, says he takes a private-equity approach to public market investments in companies that frequently have high barriers to entry. However, Mitarotonda acknowledges that he will launch a director-election fight if necessary. For example, Barington is seeking to install two directors onto the board of Xerium Technologies as part of an effort to drive the paper machine manufacturer to explore a "strategic transaction that would facilitate the refinancing of its debt to more favorable terms." Beyond, Xerium, Mitarotonda spoke to The Deal about his efforts at Bloomin Brands and Avon, where he has a directorship.

Live from PXUX, Barb Millette joins us to discuss how Bloomin' Brands measures their rewards program success. Bloomin' Brands owns Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.

This is a conversation with Chris Brandt, the EVP and Chief Brand Officer at Bloomin’ Brands. Chris cut his teeth in CPG at General Mills and Odwalla. He made the jump to Taco Bell in 2010, later becoming the CMO and turning them into an innovation machine. Last year, he took over all aspects of marketing for Bloomin’ Brands which includes Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse. Enjoy!

In this interview, Donagh Herlihy, Executive Vice President of Digital and CIO of Bloomin' Brands, discusses World Class IT principle one, People, and principle five, External Partnerships, with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include: A review of Bloomin Brands and its entities across the United States His role and responsibilities as EVP of Digital How he manages the digital team, managing digital separately from IT The digital consumer journey and how he engages customers to find insights amongst customer groups How he feels about CIOs undertaking the responsibility of “Digital” within an enterprise How he has taken on additional responsibilities within the organization How he encourages his IT team to translate consumer technology advances to enterprise technology change Eye on the Trends: Improving consumer technology and the consumerization of IT

Coach rises on 4th-quarter results.  Target falls after lowering guidance.  Plus we analyze the struggles of restaurant group Bloomin’ Brands and the authenticity of Australian brands.