Why CTV is the Most Effective Buy for QSR Marketers 

Author: Justin Gutschmidt, Head of National Sales, Premion.

With return-to-office in full swing, the battle for reaching on-the-go breakfast and lunch customers is brewing for QSR marketers. Along with lingering inflation, QSRs face growing competition to promote value in attracting and retaining customers as price-conscious consumers are quick to switch loyalty for the best deals. In fact, two in three customers say they download restaurant apps or loyalty programs to find deals and freebies, according to a Bluedot report. 

As QSR advertisers place an emphasis on finding the most effective ways to reach new and existing customers — and to ensure that their ad dollars work harder with minimal waste, many are already embracing Connected TV (CTV) advertising to reach a vast and engaged audience. This year, eMarketer projects that US adults will spend 4 hours and 49 minutes per day watching TV — and nearly 40% of that daily TV time will be spent streaming. Additionally, 86% of US households are projected to be Connected TV households.*

CTV advertising is proving to be effective for driving full funnel results for QSR marketers — and 92% of ad-supported OTT viewers visited a QSR in the last 6 months, according to a November 2022 MRI-Simmons Cord Evolution study. Among the report’s other notable audience findings:

• 88% of ad-supported OTT viewers visited a QSR in the last month. 
• 83% of people who used a QSR coupon are ad-supported OTT viewers.
• 87% of people who visited a QSR more than 9 times in the last month are ad-supported OTT viewers.
• 88% of people who spent more than $100 at a QSR in the last month are ad-supported OTT viewers.
• 87% of people who agree that eating at a QSR helps them stay in budget are ad-supported OTT viewers.

From driving brand awareness with demographic or contextual targeting to intender and audience-first targeting, QSR advertisers have access to a wide array of CTV targeting capabilities. Additionally, QSR brands can make their CTV campaigns more personalized with the use of dynamic creative ads. For instance, a QSR brand can embed a scannable QR code to promote their newest menu offerings and special offers and provide directions to the nearest location. This adds an extra layer of relevancy for driving performance with specific localized and personalized call to actions.

With advanced measurement and attribution capabilities, QSR advertisers can measure the effectiveness of their CTV campaigns in more precise ways and connect CTV viewership with direct business results. Additionally, QSR brands can go deeper to understand the true impact of their CTV campaigns on viewer perceptions with brand lift studies. For a popular fast-food restaurant chain, we measured the impact of our CTV holiday campaign that introduced desserts and baked goods to holiday shoppers living near their restaurant locations. Our brand lift study measured a +1143% lift in ad recall of the holiday message, +91% lift in awareness of the dessert offering availability, +52% lift in awareness that these desserts make a good gift, and a +363% lift in purchase intent among the viewers exposed to the campaign.

Beyond following the streaming shift, QSR advertisers that take advantage of the plethora of new targeting and measurement capabilities will ensure that their ad dollars are spent wisely to reach high-value audiences to drive measurable outcomes.

QSRs need a trusted premium CTV advertising partner that’s committed to brand safety and ad fraud protection — and that can execute locally in reaching the right consumers at the household-level, track conversions and reduce wasted impressions. Premion is a proven partner in driving measurable outcomes for many QSR brands. We’ve successfully executed a multitude of campaigns for hundreds of QSR brands— from large national and regional chains to small businesses.

For more QSR and CTV advertising insights, let’s have a conversation.

Read us on MediaPost here.

eMarketer; Average Time Spent per Day with TV, US, April 2022; eMarketer; eMarketer, Average Time Spent per Day with Other Connected Devices, April 2022; eMarketer, Connected TV Households, US, Sept 2022. Copyright © 2022 Insider Intelligence Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© MRI-Simmons 2023. 2022 November Cord Evolution Study, The data herein derives from a confidential, proprietary syndicated product owned by GfK US MRI, LLC.