Keywest Technology Case Study - Jose Peppers

CASESTUDYCASESTUDY
KEYWEST TECHNOLOGY CASE STUDY
KEYWEST TECHNOLOGY
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CASESTUDYCASESTUDY KEYWEST TECHNOLOGY
Growing Restaurant Chain
Improves Customer Communications
With Digital Signage
I
n 1988 the founder of Jose
Pepper’s opened his first res-
taurant in a suburb of Kansas
City with a $6,000 loan from his
father, and since then, the family-
friendly “border grill & cantina”
has expanded to 14 locations in
both Kansas and Missouri. In ad-
dition to being a favorite local res-
taurant, Jose Pepper’s has expand-
ed its product and service offerings
beyond the local grill and cantina.
For example, not only can hungry
hombres bring home the bacon, but
also tasty Jose Pepper’s-branded
products purchased from nation-
wide grocery store chains. Addi-
tionally, diners can experience their
favorite Tex-Mex dishes anywhere they choose by ordering on-site, full-service catering for either private
or business events.
Brent Sullivan, Food Strategist for Jose Pepper’s, manages key food and communication decisions. He is
an active board member of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, advocating food quality, freshness,
and sustainability. Besides being a promoter for quality food products, Sullivan is also an advocate of
consistent branding, which ultimately led him to the decision to employ Keywest Technology’s managed-
network services using the Breeze Digital Signage solution, a.k.a., JPTV (Jose Pepper’s TV).
Sullivan’s expertise in restaurant marketing provides many useful insights into the ways digital signage
is enhancing the communication to both customers and employees. He backs up his experiences with
practical advice that is partly attributed to his collaboration with Keywest Technology.
THE CHALLENGES
Faced with diverse customer demographics and hard-to-forecast service demands, Jose Pepper’s
has the on-going challenge of maintaining communication channels that reach full circle, from Baby
Boomers to Gen-Y. These channels of communication must engage and entertain patrons waiting
for service, present useful information to service staff that prefer to be busy on their feet instead of

sitting in “boring” meetings, and just as importantly, help mitigate food price volatility. It’s a tall
order to be sure, but growing restaurant chains like Jose Pepper’s are not afraid to try new things.
THE SOLUTION
Sullivan commented that digital signage allows him to put his “best food forward.” It helps create a
service attitude that puts the customer first and goes so far as to build a community around the experi-
ence. Additionally, when it comes to digital communications to build community, he champions the use
of multiple digital channels, including the extensive use of social media, a Belly rewards program that
includes an in-store kiosk and smartphone app, and of course, the ubiquitous website.
With little doubt, the centerpiece of this multifaceted
communication effort is JPTV. Reflecting on the digi-
tal sign installed in each restaurant’s waiting area,
Sullivan remarks, “The daily ebb and flow of hungry
patrons is not always predictable, so addressing wait-
time anxiety is a big priority.”
Communicating directly with customers in the service
area is a chief concern for quality restaurants that
provide a service that is highly optional and personal.
And since mass communication is not personal com-
munication and social media is most effective outside
the restaurant, Sullivan considered the question,
“How can we better communicate to customers inside
the restaurant in real-time?”
To tackle this problem of personalization first and
foremost, he decided the digital sign in the waiting
area must not only promote food items, but also offer
infotainment in the form of local trivia among other
engaging media. According to customer feedback re-
ceived by service staff and restaurant managers, this
tactic has proven to be highly effective at reducing
wait-time anxieties.
Sullivan explains, “When the high school band de-
cides to come to Jose Pepper’s on a busy night, that creates an interruption in the service flow, and
the last thing we want to say is, ‘I’m
sorry, I’m sorry,’ over and over while
the wait times increase dramatically.
By using local trivia questions in the
waiting area, we successfully reduce
wait-time anxiety.”
Working in conjunction with friendly and helpful
service staff, communication on food choices and
cross promotions is greatly enhanced with digital
signage.
By using local trivia questions in the waiting area,
we successfully reduce wait-time anxiety.

What may be a 20-40 minute wait time during peak demands can be perceived to be less by present-
ing local trivia on the screen that gets patrons guessing answers and sharing stories while they wait.
This simple but effective approach fits well with the smartphone-toting demographic that frequents
Jose Pepper’s.
But local trivia is only part of the story to reducing wait-time anxieties. As part of the network-managed
services offered by Keywest Technology, Keywest Creative was engaged to develop monthly campaigns
based on a media planner provided by Sullivan. Of course, some things you can put on a schedule
and some things you can’t. However, with the ability
to change the Breeze digital signs near real-time for
local events, it became possible for the first time to
acknowledge a local high school football victory as part
of the media playlist at a specific location. This “keep
it local” effort also includes the acknowledgement and
personalization of many other school events, birthdays,
holidays, fundraisers, etc., simply depending on what
the community is doing and engaged in at any moment.
Even though the digital sign in customer waiting areas gets all the glory, another major and as impor-
tant communication effort is not so apparent—the back-of-house system. Sullivan explains that young
service crews “do not read instructional memos very well. Being raised with digital media instead of
print media, they are inclined to treat a paper memo more like tissue paper…” Jose Pepper’s has found
that communicating visually with the younger generation via
the back-of-house digital sign is far more effective than any
printed announcements. Sullivan says, “If it’s not visual, they
are probably not paying attention to it.”
Setting the brand standard for the service staff is another ma-
jor benefit to back-of-house communications. By constantly
displaying to staff photos of new menu items including long-
time favorites, everyone from the janitor to the servers knows
what a particular food serving is supposed to look like. In this
way, everyone manages the food standard that helps establish
expectations in quality.
Finally, the Breeze Digital Signage system addresses a prob-
lem that every business has to some degree, price fluctuation.
Sullivan quips, “I need to control the unknowable, which is the
cost of wholesale food in the commodity markets.” From sea-
son to season the cost of food fluctuates widely, battered by
weather conditions, market demands, political influence, etc.
So, with food being a major commodity, there is price volatil-
ity in the marketplace that makes some menu items not so
Noting that the back-of-house digital sign is far
more effective than printed announcements, Sul-
livan says, “If it’s not visual, they are probably not
paying attention to it.”
B
y constantly displaying to staff photos
of new menu items including long-time
favorites, everyone from the janitor to
the servers knows what a particular food
serving is supposed to look like.

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KEYWEST TECHNOLOGY
profitable in a given season. Restaurant owners cannot dictate what customers demand, but they can
persuade guests to buy those more profitable items, which makes good business sense. Influencing the
consumer at the point of sale is a key to dealing with this dilemma, and the most cost effective way to
do that is with digital signage.
THE RESULTS
As this case study helps clarify, a good digital signage deployment for full-service restaurants is
not just about sales lift because sales lift in itself does not explain the qualitative factors that
produce sustainable sales gain. Digital signage can offer a lot more value than just flashy promo-
tions on LCD displays. For successful restaurant chains like Jose Pepper’s, digital signage is an
integrated part of the marketing mix, where performance is measured at many levels providing a
clearer understanding of return-on-objectives (ROO). ROO measures value that is illustrated by
customer behavior and attributes, such as, satisfaction, experience, influence, loyalty, and recall
among other factors, which are all key components that have a lasting effect on the bottom line
of the ledger.
For instance, let’s consider how improved recall
of promoted items influences return-on-objectives
and ultimately a restaurant owner’s bottom line.
According to Nielsen’s third-quarter (2013) Digi-
tal Place-Based Video Report, ad recall for POS-
type digital signage is typically in the 60% range,
which is more than twice the average recall of static signs. This is the reason you can so easily recall the
rich color of a creamed latte topped with cinnamon spice at your local McCafe.
Such recall makes digital signage a natural choice for promoting those more seasonable and profitable
food items at the right time and place, which does translate into sales lift. According to a Networld
Media Group report, Digital Menu Boards and ROI, the average sales lift of any digitally promoted item
averages around 3-5%.
Sullivan says, “If you cannot measure it you cannot manage it. Producing even a 3% sales lift of pro-
moted items during its prime season not only makes the business more money but also provides diners
the freshest choices.”
When it comes to return-on-objectives, Sullivan provided the following key points of improvement that
digital signage (JPTV) provides the restaurants day in and day out:
Improved point-of-sale communication to customers
Improved back-of-house communications
Increased staff adherence to instructions with visual reminders
Labor savings from reduced meeting times
Promotional cost savings
Reduced wait-time anxieties for customers
Sales lift of promoted items
K
eywest Creative builds high-quality
promotions using Jose Pepper’s’ exacting
brand standards with skillfully produced
food images, projecting an appealing and
consistent image in all locations.

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KEYWEST TECHNOLOGY
To be sure, all of these factors are measured in different ways, but all of them ultimately impact
the bottom line while improving customer relations.
When asked if customers notice the digital sign campaigns, Sullivan answered, “Yes, customers
notice everything, from the taste of the cheese to the dynamically promoted menu items on JPTV.
We don’t leave customer service to second-guessing. We proactively seek comments as part of
our quality service cycle. After all, restaurant managers tend to be extroverts. They like to get
out in the service area and solicit feedback on the food and service directly from patrons. People
will say, ‘I love reading the trivia, but you should change it more often,’ so we know they are
paying attention.”
When deciding to go with a network-managed digital sign solution, Sullivan related that he had
to consider the value proposition of the entire package. Rather than bogging down restaurant
operations with another time-consuming marketing task that is not their forte, he enjoys the
freedom of guiding Keywest Creative to design and manage campaigns and promotions around
his schedule. Keywest Creative builds high-quality promotions using Jose Pepper’s’ exacting
brand standards with skillfully produced food images, projecting an appealing and consistent
image in all locations.
Sam Ruggles (left), Keywest Technology’s Solution Manager, and Brent Sullivan, Jose Pepper’s Food Strategist,
pause at the cantina for a drink.

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KEYWEST TECHNOLOGY
Brian Bibler, Chief Designer at Keywest Creative, developed
the advertising campaign for the Belly rewards system that
included a stand for the Belly tablet. Bibler noted that it
was important to “place the Belly promotion…at the point-
of-wait to stimulate awareness and encourage usage of the
Belly rewards program.
CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHT
Building loyalty for one’s brand has always been a challenge,
and it has become even more of a challenge in this instant-
information age where business may rise or fall based on
one’s social media ranking for service and experience. This
could not be truer than in the finicky food service environ-
ment where restaurants cater to personal tastes and whim.
To help build brand loyalty, Jose Pepper’s employs the Belly
system, which is a personalized loyalty and reward program.
New members can sign up via a small touch screen located
in the waiting area. There is also a smartphone app that cus-
tomers can use to collect and manage reward points.
However, for the Belly reward program to be effective, Jose
Pepper’s customers need to know about it, sign up for it,
and then use it. At first, Jose Pepper’s promoted the Belly
program via social media, table signs at public events, and
through an awareness campaign performed by table servers.
This effort provided the starter seeds for the reward program,
but as Brent Sullivan explains, “I’ll give [Keywest Creative] most
of the credit for the successful campaign message and growth
of our rewards program.”
Since customer signup for the Belly rewards program requires
patrons to be physically in the restaurant, Sullivan had Key-
west Creative design digital promotions for Belly rewards.
Brian Bibler, Chief Designer at Keywest Creative, noted that
it was important to “place the Belly promotion in the com-
munications mix at the point-of-wait to stimulate awareness
and encourage usage of the Belly rewards program.”
After Jose Pepper’s marketing team had approved the pro-
motions, Keywest Creative uploaded the Belly campaign
to the cloud-based Breeze server, which instantly distrib-
uted the promotions to the digital signs located in each
restaurant’s waiting area. To say the least, if the digital
signage campaign for Belly rewards were fuel, then the
daily promotions on the digital sign at the point-of-wait
was the needed launch pad for program acceptance that
took off like a rocket!
From March 2013 through August of 2014, the cross-promo-
tion campaign produced almost 17,500 new users, and with
the daily reminders promoted at the point-of-wait, Belly us-
ers grew to an average of over 100,000 check-ins monthly.
These results were “very successful”, according to Sullivan.

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