Report Outline I. Background- A. Info on specific product we’re advertising (curly fries, inexpensive variety of sandwiches) B. Status of Arby’s in current fast food industry C. How their products are being advertised now D. Objectives of our focus groups/interviews: we want to learn how the following pertains to college students: D. Fast food consumption patterns (when, where, why eat fast food?) D. Fast food preferences overall (what they like and dislike about fast food/what they look for when choosing a restaurant to go to) D. Opinions on current fast food branding/advertising and how Arby’s stacks up against competition in terms of marketing D. Overall attitudes towards Arby’s E. How info will be used: E. Develop a more positive image for Arby’s E. Develop a robust advertising campaign to attract college students/new customers and make it a strong competitor in the industry II. Method- A. Target group definition (talk about the screener- college students who eat fast food, etc.) B. Number of interviews- 24 total C. How respondents were recruited- friends, classmates, randomly found on campus D. Where and time period interviews were held- local coffee shops, on-campus, library; about 45 minutes each E. Insert a copy of the screener and discussion guide here (not in an appendix) III. Findings- discuss results in terms using “virtually all respondents”, “almost no one”, “several” (don’t use numbers/percents)- A. Consumption A. Most popular fast food restaurants: In n Out, Carl’s Jr., Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Chipotle A. Consumption patterns: late night or during the week when they’re too lazy to make food A. Most are not concerned about healthy choices on fast food menus A. Important factors when choosing a fast food restaurant: mood, taste, location/accessibility, value for money, speed A. Like: fast, cheap, open 24 hours/convenient A. Don’t like: when the food is super unhealthy, can’t trust advertising (false claims of real beef, etc.) or it’s boring A. Top choices for fast food: burgers, sandwiches, fries, tacos A. Overwhelming positive response to curly fries-- “everyone loves curly fries” B. Branding/Advertising B. All fast food is pretty much the same. Some fast food restaurants have better quality than other similar fast food places. B. Will often switch between different fast food restaurants based on mood (loyal to a few; don’t want to always be eating the same thing/want several alternatives) B. What they like about ads: humor, catchy jingles/slogans B. What they don’t like about ads: deceptive advertising, boring, annoying B. Most people we interviewed hadn’t seen any Arby’s ads B. Arby’s ads don’t stand out or make food look appealing and they are not funny B. They feel like it mostly appeals to guys and meat lovers (everyone else is pushed away) C. Arby’s C. Most rarely visit Arby’s or have gone only a few times (experience was okay) C. They are aware that Arby’s serves sandwiches C. Brand is outdated/not exciting C. ...

1. Report Outline
I. Background-
A. Info on specific product we’re advertising (curly fries,
inexpensive variety of sandwiches)
B. Status of Arby’s in current fast food industry
C. How their products are being advertised now
D. Objectives of our focus groups/interviews: we want to learn
how the following pertains to college students:
D. Fast food consumption patterns (when, where, why eat fast
food?)
D. Fast food preferences overall (what they like and dislike
about fast food/what they look for when choosing a restaurant
to go to)
D. Opinions on current fast food branding/advertising and how
Arby’s stacks up against competition in terms of marketing
D. Overall attitudes towards Arby’s
E. How info will be used:
E. Develop a more positive image for Arby’s
E. Develop a robust advertising campaign to attract college
students/new customers and make it a strong competitor in the
industry
II. Method-
A. Target group definition (talk about the screener- college
students who eat fast food, etc.)
B. Number of interviews- 24 total
C. How respondents were recruited- friends, classmates,
randomly found on campus
D. Where and time period interviews were held- local coffee
shops, on-campus, library; about 45 minutes each
E. Insert a copy of the screener and discussion guide here (not
in an appendix)
III. Findings- discuss results in terms using “virtually all
respondents”, “almost no one”, “several” (don’t use
numbers/percents)-

2. A. Consumption
A. Most popular fast food restaurants: In n Out, Carl’s Jr., Taco
Bell, Jack in the Box, Chipotle
A. Consumption patterns: late night or during the week when
they’re too lazy to make food
A. Most are not concerned about healthy choices on fast food
menus
A. Important factors when choosing a fast food restaurant:
mood, taste, location/accessibility, value for money, speed
A. Like: fast, cheap, open 24 hours/convenient
A. Don’t like: when the food is super unhealthy, can’t trust
advertising (false claims of real beef, etc.) or it’s boring
A. Top choices for fast food: burgers, sandwiches, fries, tacos
A. Overwhelming positive response to curly fries-- “everyone
loves curly fries”
B. Branding/Advertising
B. All fast food is pretty much the same. Some fast food
restaurants have better quality than other similar fast food
places.
B. Will often switch between different fast food restaurants
based on mood (loyal to a few; don’t want to always be eating
the same thing/want several alternatives)
B. What they like about ads: humor, catchy jingles/slogans
B. What they don’t like about ads: deceptive advertising,
boring, annoying
B. Most people we interviewed hadn’t seen any Arby’s ads
B. Arby’s ads don’t stand out or make food look appealing and
they are not funny
B. They feel like it mostly appeals to guys and meat lovers
(everyone else is pushed away)
C. Arby’s
C. Most rarely visit Arby’s or have gone only a few times
(experience was okay)
C. They are aware that Arby’s serves sandwiches
C. Brand is outdated/not exciting
C. Don’t see much marketing for the company (no coupons,

3. promos, etc.)
C. Advertising is okay- nothing special/not funny
C. Overall attitudes toward slogan “We have the meats”- weird;
Arby’s does not have much variety
C. Most seem to like only one option “Chicken Sandwiches”
IV. Implications-
A. Advertising should be more engaging and informative
(people are not aware of Arby’s
B. Using humor would improve brand image from boring to
more exciting/up-to-date
C. Wording should be short and to the point (don’t want to
waste their time looking for/choosing a fast food place; they
want a place that is fast, convenient, and has variety)
D. Tone of advertising should be funny and high-energy
E. Advertising should target college students since they visit
fast food restaurants at least once or twice a week
F. They can gain more customers by improving marketing and
offering promotions in addition to their ads on TV/print
V. Ads-
A. Our Arby’s advertising was developed based on attitudes
towards overall fast food restaurant advertising
B. Also kept in mind how Arby’s compared to others in industry
who are doing well/have good advertising (McDonalds, Carl’s
Jr.)
C. Arby’s needs to increase its exposure and make itself more
appealing to a broader audience
D. Many people were unaware of their menu and thought Arby’s
only has meat sandwiches when it actually has salads, chicken,
seafood, curly fries, and desserts
E. Arby’s needs to do a better job showcasing its variety of
products to attract more customers
F. Print ads we make:
F. One ad about curly fries
F. One ad about inexpensive variety of sandwiches: “We’re
more than just meat” or “We don’t just have the meats”
G. Our advertising is strong because:

4. G. Attention-getting/memorable: humorous
G. Communicates: variety of product offerings, brand name,
easily understandable
G. Engenders more favorable attitudes: more fun/upbeat,
develops more favorable feelings toward brand, increases
buying interest
G. Advertising itself can be easily liked
G. Advertising is not deceptive, unethical, or offensive
H. Our advertising weaknesses
H. Hard demographic to penetrate because of Arby’s obscurity
amongst the rest of the fast food chains.
H. Hard to to show variety when menu that has a limited
showcase of menu options.
H. More difficult to advertise a business that has little exposure
already.
H. Showcasing our sandwiches at a lower price may cause
customers attitude of the product to lower due to quality.
H. Focusing on just sandwiches may cause the rest of the food
items to diminish in demand.
Consumer Behavior in the Fast Food Industry
Consumer Behavior in the Fast Food Industry

5. Background
Method
Findings
By conducting three focus groups and twenty-four in-depth
interviews, our group was able to gather information on overall
fast food consumption as well as opinions on fast food branding
and advertising. We took it a step further by collecting attitudes
specifically towards Arby’s restaurants and discussed ways the
company could improve its image and appeal more towards
college students.
We discovered that the most popular fast food restaurants
visited by college students are In-n-Out, Carl’s Jr., Taco Bell,
Jack in the Box, and Chipotle. Almost everyone explained that
they visit these fast food chains during the school week, when
they do not have enough time to make their own food, or late at
night with their friends. Although a few respondents were more
health-conscious, the overall trend indicated little to no concern
for healthy choices on fast food menus. The most important
factors when choosing a fast food restaurant include the
consumer’s mood, as well as the food taste, restaurant location,
speed of service, and value for money. When asked to state the
elements they like about fast food chains overall, all
respondents agreed that they enjoy fast service, low prices, and
restaurants open twenty-four hours for convenience.
Although the respondents showed little care for healthy fast
food items, they did mentioned that they do not like when the
food is overly unhealthy, heavy, or not fresh. They do not like
that at times, they cannot trust fast food advertising, especially
when companies make false claims about ingredients. About
half of the respondents also showed interest in the actual
environment of fast food restaurants, stating that the ambiance
is important when choosing where to dine and do not like when

6. the interior of the store is boring or outdated. When asked what
fast food items they purchased, everyone described burgers,
sandwiches, fries, and tacos as their top choices. In addition,
there was an overwhelmingly positive response towards curly
fries, with several participants exclaiming, “Everyone loves
curly fries!”
As for branding, a majority of respondents explained that all
fast food chains are essentially the same, with some restaurants
serving slightly better quality products than other similar
chains. Overall, they agreed to little variation in regards to
quality within the fast food industry. They are loyal to a select
few restaurants, and since they want several meal alternatives,
all explained that they often switch between their top choices
based on their mood and what they are craving at the time. All
participants enjoy humorous ads, with catchy jingles and
slogans. They dislike deceptive, boring, or annoying
advertisements that put extra effort into proving a point or
making a joke. When the discussion switched focus to Arby’s,
almost no one had seen Arby’s ads. Those who had seen the ads,
were familiar with those on TV. They all explained that Arby’s
advertisements do not stand out or make the food look
appealing. They do not particularly find them funny and feel as
though the company only targets men and meat lovers.
Implications
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