Watchfire® Case Study: Watch What Happens.
RESTAURANTS :: Dairy Queen® - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Background
Bill Marble has owned his Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Dairy Queen® for
the past 30 years. For nearly every one of those years, he could
count on his sales to peak in the summertime as families stopped in
for Blizzards®, Peanut Buster Parfaits® and other signature DQ®
treats. But in 2008, his summer sales were uncommonly flat. With
fall approaching, and year-to-date sales up only $2,000, Marble
knew he needed a strategy to get his numbers back up before the
year's end. "The way I see it," said Marble, "if I'm not up more
than that, I'm down."
Results
After having his new Watchfire LED sign installed in September
2008, Marble's Dairy Queen® saw an immediate and dramatic increase
in business. "Here are two numbers - $2,000 and $23,000," Marble
said. "At the time I got the sign, I was up a little less than
$2,000 for the year. The second number, $23,000, is how much I was
up at the end of the year. That's an increase of $21,000 in the
last three months. Now what would you attribute that to?"
"He's like a kid with a new toy. I'm sure now he just wishes he
would have bought it (the sign) five years ago."
-- Chuck Agnew, Owner, Agnew Signs
:: SIGN SPECS ::
19mm Color LED
Matrix: 48 x 96
6 Lines x 19 Characters
40" High x 7' Wide
Case Study
For nearly 70 years, Dairy Queen® has been an icon in the American
fast food landscape. But in a crowded fast food market, an
impressive legacy doesn't guarantee great sales.
Marble needed to reconnect with the Cuyahoga Falls community.
Although his restaurant is located on a busy thoroughfare, his old
fashioned letterboard sign wasn't making an impact on drivers.
After conducting some research, Marble decided to
invest in a full color electronic message center
from Watchfire by Time-O-Matic.
Agnew Signs, a Watchfire dealer in Akron, Ohio, handled
the installation and helped with city zoning issues. According to
Agnew Signs owner, Chuck Agnew, installing an LED sign isn't much
more complicated than putting up a traditional sign. "There's a
little more welding if they come in two pieces," he said. "And you
have to line up the wireless sensors so you can control it
remotely, but that's nothing major. Overall, it takes about an
extra four hours."
Once the new LED sign went up, so did Marble's sales.
According to a monthly report published by his territorial
operator, Marble's restaurant had the largest sales increase of all
36 Dairy Queen® restaurants in his region in November of 2008. And
that disappointing $2,000 sales increase through September? By the
year's end, it had skyrocketed to $23,000.
Agnew isn't surprised by Marble's success. But he is surprised by
the timing. "He managed to do it in November and December, which
would typically be slow months."
Marble credits the boost in sales exclusively to his new Watchfire
LED sign. Now when motorists drive by, they take notice. "I'm
sitting in my store right now, and I just watched a truck go by and
look at my sign," Marble said. "I love it." And his customers love
it, too. "I can't tell you how many positive comments I get on this
sign," he said.
"One of the great things about a Watchfire sign is you can
change the messages easily, and it works immediately. One day
during lunch, we were dead. So I went and changed the sign to
advertise 89-cent hot dogs. Within minutes, a customer came in and
ordered two hot dogs."
-- Bill Marble, Owner, Dairy Queen®, Cuyahoga Falls,
Ohio.
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