Thirteen months after he purchased Auntie Anne’s Inc., CEO Sam Beiler rolled out a new logo, new signage, new packaging, new uniforms, a new website, and a new marketing campaign hailing his company’s signature item as “Pretzel Perfect.” And he managed to re-brand 750 of Auntie Anne’s 900-plus locations with the new look in the summer of 2006 alone. Not bad for a year’s work, right? Well, Beiler had some help. A team of 17 franchisees, nominated by fellow operators, and Auntie Anne’s executives worked together with Dallas-based ad agency, The Richards Group, to evolve the Auntie Anne’s brand. Even crewmembers got in on the effort; their input resulted in a mix–and–match uniform program. By involving those most impacted in re-branding efforts, Beiler got the buy-in that corporate efforts—industry wide—often lack.

Though owned by Atlanta-based Raving Brands, PJ’s Coffee is a 28-year New Orleans native. And so when the brand became PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans in July 2006, the move was as much a show of solidarity with its beleaguered hometown as a brilliant marketing move. With the name change comes identification with all that it’s good about the Big Easy—its distinctive coffee, for example—and a connection with the city’s rebuilding efforts. The brand took the connection a step further in the fall when it introduced four new coffee bags featuring iconic New Orleans imagery: a Canal Street trolley, Jackson Square Chapel, a Bourbon street jazz band, and an antebellum Garden District home.

Phillips Seafood has delved into the quick-casual segment before—with somewhat lackluster results. The Maryland-seafood supplier and restaurant operator launched its Phillips Famous Seafood limited-service concept in 2003, but melding the quality of the Phillips brand with the price points of quick-service proved to difficult. Still, when longtime licensing partner HMS Host approached about developing an express unit, Phillips was willing to give quick-service a second try. This time, they got it right. Lessons learned from Phillips Famous Seafood helped; working with an experienced partner on the menu development and operations proved invaluable. The first Phillips Seafood Express opened in May 2006 in HMS’s Maryland House. HMS reports the unit sold 6,800 crab cakes and 5,800 crab pretzels in the 100 days between Labor and Memorial Day. The concessionaire declined to share any other specific sales numbers, but did say Phillips has “slightly more than doubled” sales of the previous tenant. Additional units in other travel centers and airport locations are planned. A kiosk version of the concept is also in development. All will serve some version of the express menu co-developed by HMS and Phillips. The seafood sampler (crispy shrimp, spring rolls, and crab slammers for $6.99) is a customer favorite. Fast-food seafood players, however, may breathe a sigh of relief: Phillips has no plans to bring the concept to the streets.

In August 2006, Captain D’s Captain D’s added the words “Seafood Kitchen” to its logo and grilled seafood to its menu. The move was much needed, not only for Captain D’s, which saw a -1.5 percent systemwide sales decrease in 2005, but for the segment at large, which saw its own sales drop in 2005. New items on the re-christened and -decorated Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen menu include salmon, tilapia, catfish, and shrimp skewers, plus pasta dishes. Sides like cheddar broccoli casserole and macaroni and cheese suggest an alternative to Boston Market rather than Long John Silver’s. It remains to be seen if customers take the bait. Perhaps the free WI-FI service will lure them in. Franchising >