Applebee's wants to rule the wee hours

Casual dining giant Applebee’s has officially changed its marketing tagline from “Feeling Good in the Neighborhood” to “See You Tomorrow.” Good thing, because guests who visit one of the chain’s rechristened Club Applebee’s units may wind up feeling so good it will already be tomorrow by the time they call it a night.

Restaurant operators in other full-service segments often find a lucrative new revenue stream when they go after late-night business. They rely on a mix of specially priced drinks, dedicated after-hours food menus and nonstop promotions to turn a once-dormant daypart into a money-maker for their operation.

That’s the formula they’re following at Club Applebee’s, too. But it’s big news when the country’s largest casual dining chain, which has carefully nurtured a family- friendly image for decades, lets some franchisees start chasing late-night revelers.

So far, only about 100 of Applebee’s 1,900 U.S. units have switched their identities from traditional Applebee’s to Club Applebee’s. Many are located in Florida. However, the vast majority of those that haven’t made the switch could do so quickly if they wanted to. Most Applebee’s units already stay open until midnight or later and have the requisite liquor licenses. All they have to do is flip the marketing switch and they’re in the Club Applebee’s business.

Making a switch like this requires a leap of faith on the part of the Applebee’s franchise holder. Many of them may postpone such a move and instead see how the chain’s new $200 million revitalization push for the traditional Applebee’s brand plays out.

The new “See You Tomorrow” ad campaign is just one part of the effort. A company release says that “by the end of 2012, more than half of Applebee’s restaurants will be revitalized with a nearly $200 million investment in new design elements, including all-new signage and awnings with the brand’s updated logo, stone-faced entryways, bar upgrades and high-tech, flat screen TVs.” Ingredient-driven menu items are part of the push, too.

That may be enough for many franchisees to stick with the traditional Applebee’s format instead of going into Club Applebee’s mode. But Applebee’s senior manager of beverage Brian Masilionis tells Advertising Age that while no coast-to-coast rollout of the Club Applebee’s concept is imminent, “We’re not done talking about it nationally…. Stay tuned in terms of how messaging will evolve.”

Given Applebee’s many strengths—good food, great real estate, savvy marketing and the financial strength to back it—we can see how the Club Applebee’s idea might make late-night a true growth opportunity for this well-run chain. Could a similar effort, on a smaller scale, do the same for other operators?