Commentary

3 reasons to attend the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit

The Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit is taking place March 11 to 13 at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. If you run a restaurant, are using digital signage or kiosks, or provide digital signage to restaurants, you need to attend this event.

February 19, 2019 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

The Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit is rapidly approaching, taking place March 11 to 13 at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. If you run a restaurant, are using digital signage or kiosks, or provide digital signage to restaurants, you need to attend this event.

In fact, I can give you three good reasons to attend:

You'll gain key insights on innovative technology like blockchain and VR.
You'll learn how to use self-service kiosks.
You'll learn how to directly target customers with tools like digital signage.

Innovative tech on display

On March 12, experts in the franchising industry will share key insights on innovations in the market, including blockchain, in a panel talk at 8:15 a.m. Blockchain is a decentralized ledger that was originally created for the virtual currency bitcoin. The technology, however, has many uses beyond just bitcoin.

Ray Wiley, CEO of Hot Head Burritos and Rapid Fired Pizza, will host the panel, "What in the world is blockchain and why does it matter to my restaurant?" The session will explore the innovative technology behind bitcoin and how restaurants have been using it to revolutionize supply chain management, loyalty programs and other areas.

At another panel, at 11:00 a.m. on March 12, three experts will talk about AI and VR and how restaurants can determine if these technologies are worth the cost.

Jacob Brewer, senior director of restaurant excellence at CKE Restaurants Holdings, Cesar Elizondo, controller, StarCorp, and Dan Simpson, CEO, Taziki's Mediterranean Café will discuss the pros and cons of their own deployments and talk about emerging technologies they expect to see in both the near and distant future.

How to use self-service kiosks

Many restaurant giants, such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, have begun to utilize self-ordering kiosks. Smaller chains, however, can be overwhelmed by the sheer variety of kiosks, tools and self-ordering solutions available.

Derin Alemli, founder and CEO, Square Roots Kitche, Randy Gier, CEO, NRG Restaurant Group, and Akash Kapoor, founder and CEO, Curry Up Now, will share insight on how restaurants can 'do-it-yourself' with kiosks in a panel entitled, "DIY: Helping your customers conquer self-service," on March 12 at 2:30 p.m.

The panel will examine the "pros and cons of self-ordering options and the steps you can take to help your customers understand and master the process." The panelists will also address issues such as what type of content to use on the kiosks and how to integrate mobile ordering.

How to target customers and improve the customer experience

On March 13, panels will address how restaurants can use technologies such as digital signage to improve the customer experience and directly target customers.

Scott Davis, president and CCO, CoreLife Eatery, Phil Friedman, CEO, Salsarita's, Michael Johnson, senior director of technical, voice and data services, Papa John's Pizza, and Scott Stalnaker, director of IS operations and projects, Donatos, will talk about how to use next-gen tech to boost the customer experience at a session entitled, "The restaurant of the future: How next-gen technologies enrich the guest experience and lower the cost of innovation," at 11:00 a.m.

The experts will provide a high-level overview of the benefits of the latest technologies, including delivering robust guest experiences, enhancing security compliance, enriching loyalty programs and simplifying roll outs. They’ll also discuss how to implement them as fully managed solutions to free up capex budgets and allow your teams to focus on proactive strategic initiatives.

Other panels will tackle issues such as how to please the 'we want it now' crowd and how to use social media effectively to reach your audience.

By attending RFIS, you will gain an opportunity to learn and connect with potential end users and vendors in the field. Click here to sign up now. Make sure to enter DSTEDITOR on the sign up for a 20 percent discount.

About Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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