Restaurant companies today face more challenges than ever before.
Any of this sound familiar?
Liebeck Morris’ Restaurant practice helps clients deal with these challenges thoroughly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. We specialize in working with emerging brands (5-25 units) and those transitioning to larger scale (25-100 units).
Our past restaurant clients include national and regional chains as well as franchisee groups. We have successfully worked in the Fast Casual, Casual Dining, Bar & Beverage and Pizza categories.
Our Conference Planning & Management practice offers turn-key or a la carte services to clients in the association, corporate and government agency sectors. Liebeck Morris has successfully planned or managed well over 1,000 meetings & conferences, ranging in size from 20-2,000+ participants.
We welcome the opportunity to speak with you confidentially to discuss your organization’s needs.
A 20-year-old casual dining restaurant chain experienced eroding sales over a five-year period. Management decided to make a dramatic, strategic shift in brand position but wanted to better understand both current guests’ perceptions and opportunities within their trade areas. Our team designed and managed a focus group to test optional strategies. We then worked with management to design and implement a new brand positioning and brand communication strategy integrating a combination of traditional media, social media, and digital marketing. Sales increased +22% in the first year, approximately +10% in the second year and have remained positive each year since.
A new concept was looking to create an expansion plan including franchise and corporate development. We were asked to design a research project to identify brand strengths and weaknesses, market opportunities matching existing location market demographics and economic characteristics and provide guidance on future expanded products. The project was concluded in 65 days and provided the basis for executive management to accelerate growth plans. The result saw the concept grow from 3 initial corporate locations to 60+ locations in 3 years.
A small franchisee with two stores asked us to work with them to place their locations on a growth curve. Using a detailed analytics regime, we identified opportunities to revamp their local marketing and to become more value-centric given their highest-in-the-market pricing profile. We designed a series of marketing plans and executed them, leading to both stores becoming the fastest growing in the chain for three years running. Subsequently, the group expanded to four stores at sites we helped identify. Those four stores remain the chains fastest growing.
A trade association had operated annual conferences for years on a deficit basis. Prior planners had negotiated hotel contracts with significant attrition penalties, large deposit requirements and overly generous food & beverage orders. Within three months, Liebeck Morris renegotiated current conference contracts to reduce attrition penalties. Additionally, deposit requirements were moved in line with customary levels and food & beverage orders were revised to reduce the risk of large over-ordering. The client hired Liebeck Morris to plan future conferences, all of which subsequently were conducted on budget and at break even or slightly profitable levels.
A trade association client contracted to hold a conference in a Gulf Coast location during hurricane season. Upon assuming the engagement with the client, Liebeck Morris recommended and secured hurricane cancellation insurance for the conference. Two weeks prior to the scheduled conference a major hurricane struck the meeting site, rendering it unusable. The cancellation insurance kicked in and the client not only did not incur substantial loss financially, but it also actually reported a slight positive cash flow after the event was rescheduled.
A for-profit corporation conducted a series of meetings and an annual conference for healthcare professionals each year. The complexity of these events as well as the expense commitments made focused management of the meeting planning and conference management functions an absolute requirement. Liebeck Morris had oversight for site selection, contract negotiation, program content development, event marketing, registration, food & beverage, event management and budget reconciliation. Within one year, a division that previously reported annual losses of $100,000-$300,000 reported a profit of nearly $800,000.
Barb is President at Liebeck Morris, Inc. (LMI). She has over 25 years of experience in senior conference and meeting planning positions serving trade associations, non-profits, government agencies and corporate organizations. She has successfully planned and/or managed over 1,000 events with 20 to 2,000 participants over her career.
Experience includes turn-key services for successful conferences and meetings, including site selection, hotel contract negotiations, program content, travel, registration, entertainment, food & beverage and budget forecasting/management and reconciliation.
Since 2012, Barb has served as Program Director & Director of Conferences at the Geoprofessional Business Association of Washington, DC. Previously, she worked for NeighborWorks America in Washington, DC, American Express in Brunswick, NJ, Association of Millwork Distributors, National Contracts, Inc. and The University of South Florida College of Public Health in Tampa, Florida. She also served as President of Conference & Meeting Consultants, Inc. in Washington, DC
Barb holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Montclair State University
Chris is Chairman at Liebeck Morris (LMI). He has over 25 years of success in strategic planning, business development, and operations management across diverse industries in both the public and private sectors.
Experience includes defining strategic direction, sales and operations planning, developing brand and marketing strategy, turning around underperforming businesses, harnessing technology to optimize business performance, and leading high performing teams to success.
Chris has held senior executive positions in a variety of industries in both public and private company environments. Most recently he was CEO of consulting firm On Brand Management & Media in Tampa, Florida. He previously was CEO at brand development company BrandStand Group in Washington, DC, concentrating on chain restaurant brands. He also was CEO at broadband services provider Prime Time Broadband in Orlando, Florida. Chris served as Senior Vice President for Space Media at aerospace company SPACEHAB in Washington, DC, President & CEO at NewsUSA in Washington, DC and President at NSE Radio Network in New York.
His background also includes serving as General Manager of Lakes Country Communications, owner of radio stations and shopper papers. Chris was Producer for Space Shuttle Television at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, a sportscaster for KHOU-TV in Houston, and an on-air talent for radio stations in New York and Houston.
Bill Zaccheo has more than 25 years of senior management experience with global media companies where he has been responsible for all critical operating divisions. He works with Liebeck Morris clients on digital/traditional media and marketing strategy and supporting various marketing functions.
Bill has gained a broad-reaching and in-depth knowledge of business development, operations, marketing, programming, sales and general management for both start-ups and established enterprises. He has supplemented his corporate experience through a broad range of high-level consulting projects in today’s explosive digital environment; the combination of which uniquely positions him at the forefront of today’s media sector as both a visionary and a seasoned executive.
Throughout his career, Bill has been at the cutting edge of new content and delivery systems. He championed one of the first efforts to stream video, both live and on-demand, via the Internet in 1998 with the multi-award winning ComedyNet.com. He was Senior Executive on the founding management team that created and launched E! Entertainment Television, the team that launched the NFL on ESPN, and the early rollouts of HBO and Cinemax. His efforts helped propel each network to become the marquee brands that they are today.
Most recently Bill Co-Founded and was CEO of WebVet, LLC a leading provider of news and information promoting the health and well-being of pets. WebVet is the first site of its kind to offer only ‘vet approved’ information to pet owners. With this strategy it was able to secure first ever relationships with the American Animal Hospital Association, Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health) and Elsevier. He remains on the company’s Board.
Greg Kauffman supports Liebeck Morris clients with creative and marketing services. He has been evolving his creative talents for more than 20 years servicing clients across multiple business sectors and non-profits.
Greg has been the chief designer for the Silver Diner restaurant brand in Washington, DC for nearly 20 years as well as working with over 25 additional chain restaurant brands including Moe’s Southwest Grill, Restaurants Unlimited, Happy Joe’s Pizza, and Villa Enterprises.
He founded the highly-regarded Kauffman Design Company, developing award winning branding solutions for a range of start-up and well-established clients. Some of his clients served include Adidas, Affiliated Computer Services, Business Software Alliance, Comcast, Charter Communications, Dunlop Tires, ESPN, Muscular Dystrophy Association and Univision.
He also has served as Creative Director for restaurant consulting firms throughout the U.S. as well as working in-house for commercial print companies, corporate graphic design departments and several marketing firms.
Greg holds a BFA degree in Graphic design from SUNY Fredonia and is a previous board member of AIGA, the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design.
Bubba to those who know him is a 20+ year marketing and advertising veteran.
He has been involved in many core brand and new product efforts, integrated marketing communication initiatives and media buying along with consumer research, analytics and strategic/tactical planning. He also spearheads major projects for clients to insure execution of the strategic and tactical planning.
Bubba has done extensive work with blue chip clients like Reynolds Metals, AT&T, BB&T Financial Services, Schwan’s Bakeries, Kimberly Clark and McCormick Spices, among many others. He also enjoyed stints at BBDO, Ogilvy & Mather and most recently Media Solutions, where he led the Client Services/Strategic Planning team.
He believes today’s evolving media landscape requires an up-to-date understanding of how consumers embrace and interact with both traditional and emerging digital media offerings and applies that thinking as a foundation of all client strategy and tactical recommendations.
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