Parents Opps: Texas Roadhouse loses CMO (Score 45)

Sales Lead: After twenty years of being with Texas Roadhouse (TR), CMO S. Chris Jacobsen has parted ways with the company.

• The company first hired Jacobsen in 2011, and it promoted him to CMO in 2016.
• TR has yet to announce a reason for the departure and/or a replacement, but we will of course keep you updated.
• The company will likely:
  • Need additional marketing assistance in his absence
  • Shift strategy and spend
  • Seek new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • Millennials and Gen-X, especially parents in and around the West and Southwest, where most of its restaurants operate (view locations here)

Additional spending insights:

• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far in 2023, TR has spent approximately $3.1k on digital ads, down 31% from the approximately $4.5k spent by this point last year.
  • YTD data: The company has earned roughly 432.5k digital impressions YTD via Facebook ads.
  • Last year: TR's estimated full-year 2022 spend of $15.4k decreased more than exponentially from that of $192.9k in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • While many competing fast food chains advertise nationally, TR tends to rely more on localized advertising.
  • The company also invests in OOH, Facebook, and online video (via Youtube.com) ads.
  • TR's spend may have declined so quickly due to lower-than-expected ROI, so when securing ad dollars, an advantage may go to those able to increase ROI.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: TR may conduct agency reviews, especially once it hires a new CMO, so reach out soon to remain top-of-mind when it does so.
• Current agency roster:
  • In-House: Media
  • (human)x: Digital agency partner

Insight Sources: Digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix.