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Introduction
Restaurant marketing doesn’t live in email platforms. It lives in windows, on table tents, in menu boards and across dozens or hundreds of franchise and company-owned stores.
So, when people say marketing automation for restaurants, the question becomes: are we automating emails, or are we automating execution?
At IRIS Strategic Marketing Support (IRIS), we support restaurant brands who need to move faster in the field without sacrificing brand control. GearBox® by IRIS automates campaign fulfillment, signage routing, asset access and customization—so every store launches campaigns correctly, on time and with full visibility.
What Restaurant Marketing Teams Really Need to Automate
Restaurant marketing spans digital and physical. And while digital gets the headlines, your physical assets are what customers see every day—at the door, in the dining room and at the drive-thru.
That means automation should include:
- Assigning campaign kits by store type or region
- Customizing signage with editable fields (like hours or prices)
- Locking brand and legal elements
- Routing files to print and signage vendors
- Tracking fulfillment status by store
- Reporting campaign rollout across the system
This is what marketing automation means in the real world of restaurant execution.
Where Standard Tools Fall Short
1. No Control Over Field Customization
When restaurants use email attachments or shared folders, brand standards fall apart. Colors shift, legal copy disappears and formatting is lost.
2. No Visibility Into Campaign Launch
Corporate teams send the assets—but don’t know which stores printed them, posted them or launched on time.
3. Fulfillment Becomes Manual and Sloppy
Routing signage to print vendors by email or PDF creates delays and mistakes. There’s no record of delivery or confirmation.
4. Campaigns Launch Inconsistently
Different stores interpret directions differently. That means inconsistent presentation and messaging across your network.
How GearBox® by IRIS Automates Restaurant Marketing Execution
GearBox® by IRIS is not just an asset manager. It’s a marketing logistics platform that supports execution across restaurants, franchisees and regions.
With GearBox®, teams can:
- Assign signage kits by restaurant format or location type
- Lock templates so legal copy, logos and layout stay intact
- Let stores edit hours, phone numbers or limited-time offers
- Route approved materials to vendors for printing and delivery
- Track usage and fulfillment by location
- Report on rollout adoption across franchise systems
This gives marketing leaders control, local teams autonomy, and everyone visibility.
Use Case: Applebee’s Used GearBox® to Coordinate Campaign Rollout Across Restaurants
Applebee’s needed to manage signage campaigns across hundreds of restaurants.
Different store formats required different signage kits. Franchise partners needed flexibility—but the brand needed control.
With GearBox® by IRIS, Applebee’s:
- Assigned campaigns by store tier
- Locked key elements in all templates
- Routed files directly to approved print vendors
- Tracked signage fulfillment and delivery across all locations
- Monitored campaign launch status from a single dashboard
Read the Applebee’s Case Study
This gave their team structure, speed and brand consistency across the system.
Conclusion
Marketing automation for restaurants shouldn’t stop at digital—it should include every touchpoint in your physical locations. Signage, kits, customizations and rollouts all need structure to work at scale.
GearBox® by IRIS gives restaurant brands the control they need and the automation their field teams expect.
Talk to IRIS to see how you can automate campaign execution—not just communication.
