Joe Artime’s journey with Moe’s Southwest Grill began as a student, slinging tacos and burritos. Today, he is the Head of Marketing for the franchise. During this episode, he joins us to discuss the new positioning for Moe’s Southwest Grill, the choice to pivot towards video content for 2024, and how the brand connects with local communities through its franchisees. Tune in as we do a deep dive into the history of the brand and its name, consider the future of the role of CMO, and explore the art of relating to customers through storytelling. Joe reveals his repositioning strategy set to take root in 2024, touches on new menu items that will be tested in the coming year, and shares upcoming plans for on and off-site content creation. Joe tells us his approach to relationship-building and empowering franchisees, gets candid about his predictions for the future of AI, and much more. Don’t miss this value-packed episode!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing Joe Artime, Head of Marketing for Moe’s Southwest Grill.
• A fun fact about Joe that most people might not know.
• A recap of the last twelve months at Moe’s Southwest Grill and his history with the brand.
• Where the name Moe’s actually comes from: musicians, outlaws, and entertainers. 
• The new positioning of the brand which started in 2023 and will take off in 2024. 
• Questions around the future of the CMO position and how it may move into an operational role.
• Relating to customers through storytelling.
• Key areas for the upcoming repositioning of the brand.
• Where the brand could improve in the future: showcasing the food. 
• What Joe intends to do differently with branding in 2024. 
• The new menu items that will be tested in the year to come. 
• Shooting videos on site and in a test kitchen.
• Why building strong franchisee relationships is a non-negotiable. 
• What is behind the original localized approach to marketing.
• Creating guidelines and offering suggestions to empower franchisees.
• Moe’s standpoint on third-party delivery. 
• Joe’s predictions for the impact of AI on marketing in the restaurant space.
• His progression as a marketer through roles at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, Krystal, and Burger King.
• Advice for marketers: learn the business drivers, follow the data, and understand how the technologies are changing.
• What he learned from taking on roles in different departments.
• The status of Joe’s team today.
• His take on TikTok, influencer marketing, Yelp, and a suggested guest for the podcast. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Joe Artime on LinkedIn

Moe’s Southwest Grill

Focus Brands

Alice Crowder is the CMO of Krystal

Ellie Doty is the Chief Marketing Officer for Burger King

Sergio Perez on LinkedIn

Clicks 2 Bricks 

Marketing Leaders Coffee Chat