Give an Ovation: The Restaurant Guest Experience Podcast with Zack Oates

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Chip Klose is the owner of Chip Klose Creative and works with brands to promote their unique value proposition to the right people as a restaurant consultant. He made a name for himself in operations, and went on to learn the in's and out's of marketing. Now he mixes both in his work with restaurants and on his podcast, the Restaurant Strategy podcast.

On this episode of Give an Ovation, he and Ovation CEO Zack Oates put restaurant marketing in simple terms, and Chip shares some great success stories. Here are some of their talking points: 

• Creativity
• Marketing put in simple terms
• Uniqueness
• More

Thanks Chip!

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Amy Mills is the Owner and Chief Strategist at 17th Street Barbecue, one of the "best BBQ brands on earth." She is also an author, speaker, consultant, and has judged on numerous cooking channel and food network shows. Unfortunately, many storied restaurants have had to close their doors due to COVID-19, but 17th Street Barbecue isn't on that list! Amy tells their story and gives valuable advice along the way. Here's a few things she and Zack touch on: 

• Staying true to your brand while expanding
• Regrouping during crises
• Raising prices
• Embracing relationships

Thanks Amy!

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This episode of Give an Ovation features the final interview as part of Table for 10, an e-book focused on technology transformation and collaboration. Kelly MacPherson, former CIO at Burger King, Popeye's, and a current Advisory Council Member at USHG Acquisition Corp, oversaw the creation of the e-book and interviewed 10 different innovators in the restaurant space. She and Zack discuss her main takeaways, which include: 

• Collaboration
• Data
• Specialization
• Flexibility

*This conversation took place in late 2020. 

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Christy Lamagna is a dynamic keynote speaker, author, and coach who uses her 30+ years in strategic planning to help people overcome challenges and press forward. She's also the MarCom advisor at ShedWool, a smart scheduling platform that works with many restaurants and other businesses. She and Zack discuss: 

• What strategy means
• Making it about the guest
• Cleaning the bathrooms
• Allowing yourself to be happy
• More

Thanks Christy!

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Molly McGrath is a culinary innovation leader with over a decade of experience in strategy, menu execution, and operational efficiency. She's worked at The Chopping Block, CSSI Marketing, Roti Modern Mediterranean, and is now teaching how to transform everyday cooking into light work as the Founder and Chef at Light Work Kitchens. On this episode, she and Zack discuss: 

• Tips for simplifying home cooking
• How to simplify your restaurant menu
• The psychological benefits of eating healthily
• Saturday morning cleaning parties
• More

Thanks Molly!

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Not only is Shawn Walchef the owner of the award-winning Cali Comfort BBQ and the larger Cali BBQ Media, he is also the man who beat us to naming a podcast "Digital Hospitality" - a video podcast that he has hosted since 2017. As a pioneer in the digital restaurant space, Shawn brought expertise and insight to this episode of Give an Ovation where he and Zack discuss:

• How Cali BBQ Media started and grew
• Persistence in online digital efforts
• Building friendly ghost kitchens
• Continuity between offline and online activities
• Leading with love
• Ovation
• More

Thanks Shawn!

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Matthew Smith is what you could call a CMO squared - being the Chief Marketing Officer at The Madera Group and one their brands, Tocaya Organica. Matthew has seen tremendous success in building Madera's brands (Hailey Bieber wears their to-go bag??) and we were lucky to have him on this episode. He and Zack discuss: 

• Importance of branding vs product
• Matthew's "Every Last Detail" philosophy
• Keeping a strong brand off-premise
• Much more

Thanks Matthew!

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Andrew Boryk is the Co-founder and CTO at Lunchbox, a next-gen digital ordering platform for restaurants to improve their relationships and retention, and one of Ovation's favorite partners. Andrew and Zack discuss why restaurants need their own ordering platforms, what loyalty looks like today, and their honest thoughts on if 3rd party DSP's are truly as "evil" as they may seem. Thanks Andrew!

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Miguel Ortiz is the VP, Marketing Leading Product Management and Marketing at Transact Technologies and the creator of BOHA (Back Of House Automation), a tool that automates time-consuming tasks for restaurants. Miguel brought great insights to this episode that touched on automation, data, the state of the restaurant industry and more that you can't miss. Thanks Miguel! 

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Steven Simoni is the CEO of Bbot, a company that started by producing robots that would deliver food and drinks to tables and transitioned to a software service that helps restaurants and hotels run more efficiently with happier staff and guests. With a flourishing company and an highly technical background, Steven brought unique expertise to this episode of Give an Ovation where he and Zack talk QR codes, robots, brand health, and tips for restaurants in 2021. Thanks Steven!