Welcome to Universal McCann's look at what motivates and inspires people to choose casual restaurants today.

A lot has been written over the past few years about the state of casual dining. Not all of it positive. Analysts, industry insiders, and consumers themselves have painted a picture of an industry that is still strong, but losing it's way in the face of competition from above and below.

Still, casual dining has become a staple of the American mealtime strategy. These restaurants represent a solution, a hobby, a habit, and a great place to gather with friends and family. For many chain restaurant brands, the main challenge is not in convincing people of the value of the offering, but in getting more people to think of them more often.

It's a classic media challenge: How do we get the right message to the right people at the right time?

Looking for answers to the questions that will help us speak more directly and effectively to our customers, we went into the field. Over the course of two weeks, we visited casual restaurant fans in their homes and then invited them to join us for an in-depth workshop to tease out the answers to some of these tough questions. We focused on three distinct audiences-Boomers, 20somethings, and families-looking for similarities and differences in the reasons they eat out and the way they like to receive branded communications. Their honesty and insights made us think. It's time to revisit the way casual restaurants are currently reaching out to their customers.

We have collected the best quotes and moments from the research in this blog. Have a look, surf around, post comments, and see if you don't find it as inspirational as we did.

From the field,
Universal McCann Immediate Futures Team