How Red Robin Is Winning More Customers Per Dollar Of Ad Spend (ft. Richard Leslie, Surface Agency)

In this episode, Lyden Foust is joined by Richard Leslie, president of Surface Agency, to explore a new playbook for multi-unit restaurant marketing. Richard breaks down how his team blends customer segmentation, unit-level economics, and geo-targeted media to build bottom‑up strategies that reflect the reality of each trade area. They talk through using mobile location data, k-means clustering, and predictive “next best action” models to identify high-value guests, optimize media spend across channels, and tailor creative to specific neighborhood clusters—ultimately closing the loop between data, local insights, and performance.Chapters:(00:00) Introduction to Surface Agency and Richard Leslie(03:30) The Evolution of Marketing Disciplines(06:36) Understanding Niche Audiences and Cultural Marketing(09:27) The Role of Influencer Marketing in Brand Strategy(12:25) Transitioning to Client-Side Marketing(15:25) The Birth of Surface Agency and Its Unique Approach(18:25) Leveraging Mobile Location Data for Marketing(21:15) Case Study: Red Robin’s Marketing Strategy(24:25) Building a Bottom-Up Marketing System(30:59) Understanding Customer Segmentation and Engagement(32:39) Data-Driven Insights for Actionable Strategies(36:07) Leveraging K-Means Clustering for Marketing Efficiency(39:32) Next Best Actions: Predictive Analytics in Action(42:52) Achieving Marketing Efficiency Through Local Insights(46:24) Optimizing Media Spend Across Channels(48:36) Tailoring Creative Strategies for Targeted Clusters(53:57) Closing the Loop: Integrating Data with Ground InsightsLearn more about Richard Leslie and Surface Agency: https://surfaceagency.coListen to Consumer Code on:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4JC25NQkp67rVuYpyuf9xz |Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/consumer-code/id1772758327 |YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxwr-W_NFC9Du0e3BpCpErLdW9Db4XsFAFollow Lyden Foust on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydenfoust/ |Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydenfoust/About Spatial.ai:Spatial.ai’s PersonaLive is an advanced consumer segmentation platform for developing data-driven marketing strategies. PersonaLive categorizes U.S. households into 17 groups and 80 segments using consumer behavior data from transactions, mobile visits, and social media activity, providing marketers with deep insights for effective audience targeting. From mid-sized retailers and agencies to Fortune 500 companies, hundreds of businesses use PersonaLive to drive strategic decisions and enhance marketing performance.Learn more or schedule a free 30-minute demo at https://www.spatial.ai