18 August 2009

"Kids Eat Free" Fast Food Marketing


[full article from USA Today]

If your kids can eat for a discount at a chain restaurant, are you more willing to eat there? How about if they can eat for free?

Apparently many fast food patrons feel that it is quite the incentive to indulge in the huge and unhealthy portions at IHOP and Fazoli's, among other restuarants.

I can completely understand how it is appealing to eat at these places if you have kids and they can get a free meal; what would normally be a $80 meal for a family of four could easily turn into a $40 meal. With the assistance of MyKidsEatFree.com, families can find some really great offers.

One of the best that I found in my area (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky) was at Lone Star Steakhouse where two children can eat for free (off of the kids' menu) when one adult entree is ordered. Not too shabby!

But, even though these deals are pretty fantastic (or should that read fantastical?), they are a marketing scheme and some may say it promotes the complacency that comes with convenience.

What do you think?

1 comment:

  1. My workplace just started a 'kids eat free' program a few months ago where if you buy more than $9 worth of food for an adult, you get a kid's meal (only on the kid's menu) free. It's a huge discount, especially since the restaurant I work at isn't cheap, but...

    Where I work is remarkably unhealthy. I went through everything one week, right after I started my weight loss plan, and realized that there are only three or four menu items (out of around 30) that are acceptable. Not good for me, ACCEPTABLE.

    I bring bagged lunches now.

    Basically, I think unless the restaurant has good choices for both the parents and the children (and on top of that, good choices that both can enjoy!), it's generally a bad idea to indulge in the 'kids eat free' program more than once or twice a month.

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