“The National Restaurant Association and LivingSocial have announced a new partnership through which both organizations will work to educate and inform restaurant operators on all available marketing channels. The partnership’s focus will be on a major research project to study restaurant marketing efforts and consumer attitudes. ‘We’re excited to be working with LivingSocial to better understand how restaurant operators can market themselves locally and nationwide,’ said James Balda, the NRA’s chief marketing and communications officer. ‘Restaurant industry sales are expected to reach $632 billion in 2012, underscoring the industry’s importance as a driver of national economic recovery and solid employment growth. To continue to grow sales and create jobs, restaurant operators must closely follow consumer trends and leverage that knowledge to meet guest expectations.”’

“As part of the research effort, LivingSocial has provided an unrestricted grant for the National Restaurant Association to conduct a study examining the effectiveness of a wide array of marketing channels for the restaurant industry. Insights gained from the survey will be used to create resources NRA members can leverage when selecting the best marketing approach to help strengthen their business. ‘Restaurants make up a large portion of LivingSocial’s merchant base and our mission is to help them attract and retain valuable new customers,’ said Mandy Cole, senior vice president of sales at LivingSocial. ‘We couldn’t be happier to work with the National Restaurant Association, and we look forward to applying the information shared through this relationship to better serve our merchants.'”

“Results of the joint research on restaurant marketing will be released at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago, Ill., May 5-8.”