Why Agile Marketing is the Essential Restaurant Skill in the Digital Age

This week on The Digital Restaurant, Carl is joined by Jennifer Kern, CMO of Qu, for a fast-moving conversation about the headlines shaping restaurants, technology, and consumer behavior.

We kick off with a surprising stat: half of adults are ordering kids meals. (01:00) What does this say about QSR value wars, portion sizes, and how brands like CAVA and Starbucks are reframing value through experience, not just price?

Next, we examine Chipotle’s partnership with Zipline (05:00), which involves testing drone delivery in Dallas. Is this more than PR? Carl breaks down the operational hurdles, costs, and what it means for scale.

From there, we dive into talent and tech shifts: Duolingo’s social media star Zaria Parvez joins DoorDash (10:00), bringing 16M followers’ worth of creativity, and voice AI startups raise fresh funding (14:00)— even as Taco Bell and McDonald’s wrestle with reliability.

Finally, we conclude with culture and agility: how restaurants capitalized on Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s engagement (21:00) to deliver playful, real-time marketing moments.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Digital Restaurant Aug 29 2025
• 1:20 Q1. Kids meals ordered by adults! QSR's on the value game.
• 4:43 Q2. Chipotle team up with Zipline and head to the skies
• 10:15 Q3 - Duolingo Leader moving to Doordash
• 13:54 Voice AI startups getting funded
• 20:52 Q5. Travis & Taylor & the agility of digital marketing