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Whrrl

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Executive Summary

Can a new technology help revive one of the one of the world’s oldest industries, restaurants? The restaurant industry, reliant on disposable income, is struggling in the economic downturn. Many industry leaders, such as Yum! Brands and the parent companies of Chili’s, TGI Fridays and other chains and posting losses. Though not publicly traded, many mom-and-pop eateries are reportedly going out of business, according to newspaper accounts. Not only are fewer customers walking through the door, higher transportation, fuel and food costs are eating into the bottom line.

“These restaurant operators are really operating under a perfect storm, dealing with record [high] commodity prices, higher labor costs with the minimum wage increasing and falling consumer demand,” says Robert Marzo, senior analyst of food service for F&D Reports, a retail consulting firm in Great Neck, N.Y. "Many of [them] can no longer offer the same quality ingredients that they have in years past, so they're downgrading in any way that they can.”

Clearly, these eateries could benefit from sharp, attractive advertising to win and retain customers, but marketing budgets always suffer in economic downturns. But what about the prospect of free advertising? And what about the prospect of free advertising to a generation that casts a skeptical eye towards paid campaigns? Products like Whrrl could provide the answer. The software is free, easy to use and popular with users of mobile devices. And the advertisements, let’s call them recommendations, come from sources who users trust – their circle of friends and business associates. That could mean a sea change in an industry that lives and dies by reviews, but times of crisis, and this is one, are often good times to alter IT strategy.

Whrrl is a mix between Facebook and City Search’s online directory services. It creates a unique intersection of social networking, local discovery, and user-generated content that...