Hungry to Connect with Country Music Fans?

As part of its ongoing research initiatives, the Country Music Association announced today the results from its September 2012 CMA Insiders Dining Study.

Country Music fans dine out frequently, with 77 percent of respondents indicating they dine out once a week or more, primarily for dinner meals. On average, 46 percent estimate spending more than $50 per week on restaurant meals, with 17 percent exceeding $100 per week.

Casual Dining establishments (e.g. Applebee’s, Red Lobster, etc.) are frequently selected for family celebrations and business meals; whereas, Fine Dining restaurants (e.g. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick’s, Maggiano’s, etc.) are more desirable as a choice for “romantic” dining occasions. Before or after attending live events, including concerts, Country Music fans are more likely to visit Fast Food (e.g. McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Papa John’s, etc.) and Fast Casual (e.g. Panera, Chipotle, etc.) restaurants.

Overwhelmingly, Country Music fans prefer American cuisine, with 84 percent listing it among their top five choices; Mexican (62 percent), Italian (53 percent), steakhouses (48 percent), and Chinese (44 percent) round out the top five preferred cuisines. In addition to cuisine type, healthy food options, couponing, and family-friendly services are key selection criteria for over two-thirds of Country Music consumers.

Country Music fans are an influential group and a key target for the dining category, with 83 percent having tried a new restaurant in the past six months. Social media’s influence on restaurant choice ranks on par with television and radio advertising among all respondents; even stronger among Adults 18-44 years old with 60 percent trying a new restaurant based on advertising cited social media.

The survey was conducted online with respondents ages 18+ from the CMA Insider Fan Panel, a group of more than 13,000 Country Music fans recruited from various industry and consumer sources. The make-up of the CMA Insider Fan Panel includes adults from all demographic groups; however, the results of this panel research are not projectable to the overall U.S. population.

CMA’s research reports are a benefit of CMA membership. The complete findings of this and previous studies are available on CMA’s members-only website at My.CMAworld.com/Research.

For information about becoming a member of CMA, please visitCMAworld.com/membership, or contact CMA’s Membership Department at membership@CMAworld.com or (800) 788-3045.

Chevrolet™ is the Official Ride of Country Music. Pepsi is the Official Beverage Partner of the Country Music Association.

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