The Blink Factor or Why Brands Win or Lose in Four Seconds

8 Min Read By MRM Staff

If restaurant brands can take anything away from the recent Cracker Barrel logo backlash, it’s just how quickly loyal customers can be turned off when emotional connections are disrupted. A visual tweak meant to modernize ended up triggering nostalgia-fueled vitriol.

In ThinkBlink Manifesto, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, outlines how successful brands win by engineering emotional cues across every restaurant touchpoint. His “Blink Factor” framework helped  Dairy Queen evolve from treat stop to meal destination with average store sales tripling in the process.

In this deep dive with Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine, the president of Shikatani Lacroix Design (SLD), who has spent more than 45 years working with global chains, discusses the Four-Second Test, the lingering power of nostalgia, how to activate the senses to drive check averages, and how to measure the real ROI of brand reinvention.

What is the four-second test, and what are some examples of it in restaurants?When we…