# How Red Robin Is Winning More Customers Per Dollar Of Ad Spend (ft. Richard Leslie, Surface Agency)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/consumer-code-7115736/how-red-robin-is-winning-more-customers-per-dollar-of-ad-spend-ft-richard-leslie-surface-agency
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/consumer-code-7115736/how-red-robin-is-winning-more-customers-per-dollar-of-ad-spend-ft-richard-leslie-surface-agency.md
Podcast: [Consumer Code](https://stenobird.com/podcast/consumer-code-7115736)
Published: 2026-04-27T13:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consumercode/episodes/How-Red-Robin-Is-Winning-More-Customers-Per-Dollar-Of-Ad-Spend-ft--Richard-Leslie--Surface-Agency-e3i80ut
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/fb755f98/podcast/play/118800797/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-21%2F422529015-44100-2-54d019ada1ad5.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/consumer-code-7115736/episodes/how-red-robin-is-winning-more-customers-per-dollar-of-ad-spend-ft-richard-leslie-surface-agency
Duration seconds: 3530

## Resource

In this episode, Lyden Foust is joined by Richard Leslie, president of Surface Agency, to explore a new playbook for multi-unit restaurant marketing. Richard breaks down how his team blends customer segmentation, unit-level economics, and geo-targeted media to build bottom‑up strategies that reflect the reality of each trade area. They talk through using mobile location data, k-means clustering, and predictive “next best action” models to identify high-value guests, optimize media spend across channels, and tailor creative to specific neighborhood clusters—ultimately closing the loop between data, local insights, and performance. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction to Surface Agency and Richard Leslie (03:30) The Evolution of Marketing Disciplines (06:36) Understanding Niche Audiences and Cultural Marketing (09:27) The Role of Influencer Marketing in Brand Strategy (12:25) Transitioning to Client-Side Marketing (15:25) The Birth of Surface Agency and Its Unique Approach (18:25) Leveraging Mobile Location Data for Marketing (21:15) Case Study: Red Robin’s Marketing Strategy (24:25) Building a Bottom-Up Marketing System(30:59) Understanding Customer Segmentation and Engagement (32:39) Data-Driven Insights for Actionable Strategies (36:07) Leveraging K-Means Clustering for Marketing Efficiency (39:32) Next Best Actions: Predictive Analytics in Action (42:52) Achieving Marketing Efficiency Through Local Insights (46:24) Optimizing Media Spend Across Channels (48:36) Tailoring Creative Strategies for Targeted Clusters (53:57) Closing the Loop: Integrating Data with Ground Insights Learn more about Richard Leslie and Surface Agency: https://surfaceagency.co Listen to Consumer Code on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4JC25NQkp67rVuYpyuf9xz | Apple: https://podcasts.apple.co…

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