The restaurant value wars have continued unabated for more than a year as chains look to entice cash-crunched consumers amid persistent economic uneasiness. After making its play in the $5 value meal space last year, sister brands Checkers and Rally’s in April delivered even more for less with a $4 Unbeatable Meal Deal that was at the center of a new brand platform for the QSR chains.

“This Eats Different,” made in partnership with creative and media agency Partners + Napier, was billed as a “full-on vibe shift” for the brands as they looked to put flavor, value and fun at the center of marketing efforts across TV, streaming, digital, TikTok and social media.

“This platform helps us say we're going to lean into being different. Different is good. Whether it's product innovation or partnerships, we're going to do things differently than you see in the traditional QSR space,” said CMO Scott Johnson, who joined the chains in November 2023.

The strategy was apparent in the chains’ most recent marketing efforts: In July, the company remixed the Unbeatable Meal Deal and enlisted a new brand ambassador in GloRilla, a Memphis-born rapper known for her raunchy, self-assured hits who actually worked at the chain’s drive-thru before her music career took off.

“She loved the idea of how she used to rock the drive-thru back in the day, and now she still does — she has her own meal,” Johnson said. “She was enthusiastic about working with us. It’s not a mega-influencer deal. We're not the largest brand… It's not all about the fee. It's about how we create connection and mutual benefit.”

Post-pandemic drive

Checkers and Rally’s were founded in 1986 and 1985, respectively, and operate restaurants in 28 states and D.C. When new leadership joined about two years ago, the chains had plenty of brand love but a need to refresh their image and reengage with consumers, especially around a double drive-through model that is well-suited for a post-pandemic period that values flexibility.

“Part of the marketing challenge with the revitalization was to get the brand contemporized in terms of how we connect with the consumer,” Johnson explained. “Luckily, we’ve got the younger, multi-ethnic consumer already, but how do we become more relevant with them from a cultural standpoint?”

The first step in that revitalization was the unveiling of a new positioning last year, “Fearlessly Original,” that stressed the chains’ identity as challenger brands. The positioning led to the work with Partners + Napier around the brand platform. But the renewed focus on value came just as chains from QSR leaders McDonald’s to surging casual dining destinations like Chili’s were also making a similar play for cash-strapped consumers.

“That's when we said we've got to get back to part of our roots, which is being best-in-class value,” Johnson said. “We started looking at how to compete on value, not just on the more premium occasion, like bundles or combo meals, but that lower-price meal deal, which is where consumers are.”

The result was a $5 meal deal that saw the chains partner with singer-songwriter T-Pain, a frequent ad figure who has also worked with QSRs Wendy’s and Jack in the Box. The Grammy Award winner allowed the chains to attract both the millennial audience that grew up with his hits and younger audiences that have connected with him in other channels, like streaming.

While it took some time to convince the Checkers and Rally’s franchise community to partner with T-Pain, the test of whether or not the brand could use a celebrity deal to drive its business was a success: The meal deal was its highest selling LTO in 15 years. In addition to the meal deal, the brands filmed an ad spot where the rap artist embraced his other passion — professional drift driving — that was a perfect fit for the car-focused chain.

Value at the speed of culture

As macroeconomic uneasiness continued into 2025, Checkers and Rally’s doubled down on value, lowering the price point to $4 and including a double cheeseburger — another lift for franchisees, but a successful one. 

“Franchisees don't always want to go low on value. But a lot of ours have been around, and they said, ‘This is how we have to compete in this environment,’” Johnson said. “We did it as a system and we saw almost instant impact on traffic, where we're actually gaining traffic share as a brand for the first time in several years.”

The success of the T-Pain partnership and the new value offering led the chains to look for another celebrity partner, especially one that was well known by Gen Z consumers — an important growth segment for the brands. That search led to GloRilla, who featured in ads and social content, some of which featured her own photos of her time at the chains. 

The social and digital focus is in line with how the brands plan to remain competitive, especially with their regional footprint. And as they join the long list of brands looking to engage with consumers around culture, they have taken steps to ensure that they can move as fast as possible.

“Our social team has the ability to just post and react to things, and we don't have an approval process there. They own it,” Johnson said. “ That's critical for being able to have speed to market. We can always go back and review how things performed, which we do. But as a challenger brand, you've got to lean into content.”