For full-service brands like those in the Darden portfolio, success means attracting new guests, but never at the expense of brand integrity or disciplined cost management. Upside’s personalized promotions help you drive new, profitable behavior without paying for traffic or transactions that would have come anyway.

The Rose Group is a restaurant franchise that operates 54 Applebee’s Grill + Bar restaurants in the Mid-Atlantic and joined the Upside marketplace in 2024. As part of a regular audit of their investments, they turned to MarketDial — a trusted, independent test-and-learn software provider — to help rigorously verify Upside’s impact. 

Time and time again, these third-party analyses verify that Upside drives incremental transactions and revenue, and The Rose Group was no different.

The test methodology

As experts in test-versus-control measurement, MarketDial took an independent, analytically rigorous approach — one designed to track the incremental impact of Upside as accurately as possible. While there were some strong similarities to the incremental methodology that Upside uses, MarketDial applied its own set of assumptions and best practices. 

The results: A measurable lift in transactions and revenue

MarketDial found that Upside customers are driving incremental transactions and bigger check sizes — establishing proof for Upside’s impact. 

Compared to control customers from the general population, the average Upside customer visited 127% more often and paid 5% more per check when they visited.

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Both Upside customers and their control counterparts saw increases in check size and trip frequency compared to pre-analysis period. The control group’s gains reflect the franchisee’s ongoing marketing efforts — but Upside customers outperformed them, isolating Upside as the clear driver of incremental impact and proving that Upside’s performance is complementary to existing programs. 

In MarketDial’s test, results for Upside users included all transactions made after their accounts were activated, even those without an offer redemption. That shows that many Upside users returned to The Rose Group’s restaurants on their own, creating off-app spend that delivers additional value with no profit-sharing or promotion costs.

Beyond measuring activity increases, MarketDial also calculated Upside’s incremental revenue impact for The Rose Group, comparing its results to Upside’s own figures and confirming statistical alignment. The two calculations differed by just 3.4%, well within the 90% confidence interval, validating Upside’s incrementality.

“Coming into this analysis, we wanted to see that Upside meaningfully boosted trip frequency and resulted in profitable transactions every time. The test proved both to be true,” said Chris Tobia, CFO of The Rose Group. “That gave us a lot of confidence in our partnership. We’re excited to work with Upside to continue growing our business.”

See how Upside can elevate performance across the Darden portfolio

Upside profitably changes customer behavior, and numerous independent studies prove that the impact is measurable, repeatable, and worth the investment. Get in touch with our team to learn more about how we can elevate your restaurant business today.