A case study on how Amazon’s experiential campaign to promote a hit show won over fans, Emmy voters and upfront attendees Clockwise from top: The pop-up restaurant modeled on the legendary Carnegie Deli; classic deli fare like “The Maisel” pastrami sandwich was served by in-character waitstaff; Amazon placed Carnegie Deli food trucks at strategic locales thoughout New York City during the May TV upfront; a poster for Midge’s sandwich; a jukebox playing vintage hits keeps it authentic. Credit: Amazon Studios/Sol Neelman In the age of peak TV, wading through the seemingly endless choices on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms is an exhausting exercise. Amazon Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amy Sherman-Palladino’s late-’50s comedy about an affluent New York housewife who discovers she’s the next big thing in stand-up, is one of the few shows to have broken through—at least as a critics’ and awards’ darling, picking up eight Emmys and three Golden Globes following its debut season in 2017. But without the right marketing strategy, it’s easy for quality programming to get lost in the crowd. The marketing challenge Despite the buzz surrounding “Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon Prime Video was faced with a significant obstacle: How do you get viewers interested in a series set 60 years ago and centered on a fast-talking Jewish woman whose picture-perfect life is straight out of a vintage issue of Town and Country? “I like to bring people into a story and its characters as if it were real,” says Mike Benson, head of marketing at Amazon Studios. “A lot of our marketing involves bringing the show to customers in a way that is provocative and entertaining and makes you either want to experience the show more deeply—or ask, ‘What’s this show about?’” The campaign
To promote the second season of the show, Amazon partnered with Tool North America to create a “Maisel”-themed Carnegie Deli pop-up on Lafayette Street in New York. The restaurant, which operated in December of last year, featured in-character waitstaff in ’50s garb and offered signature sandwiches named after show characters. Josh Jetson, creative director at Tool of North America, explains the inspiration for the pop-up: “If you, as a comedian, from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s had made it really big, a deli named a sandwich after you. So we thought that was a really strong way to tie a Jewish deli to this particular show.” Although the Carnegie Deli shuttered its original Manhattan location in 2016, the company still operates through its Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden properties. The “Maisel”-specific menu included items that would not be amiss in Midge’s world, like black-and-white cookies, pickles and a pastrami sandwich called “The Maisel.” “‘Mrs. Maisel’ being set in 1958 offers this rich era for us to transport people to,” says Adam Baskin, director of innovation at Tool. “So even a simple trip to the deli becomes an immersive experience for people to connect with the show.” An interview with CMO Chris Brandt yields insights for any business Once a relatively quiet brand flying under the radar in between potential health safety concerns, Chipotle has recently become a marketing maven. Under its new Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Brandt, the brand has ramped up its national advertising efforts to shine a light on what it stands for and make a splash with innovative, digital-first campaigns.
In a recent conversation I had with Chris, he revealed the brand’s three biggest marketing priorities for the year, along with a few of the ways it’s accomplishing these goals. 1. Drive menu innovation. “We have a very simple menu,” says Chris. “It’s about going down the line and ordering what you want.” So at the start of the year, Chipotle challenged itself to think beyond that. Just in time to help customers achieve their New Year’s resolutions, the brand launched Lifestyle Bowls-;including the Paleo Salad Bowl, Keto Salad Bowl, and Whole30 Salad Bowl-;all exclusively available through its mobile app and on the Chipotle website for in-store pickup or delivery. Chipotle noticed guests were already ordering these custom, lifestyle-specific bowls at its locations and wanted to make it easier for them to reach their wellness goals. “If we had to do it in the restaurant, it could slow the line down by people trying to figure it out,” Chris explains. “We’d have to train every employee. And that’s a lot more effort.” Instead, the brand found a way to deliver menu innovation while offering the convenience of digital. 2. Drive access through digital. “Loyalty is a gateway to all things digital,” says Chris, explaining Chipotle’s approach to digital. Why? Because the brand knows that customers who use its loyalty application are more likely to place orders online. It also knows that Chipotle is one of the most mentioned brands on Venmo. So when it announced its loyalty program, the popular payment app provided the perfect partnership. To celebrate the launch of Chipotle Rewards, the brand used Venmo payouts to give away up to a quarter of a million dollars, to 25,000 Chipotle fans per day for four days. Not only did the brand gain a lot of buzz for being only the second-ever brand to work with Venmo, but its loyalty app was trending in the Apple App Store and it quickly reached its one millionth Chipotle Rewards member-;a milestone it celebrated by awarding the user with a year’s worth of free food. Today, Chipotle Rewards boasts over five million registered members. 3. Drive difference. “When I was in my in-store training when I first started at the company, one of the things I noticed was that the inside of a Chipotle looks more like a farmer’s market than it does any other restaurant I’ve ever seen,” Chris recalls. Think fresh avocados and chicken sizzling on the grill. So Chris wondered, what if they could show that to everyone in America? Well, they did. As part of its recent “Behind the Foil” advertising campaign, Chipotle gave consumers unprecedented access to its kitchens, employees, and farming partners in an effort to further demonstrate its commitment to transparency and the key ingredients that make it different: fresh, real food. To help tell that story, the brand hired Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris to film documentary-style advertising spots featuring unfiltered testimonials from Chipotle employees talking about what makes the brand’s food different-;everything from the fact that it doesn’t have freezers or can openers to the high standard it holds for food prep. Not only did this campaign help the brand break through, but it also helped make employees feel proud to work at Chipotle. As Chris says, “There’s nothing like being the star of a commercial campaign.” By putting its employees and partners front and center, Chipotle didn’t just talk about its values-;it actually showed them in action. So, what can you learn from Chipotle is up to this year? 1) Innovate or die! Those companies who stagnate will perish as the market changes constantly. 2) No matter what business you’re in, get digital! Many entrepreneurs think their business doesn’t need to “go digital” because of the industry they’re in. This simply isn’t true. The businesses who will win are those who can truly transform and integrate digital. 3) Know what makes you unique and tell that story! Whether it’s a product or service line, product feature, employee, history, or something else, you know better than anyone what makes your company unique. Now, it’s time to make sure the world knows. Use social media and online video to get the word out about what makes your business special. Whether your business is similar to Chipotle’s or very different, it pays to understand what a successful big brand is doing and apply those lessons to your own company. By Dave KerpenFounder and CEO, Likeable Local@davekerpen Consumers are demanding more convenience, yet only a small percentage of brands have expanded beyond four walls. It’s not only about creating a unique food cart, but also about developing a robust business strategy for deployment. It’s been 10 years since the food truck craze took off across the U.S., yet it’s far from reaching its maximum potential. Over 70 percent of Americans would make a purchase from a food truck if they recognized the brand, but only 15 percent of the top 200 quick-service restaurants have figured out how to go mobile. So how do brick-and-mortar restaurants take advantage of this movement that’s still in its infancy?
Brands need to think of the entire delivery platform, from A to Z. It’s not only about creating a unique food cart, but also about developing a robust business strategy for deployment and to drive sales—from the cart’s aesthetic and menu to the real estate strategy, permitting, marketing, and more. Focus on the customer experience The first step is to determine if your restaurant can translate to the streets while still maintaining the customer experience you deem important. While it won’t be the exact same experience as in your brick-and-mortar locations, there needs to be some resemblance in order to attract and retain existing customers. Operators should create a list of the most important parts of the brand experience—the non-negotiables—that they want to convey via their mobile presence and determine if it’s feasible to do so sustainably. Develop a menu If a mobile strategy seems like a fit, the next step is to determine the menu. For most restaurants, it’s impossible to serve everything, regardless of complexity. Food trucks and carts are small—some have only 50 square feet of enclosed kitchen space—so there’s limited inventory you can keep on board. Think about what your best-selling items are and what you can serve from a cart without losing the quality and brand value customers have come to expect. For example, when Le Pain Quotidien wanted to launch a cart, they decided to focus on the brand’s popular avocado toast and a select few specialty beverages. Dunkin’s new cart is beverage-focused, so it was important to make sure that every cup of coffee poured at the cart was the same as in its brick-and-mortar locations. For others, they have used their carts to launch new products as a pop-up restaurant or an experiential marketing campaign. Identify your target real estate Once the pieces begin to come together, it’s then time to think about where the cart should operate to reach the most customers and what permits will be needed. Many brands will want to capture additional business at community events and in public spaces like parks and business districts where there isn’t an opportunity for them to have a brick-and-mortar location. But other brands place a cart outside their business during remodels and temporary closures. With a mobile strategy in place, there’s no reason to lose business. The most exciting opportunity is to develop the “white space” where a brick-and-mortar solution doesn’t work for a variety of reasons. Spread the word As most operators know, the saying “If you build it, they will come” is rarely true without effective PR and marketing. Leverage any communications vehicles in your existing restaurant—in-store signage, email communications, social media, app push notifications, your employees, etc.—to promote the cart and where it will be in the coming weeks. As word of mouth spreads, your customer base will grow. Be sure to be clear in your communications as to where you will be, what hours, and any other pertinent information, like what you’re serving that day in the case of a rotating menu. Last but not least is to leverage your existing loyalty programs across all platforms to increase participation and the network effect. Consider expanding your fleet If the inaugural food cart is a success and there’s infrastructure in place to grow, consider expanding your fleet. Today’s POS and GPS technology makes integrating and managing multiple mobile carts simple. Some brands have been so successful that they have needed to deploy more just to keep up with demand from local events wanting their presence. So, while food trucks and carts have been popular for over a decade, now is just as exciting a time as ever to take advantage of the immense white space in the market and reach new customers. You may actually find that mobile is as important to your business strategy as catering, loyalty programs, and LTOs in driving traffic and sales. James Meeks is CEO of MOVE Systems, a turnkey mobile cart—referred to as the "Cadillac of Food Carts" by The Wall Street Journal—that has helped franchisors like Dunkin' and Nathan's Famous, as well as countless independent operators, have a cost-efficient, mobile presence to reach customers outside of their brick-and-mortar stores. Dive Brief:
Dive Insight:Priceless is an elaborate, ambitious expansion on the experiential marketing trend, where consumers enjoy a unique experience that embodies the idea or lifestyle a brand is trying to communicate. Experiential marketing has been particularly useful in targeting millennial consumers. In this case, Mastercard is emphasizing its connection to luxury dining, differentiating from more common tactics like launching a pop-up restaurant in making Priceless a longer-standing fixture. The strategy fits into the credit card company's broader shift to center its marketing in the experiential space, a pivot Mastercard began in 2013, CMO Raja Rajamannar previously told Campaign. In addition to unique sonic accompaniment, each restaurant featured in Priceless is re-created with furniture, utensils and windows electronically displaying a given eatery's locale, changing between day and night views. After several months, new world-famous restaurants will take the place of current ones. Not only is this planned as a permanent experience in Manhattan, but Spring Studios said it expects to expand the showcase into a global franchise. The chance for cardholders to attend facsimiles of famous dining destinations from Tanzania and Japan could help Mastercard attract high-spending customers and set itself apart. Similarly, Marriott International recently tapped into gourmet food to help distinguish itself, offering a festival featuring culinary, beverage and mindfulness experts on a private island available to members of the hotel chain's loyalty program. Priceless is the latest attempt by Mastercard to refresh its marketing. In January, the company removed its name from its logo in recognition of smaller screen real estate on devices like smartphones. Mastercard built on the idea with the unveiling of a sonic branding a month later. The audio identity exists across digital and retail channels, and is emphasized in advertising. AUTHOR Barry Levine |
Marcus Guiliano
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March 2020
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