ORLANDO – To show the customer how Chipotle differed from other restaurant chains, the company hired an award-winning documentarian, Errol Morris, to take a camera into its kitchens and film the food prep process.
As part of the brand campaign, two different pieces of content focused on Chipotle’s guacamole exemplified the range of platforms that the company used to reach its audience. One spot showed kitchen employees scooping 48 avocados daily to make fresh guacamole, which aired on TV and longer form video channels. The other, a #GuacDance challenge, lived on TikTok to reach younger consumers.
According to Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s vp of brand marketing, the company’s goal is to tell the story of how Chipotle is rethinking food – using unprocessed, responsibly raised ingredients made fresh everyday – which is something that resonates with Chipotle’s customers, half of whom are under 35.
“[The customer] is interacting with content on their phone, so how does it show up on their phone in an engaging way. And then we have to think about new digital platforms,” says Pedue, speaking with Beet.TV at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference. “It’s about taking your brand strategy, tailoring it to the consumer and platform you’re on and then surrounding the customer with those connected messages.”
That means being on multiple platforms at once to reach the customer most effectively. The company takes a multi-platform approach to its marketing mix, says Perdue. Linear TV is about scale and awareness, which drives new customers to Chipotle and increases business from existing customers, as well as drive online business, which is up 100 percent this year over last year.
“The complement of multiple media channels really drives the flywheel – it’s the TV, your phone, joining the loyalty program and getting emails – not just relying on traditional TV to do all the work but using it in a way that amplifies all the rest of the channels,” says Perdue.
This video is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference in Orlando, 2019. The series is sponsored by iSpot.tv. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
