Moe’s National Earmuff Day Case Study

Challenge:
When Moe’s Southwest Grill introduced a new menu item nationally, SPARK wanted to find a way to build buzz around the new product and roll it out in the local markets they worked with. Moe’s is known for having quirky pop culture names for its menu items and the new “Earmuffs” burrito bowl (an Old School movie reference) was no different. As a higher priced item, the SPARK team knew that overall store profitability could be raised long term by driving sales of the new item and wanted to get people talking and drive in-store sales.

Solution:
Once the new product was announced, SPARK brainstormed a number of promotional directions, the favorite of which was to build a campaign around National Earmuff Day. This holiday already existed and coincided nicely with the new menu item rollout. 

The National Earmuff Day campaign utilized a promotional offer, in-store creative (posters, table tents and bag stuffers), an email blast, tagged radio spots, traffic radio reads, online ads and a text message. The campaign used social media and a local public relations push. SPARK utilized media and local blogger added value to host contests. Store employees wore real earmuffs the week prior to National Earmuff Day to start conversations with guests about the upcoming promotion.

Results:

SPARK’s campaign was a glowing success. In one particular market, the sales data showed 200% daily traffic increase and 134% sales increase. In all markets, traffic and sales figures were higher than average for the remainder of the month. SPARK gleaned local media attention for all Moe’s markets and significantly increased social media fans and interactions. The percentage of burrito bowls purchased showed sustained growth after six months, a positive trend for a higher priced Moe’s menu item. 

Moe’s corporate recognized SPARK’s success with Earmuff Day by developing a case study encouraging other markets to create similar campaigns. Today, all Moe’s markets are invited to participate in the national promotion.