Earlier this year we hit the ground running with Jack’s Family Restaurants, identifying audience segments with the most potential for growth and developing relatable content. But we still wanted to push the envelope with the way Jack’s used social media.
Our Friends at Jack’s came to us wondering how to approach influencer marketing for their brand. To start, we simply asked why influencers had to be younger millennials.
Why couldn’t they be… grandparents?
As we work to navigate influencer partnerships, we’re finding that there’s an influencer for every industry—so we can get specific in our approach. We work to find partners that will truly help amplify a brand message authentically. For Jack’s, we wanted to rethink influencer marketing in light of the people who know our brand best—the loyal customers who have been grabbing a biscuit at Jack’s for decades.
How could we bring together our younger audiences and our Jack’s loyalists as one Southern community founded on the same roots?
That’s right—we called on grandparents, those sassy anchors of Southern families who aren’t only experts in what the South is all about, but who can also recite the Jack’s menu with their eyes closed. We called them the Granfluencers, and we launched a contest to find them. Ten winners would receive free Jack’s for a year and a swag pack, and one grand prize winner would also be given the chance to be in a Jack’s ad.
Even though we knew our most loyal customers may not even be on social media, their kids and grandkids were. So we turned to local influencers to get the party started by highlighting their own grandparents.
“One of the key elements here was partnering with influencers of different backgrounds, ethnicities, genders and lifestyles,” says Sav McBride, Account Supervisor, PR. “We wanted to produce and promote a diverse set of content that related to and resonated with a wide range of audiences.”
McBride points out that while we initially hoped to secure five influencers, we were able to identify eight great partners to represent Jack’s. “The work that went into it paid off,” she says. “This single tactic led to 50% of all social impressions.”
Because the Jack’s brand had already built equity in the grandparent, making Me-Maw’s voice familiar in social content, granfluencers took off. And during a time in which we all wanted to keep our grandparents extra safe, it was the perfect way to let them know much we love ’em.
We secured a ton of regional coverage for the campaign, which led to major national hits. “We had a full digital feature in Southern Living Magazine, leading to 2.5 billion impressions,” McBride adds. “This success showed the true value of creative campaign and PR integration.”
Our total earned impressions reached 581,300 at the local level. Coupled with national coverage the campaign was a hit, generating 20 authentic assets for use on Jack’s owned channels as well.
“One of the greatest successes of this campaign is that we’ve built strong partnerships, so we have been able to leverage these influencers to promote our nonprofit efforts,” says McBride, “and our strongest partners are now serving as long-term brand ambassadors for other marketing efforts.”
Influencers are out there—whether they’re builders, health and wellness experts, moms, or even grandparents. Chances are there’s a great match for your brand. Get in touch and we’ll spread the word!
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