BROUGHT TO YOU
BY SOCIAL MEDIA
The gourmet burger market is fiercely competitive, vying for the casual diner against both small cafés and huge fast-food enterprises. Smashburger competes directly in the middle of that contest, with premium burgers and shakes provided at low prices.
As restaurant management company FMP opened their third and fourth Smashburger San Antonio locations, they asked esd to handle the promotion. With analysis, we convinced them that social media would make the best use of available resources.
connecting to the blogger world
esd’s public relations team has taken an active role in San Antonio’s social media community. Not only have we learned a lot about the surging new channels, but we have made some excellent connections that have paid off well for Smashburger. Each new store location hosted highly successful “tweet-ups” of bloggers and online restaurant critics spreading the word about new places to get the great burgers.
blessing a new location with marital vows
For the fifth location, esd took the campaign further, sponsoring a contest for the first-ever Smashburger wedding. Promoted almost exclusively through Twitter and Facebook, the contest involved couples submitting videos about why they should be chosen. The winners received a free wedding, complete with a Las Vegas honeymoon.
- On June 25th, Paula and George Roberts renewed their vows at the Smashburger Stone Oak location. Most of the arrangements were made through social media connections:
- KABB-TV’s Fox News First morning program promoted the wedding and broadcast live from the Smashburger location for four hours, with meteorologist Shaun Stevens hosting
- the wedding planner, flowers, table settings, chocolate fountain, photobooth and Las Vegas honeymoon were all donated
- wedding guests brought canned goods and Smashburger donated $1,500 to the San Antonio Food Bank, providing more than 10,500 meals for families in need
- a Dallas photographer flew in to provide creative documentation, a local hair salon styled the wedding party and Mission Food donated wedding favors – meat smashers
more openings, more ideas
The Smashburger wedding is only one of the initiatives esd has implemented for our client. Smashburger corporate has sent their founder and the famous Smashmobile for promotional appearances. We have hosted special events for San Antonio police officers, wounded warriors from Fort Sam Houston and various social media/blogger organizations.
We keep the buzz rolling for Smashburger, and continue to expand our connections, proving the value of social media – “the intimacy of a front porch conversation moving through the community at the speed of light.”