PROJECT: Create and launch a new virtual restaurant brand. Savage Burrito. Food for the BOLD.
SITUATION
As the COVID pandemic left guests with no choice but to stay home, Uncle Julio’s Restaurant Group faced a significant drop in volume from the loss of on-premises dining. The from-scratch Mexican restaurateur saw opportunity in this obstacle and decided to develop a virtual, delivery-only brand. Using their excess kitchen capacity, Uncle Julio’s would develop this new offering for those who crave the fresh, authentic flavors of hand-crafted burritos, delivered right to their door.
SOLUTION
We partnered with Uncle Julio’s to build and launch this new delivery-only brand from scratch. To attract digital natives and differentiate this offering from Uncle Julio’s core locations, it was decided that this new brand would target primarily a Gen Z and millennial audience. First, we conducted extensive market research to better understand the values of Gen Z and millennials. Individuality and authenticity kept surfacing, pushing our positioning and name brainstorming toward embracing the freedom that comes from being bold. The name “Savage” emerged because the popular Gen Z slang term embodied the audacious spirit that the brand was beginning to adopt. The personified brand was becoming passionate, relentlessly real, and fiercely confident.
From bold typography to hand drawn elements and iconic characters, we explored a wide range of logos that would stand out from the crowd on UberEats and Doordash. Then, we tested our favorites in a survey to see which resonated the best with our audience. Here’s the winner:
To meet Gen Z & Millennials where they are, we developed a launch campaign with rich imagery and animated video across their website and social media.
From Twitter, Twitch, and Tik Tok to Instagram and Snapchat, we developed a presence on each channel with the brand’s distinct look, feel, and voice. This social blitz was accompanied by a highly-targeted SEM campaign.
We wanted to make sure that the Savage lifestyle was just as appealing as the food itself. We paired bold food photography with vibrant “in the wild” shots that felt energetic and authentic. A “Savage Squad” of young influencers was formed.
We even created a Spotify playlist to help spread the brand’s unique vibe and develop a sonic palette for Tik Tok and other audio branding.
SUCCESS
CLIENT FEEDBACK
The Response team has been an excellent partner in the strategy and design of Savage Burrito. Tremendous team effort! Thank you again for your passion and hard work!
– Tom Vogel, CEO, Uncle Julio’s Restaurant Group
The team at Response knows our brands, business strategy and industry as well as we do. Which is why we consider them more like teammates than mere agency partners. There’s no task too small nor challenge too big that I would be uncomfortable asking their help with. Just a great, scrappy, creative group to work with. Check out their work with the recent launch of our virtual brand Savage Burrito as a perfect example of their talent.
– Dan Wheeler, CMO, Uncle Julio’s Restaurant Group