Red Robin Gourmet Burgers – Building Engagement Through “Chief Burger Officer” Search

Challenge

With a growing number of restaurants making better- and gourmet-burger claims, casual dining chain Red Robin – experts in gourmet burgers for more than 40 years – needed to engage consumers during a time when people are thinking about burgers most: National Hamburger Month in May leading up to the Memorial Day kickoff of summer grilling season.

Red Robin needed a fully integrated communications program that would:

• Build brand awareness for Red Robin as the place for craveable gourmet burgers
• Get out ahead of the burger competition and help Red Robin “own” National Hamburger Month
• Engage consumers who already love Red Robin and encourage them to spread the word

Solution

Using PR, social media and the help of Red Robin’s engaging new CEO Steve Carley, Linhart PR – in collaboration with Red Robin’s Communications and Marketing teams, and creative agency teams from Minneapolis-based Periscope and South Denver-based Xuma – helped develop a unique and relevant  program to find Red Robin’s first ever Chief Burger Officer (CBO).

Here’s how it worked:

• Carley asked candidates to showcase their burger brilliance by submitting credentials for the Chief Burger Officer position at www.chiefburgerofficer.com.
• Candidates were encouraged to spread their Red Robin love by campaigning for themselves through their social networks and posting videos and photos to their application pages to encourage votes for the job.
• Ultimately, Michael Morrison from Spanaway, Wash. was announced as the CBO winner. His nearly 7,000 votes combined with his passion for Red Robin that extends beyond the burgers – his son was born in a Red Robin parking lot – made him a standout CBO candidate.

Throughout the CBO campaign, Linhart PR used online and broadcast media to help drive consumers to www.chiefburgerofficer.com and get them engaged in the Red Robin brand.  And it worked.

Results

• Red Robin owned National Hamburger Month and shut out the competition – no other big burger brand competitor made a national announcement during the kickoff to grilling season.
• The CBO program was Red Robin’s most successful consumer engagement program to-date – more than 7,200 people posted “applications” to www.chiefburgerofficer.com, which also logged more than 31,000 candidate votes from visitors.
• The program received both national and local media attention, building Red Robin’s reputation with key media and consumers in top markets.