Franco has a long history of working with iconic Detroit brands. One of the most well-known locally is Buddy’s Pizza, who coined the term “Detroit-style pizza” with Franco’s help. When this long-time client came to the Franco team to discuss its first location outside of the metro Detroit area, we wanted to find a creative way to tease the new location that capitalized on the brand’s highly engaged, online following. Over the years, our team has supported Buddy’s during a variety of milestone anniversaries, product launches and grand openings with unique tactics including hard hat tours with the media and various programs with local influencers.
The Challenge:
Capture the attention of media and consumers for Buddy’s newest location in Grand Rapids – a city often referred to as “beer city” as the home to several well-known breweries with various food options. This is Buddy’s 14th location and one of four new locations announced in 2019 alone.
Our Solution:
Using Buddy’s social media networks, we released teasers hinting at an upcoming location announcement but didn’t say what city or state the new location was in. Over several days, we asked for Buddy’s followers to give their guesses on the new location and posted more leading teasers until fans correctly guessed Grand Rapids. Likes, shares and retweets helped spark interest from several news outlets and the emails started pouring in for further details before the release even went out, by design.
Here are some of our favorite headlines:
WoodTV: Buddy’s Pizza to open restaurant in Kentwood
Detroit News: Buddy’s Pizza to open Grand Rapids location
MLive: Buddy’s Pizza coming to Kentwood
Detroit Free Press: Grand Rapids to get first Buddy’s outside of metro Detroit area
Click on Detroit: Buddy’s Pizza opening first West Michigan location
Results:
In total, Buddy’s announcement on its move to West Michigan generated:
