A fresh start

It’s no secret social media marketing is a must if you want to maximize your reach. This is especially true when you go through a rough patch like a recall, contamination issue, re-staffing, or other problems that can change the way people see you, your product, and your business. Chipotle has been struggling to regain their standing with consumers after a series of food contamination scares.

Using Snapchat to win back customers

The restaurant could have reached out in a variety of ways, but they chose to leverage Snapchat, and they did it like a boss. The idea was to attract millennials, as well as the native Snapchat crowd with a weekly show called “School of Guac,” reports Digiday.

This masterful Snapchat post is shown routinely at 3pm, which in turn sets a precedent, an appointment, something to look forward to for the younger Snapchat crowd. They know when and where the video will be posted and continually return to see the next installment of the “show.”

Chipotle has already (and continuously) apologized for the unfortunately contamination incidents, so they figured the next best thing is to regain their edgy, “cool” status with their younger customers. With each episode running only a minute, it’s enough to be engaging, but not so long Snapchatters lose interest.

Not a new idea, but Chipotle nailed it

A few other retailers have taken a similar approach, but Chipotle is the first to really recreate the television environment on Snapchat, even going so far as to create mock commercials for their shows. “It’s not just ask someone to stand on the street with their phone and say ‘Snapchat is the new TV.’ Chipotle wants to do more polished content,” said Jasmine Jabbour, account director for Carrot Creative, the team entrusted to create engaging content for Chipotle. “Taco Bell is doing very well on Snapchat but it mainly takes an approach of walking around with a phone.”

According to Digiday, Chipotle aimed at for standing out, not blending in, and I think they are definitely achieved that on Snapchat. There are so many social media platforms, the choices and competition are seemingly endless. Chipotle has done a fantastic job using their creativity and tech skills to leverage Snapchat into something enjoyable, manageable, and most importantly relevant. Have you seen any “School of Guac” episodes?

#SchoolofGuac