Next Level Burger: Burgers for a Better World

Driving brand awareness & expansion by connecting burger lovers and filling seats from coast to coast.

Background

A plant-based burger joint that actually tastes good. 

Next Level Burger grew from a passion founders Matt and Cierra de Gruyter had for healthy, sustainable, and delicious food. Serving up 100% plant-based burgers and hotdogs with all the fixings, NLB is reinventing the All-American burger joint with a healthy and earth-friendly alternative people love to eat.

The Fearey Group, Next Level Burger Case Study, Expert Public Relations in the Heart of Seattle.

Why Fearey: Next Level Burger is spreading like wildfire and needed someone to fan the flames. 

Opening its doors in Bend, Oregon in July 2014, NLB has quickly grown to 6 eateries nationwide, forging a connection with Whole Foods Market, which counts Next Level in its Friends of 365 program.

New to the restaurant scene, NLB needed to build brand awareness and momentum in fresh geographic regions by identifying key demographics and sharing their story with media that mattered. In short, they sought to not only put butts in seats but to compete on a national level by changing the way people thought about the burger experience. A Facebook post here and there wasn’t going to cut it.

The Fearey Group, Next Level Burger Case Study, Expert Public Relations in the Heart of Seattle.

The Fearey Group has a history of facilitating enormously successful brand launches and store openings, driving the message home through a combination of earned and organic communications. Fearey signed on, elevating NLB’s voice and exposure by promoting the opening of their most recent locations in Seattle, WA, Concord, CA, and Brooklyn, New York.

Strategies

Execute buzz driving initiatives that spark consumer curiosity and conversation. 

Originally, Next Level Burger’s fan following was concentrated to its roots in the Oregon region. As it expanded to Seattle, then Concord, and eventually tapping into the East Coast foodie scene, Fearey employed a multi-channel PR campaign to drive maximum visitation and connect the unfamiliar consumer base with NLB’s core values, mission, and of course, their local restaurant storefronts.

These high-level PR strategies most notably included: 

The Fearey Group, Next Level Burger Case Study, Expert Public Relations in the Heart of Seattle.

  • A demographic study of each region, outlining places and people of interest surrounding each restaurant opening, building anticipation, funneling traffic, and generating buzz.
  • Establishing targeted audience segments and identifying local influencers, media, and social media groups that fit the mold to best promote NLB and increase foot traffic.
  • Leveraging NLB’s natural “good food” taste, authentic founder’s story and do-good mission, Fearey sought to secure a diverse mix of print, digital, and broadcast media coverage on both local and national fronts. The Fearey Group, Next Level Burger Case Study, Expert Public Relations in the Heart of Seattle.
  • Executing influencer/media preview events, successfully positioning NLB as a pioneer in the restaurant industry.
  • Developing and managing the distribution of relevant collateral surrounding each launch such as key messaging, media alerts, customized press kits, story road maps, social media promotions, teasers, customer activation events, and earned media coordination.

Results

We did our job, and then some. 

Fearey’s efforts paid off in dividends, shaking up the status quo and bringing good food to the masses. Next Level Burger’s fan base grew well beyond initial expectations through earned and owned media, social media campaigns, and regional integration.

The PR team in charge of each restaurant launch took the time and did the homework.

They reached out to the right people with the right message, positioning Next Level Burger as the next step in food evolution.

This resulted in a beyond belief public response, generating interest from key foodie and lifestyle social media influencers surrounding every restaurant opening, earning thousands of online impressions and engagement for the brand. The print and digital media reach also exceeded expectations related to all three launches reaching millions of people and truly making Next Level Burger something to talk about!

The Fearey Group, Next Level Burger Case Study, Expert Public Relations in the Heart of Seattle.

As a West Coast PR Agency with a nationwide mentality, expect the unexpected from The Fearey Group. We specialize in helping restaurants gain exposure and a loyal following by establishing community connections, relationships, and buzz on local and national platforms.

We help open your restaurant’s door (literally and figuratively) by conceptualizing and sharing your story, planning events that motivate customer engagement and get everyone as excited as you are about opening day!   

 

 

Key Deliverables (Brooklyn, New York launch – Fort Greene neighborhood as of 2/20/18) 

Earned Media 

  • Fearey assisted in generating a combination of 33 print, digital, radio and broadcasting hits surrounding the opening of the Fort Greene (Brooklyn) location with 8 additional engagements pending. This happened in a span of two months.
  • A few notable media outlets include Brooklyn Reporter, New York Business Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Food & Wine, and One Green Planet.
  • People were reached in the MILLIONS as a result of all earned media efforts.

 

Social Reach/Engagement for Fort Green launch (one-week snapshot 1/28/18 – 2/4/18) 

  • 233,569 impressions (195,294 from Facebook and Twitter, 38,275+ from Instagram)
  • 12,890 engagements across all social media channels
  • 2,625 new followers/page likes gained across all channels
  • 3,788,881 potential impressions gained from Instagram stories NLB was tagged in by key local and national influencers’

 

The Fearey Group, Next Level Burger Case Study, Expert Public Relations in the Heart of Seattle.

“It was a collaborative effort between Next Level Burger and our campaign team at Fearey; they had a story to tell and an aggressive launch timeline, looking to us for actionable steps and serious returns. We didn’t let them down. We work hard to get the results we promise.” – Aaron Blank, CEO & President, The Fearey Group 

 

 

 

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