January 4, 2023

New campaign engages passionate fan base by asking “How Do You Philly?”

With two decades of experience fueling their vision for the future, the owners of PepperJax Grill spent the COVID-19 period focused on evolving their brand identity and testing new restaurant concepts. Thanks to feedback from guests, the new PepperJax restaurant model will feature two chrome-plated grills that allow them to grill and serve in-store, drive-through and takeout orders fresh and fast. For the chain’s 20th anniversary, Bailey Lauerman was engaged to create a new brand-positioning strategy and campaign idea that would help the brand re-enter its core markets with a fresh identity and updated stores, and make a splash after years of not running paid advertising.

Core to the PepperJax restaurant experience is the sound of their signature sizzle and watching your made-to-order Philly as it’s chopped and cooked before your eyes on a 400-degree chrome-plated grill. BL zeroed in on the positioning strategy of “The Thrill of the Grill.” This statement carried the brand promise in a meaningful way, gave runway to continue to evolve the menu and was differentiating and ownable.

“The variations in building the perfect flavor for a Philly are practically endless. We wanted the campaign to reflect this endless customization aspect when creating a meal. Customers tend to have a thing and stick with it. They already know how they Philly. Which seemed like the perfect opportunity to invite new customers in and ask them How Do You Philly?” —David Thornhill, Creative Director

 
To celebrate all of the unique ways to experience the thrill of the grill, BL developed the How Do You Philly? campaign to showcase the quality ingredients and spatula skills of PepperJax staff and highlight all of the unique flavor combinations possible. The media plan included CTV and video, digital, streaming audio, OOH, and paid social and influencer activations. To simultaneously engage brand loyalists and attract new audiences, we included a social media contest and asked influencers and their followers to tell us their tastiest recipe for Philly success. The 10 people who submitted the most crave-worthy Philly flavor combos were entered into an online fan voting contest, with a whole year of free PepperJax on the line. The short 30-day campaign drove more than seven million impressions, received two earned media mentions, increased online ordering by 20% and resulted in 500 app downloads.