Jersey Mike’s swaps free food for app downloads on fall tailgate tour

Brief:

• Jersey Mike’s Subs is rolling out a college football tailgating tour to promote its mobile app. The 16-stop tour kicks off on Aug. 30 at Michigan State University and wraps up at Pennsylvania State University on Nov. 30, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
• The sandwich chain will set up pop-up stands at the colleges and ask fans to show their Jersey Mike’s app at the counter to access free samples. Those who don’t have the app can download it on the spot and register for the MyMike’s rewards program to receive their sample.
• Jersey Mike’s app promotion also includes a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on New Year’s Day. Each pop-up location will offer customized geofilters from Snapchat, mobile charging stations, lawn games, an outdoor lounge and giveaways of branded sunglasses, koozies and electronics accessories. Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment is the production agency for the tour.

Insight:

Jersey Mike’s tailgate tour aims to drive downloads for its mobile app and urge more people to sign up for its rewards program. The experiential campaign includes mobile-based elements such as a geotargeted Snapchat filter that gives fans a chance to share their experience at the events with friends and followers, potentially extending the promotion’s reach.

Mobile apps have become a key marketing and ordering tool for restaurants, with 39% of fast food customers saying they ordered meals through their smartphones in the prior 90 days, per a survey by Market Force Information. Promoting its app could help Jersey Mike’s boost awareness around its mobile ordering capabilities as more consumers grow comfortable transacting through their smartphones.

Jersey Mike’s campaign is part of a broader trend of incorporating user-generated content into experiential strategies. Similarly, out-of-home (OOH) has shown to be a powerful channel for driving consumers to physical locations, such as pop-up tailgates before football games or brick-and-mortar stores. Other restaurant chains have similarly integrated mobile and OOH efforts into their campaigns. Wingstop this year combined mobile, social media and OOH advertising in a push to let customers “vidbomb” TV commercials on a billboard in New York’s Times Square and on social media.

Meanwhile, many restaurant operators are confident in their current use of mobile technology, but only 48% of restaurant operators feel prepared for future tech innovation, an Oracle survey found. Still, most operators said they believe that guest-facing mobile apps can reduce labor costs (84%), improve speed of service (86%) and promote loyalty and drive repeat business (93%).