Challenge - Farmer Boys is a regional "fast-casual" restaurant chain with a few locations in major markets (Los Angeles, Orange County and Las Vegas) but with a predominant amount of locations in secondary markets (Riverside, San Bernardino and California's Central Valley). The challenge I faced was how to gain broader public relations exposure beyond the traditional local newspapers and local radio stations.
Action - To gain public relations opportunities, I developed an outreach PR program to target both local and national opportunities for the Farmer Boys Brand. Recognizing the regional nature of the restaurant chain, we focused on promoting the unique attributes of the brand as a hook for media opportunities.
Results - Leveraging an opportunity with "Top Chef Masters" to be the featured restaurant in one of their key episodes, we were able to translate the Farmer Boys "fresh-made to order" message via the Emmy award-winning television series and highlight our "real kitchens" to a broader audience.
Following this success, we gained the attention of public television personality and icon, Huell Howser. Enjoying the opportunity to be a featured restaurant on the "California Gold" TV series, Farmer Boys was able to effectively promote the brand message, menu and history to a larger audience. Farmer Boys experienced a noticeable bump in sales when the episode aired on television and the overall public relations effort was deemed a major success.
Top Chef Masters video link - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xigw2c_top-chef-masters-order-Top Chef Masters -
HUELL HOWSER'S CALIFORNIA GOLD
