White Spot Beyond Legendary Campaign

THE STORY

Great-tasting burgers have been at the heart of the White Spot brand for more than 90 years. In response to increasing demand for meat-free options, the legendary West Coast chain introduced a selection of fresh plant-based menu items in April 2019, including a new signature Avocado Beyond Burger.

Having never worked with a local public relations firm in Vancouver, White Spot enlisted the experienced professionals at SMC Communications to support the launch of its new vegan and vegetarian offerings and help get the word out about the Avocado Beyond Burger.

In order to ensure that the client stood out in a competitive plant-based burger category, we developed and executed a multi-pronged ‘Beyond Legendary’ promotional campaign that included a private VIP launch event, a large-scale consumer giveaway and an integrated earned media program.

THE PLAN

On a mission to build buzz ahead of the Avocado Beyond Burger launch, while also celebrating the storied past of the iconic restaurant brand, SMC worked with White Spot over a two-month period to plan and deliver the following strategic initiatives:

National Media Relations Campaign

Our team prepared and distributed two custom press releases with curated media kits to a targeted list of national print, digital, radio and television outlets.
Launch-day Avocado Beyond Burger meal drops were coordinated and delivered to journalists at Vancouver’s top media outlets, including Daily Hive, Georgia Straight, Vancouver is Awesome, Vancouver Magazine and BC Living.
We arranged private media dinners for key food and beverage reporters to garner increased coverage for the launch.
We leveraged our strong media relationships to secure digital outlet Daily Hive / Dished Vancouver for a ‘Burgers for a Year’ earned consumer contest that ran across the web and social platforms during the week of the Avocado Beyond Burger launch.

#BEYONDLEGENDARY Launch Party

For one night only, SMC’s in-house event team transformed White Spot’s Kitsilano location into a nostalgic pop-up restaurant for an exclusive invite-only launch event.
Media guests, social influencers and VIP attendees were invited to enjoy a first taste of the Avocado Beyond Burger and the client’s new spring menu while engaging with Instagram-worthy photo stations, interactive games, live music and historical mementos from the beloved brand.
From concept to completion, our team was responsible for the overall event design, booking and coordination of event vendors, guestlist management, gift bag assembly and distribution and day-of event staffing.

Consumer Giveaway

Working alongside the client, the SMC team staged a large-scale one-day promotional stunt in downtown Vancouver, giving away 300 free Avocado Beyond Burgers to the first 300 customers to arrive at a designated food truck site.
In addition to enjoying free burgers, individuals who visited the promotional site were invited to interact with White Spot representatives and take-home branded products and informational materials from the client.

THE RESULTS

SMC secured wide-scale media coverage for White Spot and the Avocado Beyond Burger in regional and national outlets. More than 120 newspaper, magazine and digital stories were published as a result of the campaign with an audience reach of approximately 25,474,991.
The Daily Hive / Dished Vancouver ‘Burgers for a Year Contest’ garnered 22,112 entries via Instagram.
The Beyond Legendary launch party was attended by 50+ top-tier culinary and lifestyle media and influencers resulting in 339 Instagram posts and stories from the event for a potential earned audience reach of 401,516 followers / 2,624,360 impressions.
White Spot’s public giveaway saw an overwhelming response from consumers, with fans lining up two hours before the launch and all 300 burgers distributed in less than one hour.

Following the success of the Beyond Legendary campaign, White Spot has continued to enlist SMC Communications on a project basis to support its community initiatives and regional campaigns throughout the year, including its annual Pirate Pak Day fundraising event.