Chili’s At Home
May 2020: the pandemic was in full swing and Chili’s had pivoted to Alcohol To-Go. At the same time, folks were getting creative with their socially distant activities — like dropping off care packages for friends, family, and neighbors. We jumped on this behavior with #MargBomb, showing people a fun way to get drinks in the hands of deserving loved ones.
Launched for Memorial Day, one of Chili’s busiest weekends, #MargBomb helped maintain sales year-over-year when (of course) a mega-dip in sales was predicted.
First, WE SEEDED #MARGBOMB behavior with video content CAPTURED VIA DOORBELL CAMERA. To get even more to the point, we VENMOED PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO DING-DONG DITCH their pals.
AS THE MARGS KEPT FLOWING, WE SHARED user-generated content on Instagram stories to continue spreading the #margbomb message.
We used the success of #MargBomb to experiment with TikTok for the first time, riffing on trending music tracks and formats within the platform.
And a slight tangent, but too fun not to share: Through our #MargBomb/TikTok research, we discovered that Chili’s fans and crew-members were already very active on the platform, sharing their #ChilisLove, organically. So when asked to concept a TV spot highlighting COVID safety, we pitched this rough-cut, taking content from TikTok to run for broadcast.
