Panda Express Focusing on Family

Interactive, participatory, brand marketing is the best tool in a food marketers tool box according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  When a brand extends its brand invitation to all members of the family it eliminates the ‘veto’ vote what the most dreaded daily question pops up, What’s for Dinner.

Recently Panda Express introduced the Good Fortune Arcade, an online 8-bit game developed for guests to interact with the rich traditions of the Lunar New Year. Why is this so important? Simple both Millennials and Gen Z consumers are digital natives and gaming is second nature to them.

Putting time bounded limits on the is a call to action that is sure to drive trial. The Panda Express Good Fortune Arcade game is available through Feb. 15. Guests can visit pandaLNY.com to play the game and learn more about the origin story and food symbolism of Lunar New Year, while also receiving exclusive online offers at each level of the game, according to a press release.

As part of its annual tradition, as regular readers of this blog know, Panda is also bringing back in-store lucky red envelopes on the celebration day of Feb. 1, gifting guests with a limited time Family Meal promotion.

Andrea, chief brand officer, Panda Express, stated, "Every year, we look forward to celebrating Lunar New Year with our guests, as this holiday universally signifies the importance of family and togetherness — the key values that also define us as a family-owned American Chinese restaurant,"... "We are in a unique position to share culture and traditions through timeless and innovative experiences that both new and existing Lunar New Year celebrants can enjoy. With the Good Fortune Arcade, our goal is to create an authentic and inclusive way to bring people together over good fun and good food."

Get this, the Good Fortune Arcade game consists of four levels, and players are tasked with catching the legendary monster behind the holiday's origin, Nian, who has stolen their lucky foods. In each level, players will work to collect these lucky dishes, while dodging obstacles along the way. After each completed level, players will unlock a fortune card containing a discount code for online ordering only on PandaExpress.com or the Panda Express app through Feb. 28. How are you extending you brand? Why? To Whom?

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter