Pilot Flying J Social Media Sweepstakes

 

Social Media is a key tool in every food marketer’s tool kit according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “inviting customers into you brand while asking for input is an effective way to drive new electricity into your brand while edifying you customer base”.

Pilot Flying J has partnered with both HEINZ and Oscar Mayer Foodservice for a celebration of the all-American hotdog and the moments that bring people together with the #ShareaDogSweepstakes and an exclusive offer for a free hot dog at Pilot Flying J on National Hot Dog Day.

So, beginning July 13 through August 10, customers are encouraged to post a photo sharing a moment or memory with loved ones and enjoying hot dogs for a chance to be one of 10 lucky “wieners” receiving a $500 Pilot Flying J gift card.

Here is how it works; to enter the contest, simply tweet or post the photo on Twitter or Instagram and include “#ShareADogSweepstakes” and tag @PilotFlyingJ. Winners will be notified via Twitter or Instagram on or around August 11, 2021.

This current celebration continues on National Hot Dog Day, Wednesday, July 21, with a free hot dog at Pilot Flying J. Download or open the myRewards PlusTM app for an exclusive offer on July 21 to redeem for one free roller grill item, including 100% all-beef Oscar Mayer Foodservice hot dogs, at any participating Pilot or Flying J Travel Center. Guests can top their free hot dogs with all of their favorite HEINZ condiments, or try a new HEINZ Dip Cup for a twist on the classic with a variety of sauces including Barbecue, Ranch, Sweet & Sour and Honey Mustard.

Brian Ferguson, Chief Merchant for Pilot Flying J, stated, “This year, it’s such a great feeling to enjoy being with family and friends that we haven’t seen in a while,”… “Nothing says summertime quite like a backyard BBQ or a road trip with loved ones and an Oscar Mayer hot dog, especially a free one!”

Patricia Keller, Marketing Director at Oscar Mayer Foodservice, stated, “After the pandemic kept so many of us apart, it’s time to celebrate being together again, and nothing sparks more smiles in the summer than delicious Oscar Mayer hot dogs,” ...  “We at Oscar Mayer know you can’t go wrong when you start with a better dog, and we’re proud to continue to be an American tradition since 1883. We hope that everyone who stops by Pilot Flying J this summer and bites into an Oscar Mayer hot dog remembers to take life a little less seriously and enjoy the delicious side of summer.”

Get this, to top off the celebration with some extra relish, the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile will be making appearances at two Pilot Flying J locations in Newark and Carney’s Point, New Jersey on July 21 and 26, respectively. Each Wienermobile is piloted by a team of Hotdoggers, who buckle their “meatbelts” and travel in a giant rolling hot dog to spread miles of smiles to fans everywhere. Today, the giant hot dog on wheels can be measured as 60 hot dogs long and 24 hots dog’s high (which is 27 feet long and 11 feet tall). How are you building new electricity this summer?

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. Ask yourself do I need a push our brand forward in search of new electricity?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”  That said, what are you waiting for?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, developing brands, social media, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.

Hell’s Kitchen Partnership Elevates Menu Branding

Ah what goes around comes around.  Regular readers if this blog know that cobranded menu items have been a ‘thing’ for as long as some white-haired food marketers.  That said I’m bald.  Ok, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®; differentiation does not mean different it means familiar but with a twist.

In a time-starved, impatient world, full of hungry consumers, in search of fresh food discovery restaurants that form partnerships with legacy CPG companies to develop new menu items as LTO’s are simply doing what has always been done.

So, get this, virtual restaurants are growing so fast elevating a new avenue of fresh food distribution that Hell's Chicken, Uptown Burger and Chicken Tender Tribe are recrafting high-quality, menu items with a boost from Kraft Heinz' popular HONEYRACHA Sauce, A1 Steak Sauce and 57 Sauce who simply wants to sell into this new avenue of fresh food distribution. These new menu items are available now.

I suspect that this announcement marks the first of many menu promotions to be offered through a partnership between national virtual restaurant brand company Virturant and internationally recognized and respected powerhouse Kraft Heinz.

Jon Register, Virturant Founder & CEO, stated, "We're honored to partner with Kraft Heinz,"  "Kraft Heinz has some of the most iconic and trusted brands in the U.S. By partnering with them, we have the ability to bring amazing flavors and additional high-quality ingredients to our Virturant brand menus."

Each of Virturant's virtual restaurant menus can be found on UberEats, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, the Virturant home page and through the individual brands.

Current menu offerings featuring Kraft Heinz products include:

Hell's Chicken:
HONEYRACHA Chicken Sandwich: Fried chicken breast, dill pickle chips and
HONEYRACHA sauce on a brioche bun.
HEINZ 57 Chicken Sandwich: Fried chicken breast, dill pickle chips and HEINZ 57® sauce on a brioche bun.

Uptown Burger:
A1 Steak Sauce Burger
HEINZ 57 Burger

Chicken Tender Tribe:
HONEYRACHA Dipping Sauce,
HEINZ 57 Dipping Sauce
A1 Steak Sauce Dipping Sauce

That’s right you guessed it, additional menu offerings will be introduced at several other Virturant brands that will serve to entice more online ordering consumers, according to Mauriello. "The restaurant business has changed forever since January 2020," he says. "More and more people are ordering their meals online and having them delivered. By incorporating high-quality, recognizable brand name ingredients, consumers know they are getting the best."

Grocerant Scorecard studies along with others have shown that consumers gravitate toward menu items with recognizable ingredients and brands. Restaurant operators have proven over the years that partnerships with soda and candy manufacturers work to attract—and keep—loyal customers. Virturant is looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Kraft Heinz for the foreseeable future. How fast are you growing new customers? 

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter