A Story about Chipotle’s Non-Traditional Marketing Strategy
In fast food, big brands like McDonald’s and Burger King spend considerable investment on national campaigns, constantly broadcasting their messages to consumers. Not Chipotle’s non-traditional marketing strategy.
Chipotle, in contrast, works with a much smaller budget, barely advertises on TV, and does most of its work in-house. And yet they are seeing much better growth, at least in the last few quarters.
It’s been nearly half a century since Philip Kotler first published his Principles of Marketing, which has defined the practice of millions of professionals worldwide ever since. It’s no stretch to say that before Kotler, there were no true marketing professionals.
What made Kotler different than what came before is that he took insights from other fields, such as economics, social science, and analytics, and applied them to the marketing arena. Although that may seem basic now, it was groundbreaking then.
Today technology is transforming marketing once again. Although up to this point, most of the impact has been tactical, over the next decade or so there will be a major strategic transformation. This, of course, will be a much harder task because we will not only have to change what we do but how we think.
“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”
Do you have an idea that will change the world? Well, it’s not worth anything unless you can turn that idea into a reality. So take the plunge and see just how far that idea can take you. Or, you can sit around trading advice over the internet.
The choice is yours.
Marketing, at its best, is about the future. Unfortunately, we spend most of our time stuck in the past. We research what already happened and extrapolate forward to produce a plan. It’s not that we’re lazy, we simply know a whole lot more about the past than the present or the future.
We already know that marketing is becoming more social, local, and mobile, just as we know that big data and new interfaces such as touch, voice, and gesture are becoming increasingly more important.
How’s that possible?
It comes down to their specific marketing strategy.
There was a recent AdAge report documenting the non-traditional elements of Chipotle’s CMO and his team.
Its strategy was to win over millennials by solidifying its reputation for freshness. It also sought to offer a healthier fare than its competitors.
Traditional media.
The brand also gained reputation by shying away from traditional media. Why you ask?
Because younger audiences feel like it’s less authentic and less easy to connect with.
Chipotle’s marketing strategy TV ad
Even Chipotle’s first national TV ad wasn’t traditional by any means. It featured Willie Nelson telling a two-minute animated story of a farmer whose business grows massive.
Eventually, Willie’s conscience convinces him to revert to more humane, sustainable operations.
Non-traditional marketing … grassroots level
It’s working at a more grassroots level to build support too, like with its Cultivate food and music festival and its Farm Team loyalty program. All are focused on humane food sourcing and organic farming.
The bottom line
The lessons we can take away from the Chipotle marketing strategy?
Know which customers you want to target, study their characteristics, likes, and dislikes, and build your strategy around these.
So, guess what? Chipotle’s strategy, while different than their larger competitors, is not so unconventional, is it?
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Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
