Evolving a Southern California Classic
CASE STUDY
NORMS is a SoCal dining tradition and has been the go-to 24/7 neighborhood destination since 1949. With 19 locations and more on the way, it continues to be welcomed into new communities. Along with consistent, friendly service and welcoming environment, NORMS is committed to exceptional quality food and beverages, scratch-made recipes, and ample portions – all at an affordable, everyday price.
Takeaways
- 7% Year-over-year sales growth
- Over 4,000,000 Impressions to date
- Multichannel Awareness: TV, Radio, OOH, Paid Search, Email, Display, Social Media & In-store
Challenge
Today’s market is oversaturated with restaurants in all categories, not to mention the value war amongst the QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) and Casual Dining categories. Even non-traditional food competitors are stealing market share (i.e. meal delivery services, prepared meals in grocery and convenience stores). Add to this the increased cost of doing business in So Cal thanks to minimum wage increases and rising food costs.
NORMS began 2019 facing these challenges. First up, the need to make their Limited Time Offer (LTO) a big success. With our help, they were ready.
Solution
First, we used our industry insights to ensure the Q1 LTO would be positioned competitively against any competition. Research proved we were on the right track. Next, finding new ways to reach the NORMS target audience. Historically, linear TV and OOH have been the only media outlets. We added a variety of communication channels, including Social Media and Paid Digital. We also helped to update their loyalty program to a more robust platform. Then came the creative–how do we stand out and get positive attention while staying on brand?
Enter the “Shouldn’t Be” campaign. We featured funny, every day, relatable scenarios captured through user generated content. Every video chosen visually supports NORMS’ unique positioning of value, convenience, and service. Spreading the message across Social, Digital, Broadcast, and OOH, we launched in January of this year and immediately saw an impact.
Results
2019’s Q1 LTO has delivered a record-breaking product sales mix showing a 7-percent increase over last year, equating to some very nice net profits. The new creative has been well received, and, even more important, memorable. In addition to strong traditional media, spreading the offers deeper into the digital world allowed us to reach new audiences. NORMS website analytics showed a significant shift to new visitors, and our results dashboard was able to track many of them into the restaurants. The search campaign alone generated a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 32:1. Sounds hard to believe, but contact us and we’ll share more.