Act Global. Think Local.

Written by
Murali Krishnan
/
Partner, Retail

Key Learnings Creating National Programs that need to Adapt at Local Levels

The biggest challenge we face with many national and global clients is this need to appeal to everyone authentically. What used to sound impossible is now turning not only into a constant reality but, in fact, a necessity for brand survival.

In 2021, we had an opportunity to take this challenge head-on with our partners at Aramark with a premium grill concept that needed to drive participation and sales across their retail-centric channels across the country. We worked closely with their marketing team to develop creative strategies that could ignite guest connection within the vastness of the College & University landscape.

Some Tasty Take Aways

Below are some key takeaways that our collective teams gathered throughout the development and launch of Aramark’s Broad St. Grill

  • Keep it Broad without losing purpose - Focus on a core brand mission that any market can easily understand. Don’t overcomplicate with fabricated stories or initiatives that your brand can’t deliver upon. The markets that leveraged our restaurant concept understood its core values and were able to activate with their own authentic way for their individual communities.
  • Empower your Operators - Higher adoption comes when you start your story but allow your sales force and clients to continue it for you. No one wants to feel dictated to which is why its important to allow your extended teams and clients to extend your core values through their voice within their communities.
  • Functional Flex for the Win -Success for such brands is also based on whether it can adapt across varying footprints and investment levels. We are fans of environments that can be reconfigured in different ways to adapt to new uses and have an increased ability to function well. Therefore, we developed various tiers with a matching suitcase of parts that allowed for turnkey deployment for any investment.