Recognizing the importance of authenticity in our messaging, we partnered with the Mexican-creator community to share why DDLM was such an important cultural holiday using TikTok. Then we got out of the creators’ way. Rather than making videos about the promotional giveaway, we invited the creators to share their personal stories about the holiday. By effectively taking a back seat with the promotion, the brand avoided cultural appropriation and put the focus and attention on recognizing and celebrating the holiday. At the same time, the subtle nods to the deliciousness of pan de muerto made getting a free one from EPL even more enticing.
Our audience who didn’t know the significance of DDLM before our campaign, came away seeing that the first Monday in November wasn’t just any Monday, and pan de muerto, wasn’t just any “bread”.
Results:
On the holiday, EPL reported a 20% increase of Family Meal sales featuring the promotional pan de muertos giveaway.
Holiday-focused emails were opened at a 17% higher rate than our benchmark.
Our TikTok videos featuring Mexican-creators decorating their ofrendas garnered 3.5 million views.
And most impressively, El Pollo Loco had 2 of the top 8 trending videos on TikTok’s “#Discover Page” on Día de los Muertos — without any Paid Sponsorship.
Creative Direction: Eric Leighton | Design: Marley Schmidtlein | Copywriting: Danny Rosenberg | Animation: Yaxi Xiao