Situation: Smashguys, LLC, the Iowa franchisee of Denver, Colo.-based Smashburger, a fast-casual restaurant designed to be everybody’s favorite burger place, retained Hanser & Associates to manage their day-to-day communication and marketing in Iowa.

PR Action: Smashburger’s first Iowa location opened in September 2009 in West Des Moines. To build pre-opening awareness and word of mouth, we hosted a social media luncheon at the restaurant, worked with influential community leaders to build support for Smashburger and drive attendance at a sneak-peek event, and conducted outreach to news media to generate news coverage. To celebrate the opening and drive traffic, we planned Des Moines’ Rock Your City Band Competition and partnered with Food Bank of Iowa for a charity event.

Results: The first restaurant experiences strong sales due to 21 news placements prior to the grand opening and word of mouth by 25 social media “heavy-hitters” who attended the luncheon. In addition, 284 area residents including West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer attended the sneak-peek event and sampling. The winning band was announced during an in-studio news interview on WOI-TV (ABC) and played live at the restaurant following opening. Des Moines Cityview’s annual BEST OF DES MOINES poll named Smashburger among the top three vote-getters in the Metro area in the “Best New Restaurant” and “Best Burger” category! A second Smashburger opened in November in Ankeny, Iowa.

Posted: December 1, 2009 at 12:20 pm by sarag