13 Nov Case Study: Effectiveness of Marketing Efforts for Juicy Joint Food Truck Grand Opening in Houston

Objective

This study evaluates Juicy Joint’s marketing strategy effectiveness for its grand opening in October of 2024 in Houston, Texas. Key metrics include a focus on revenue, transaction growth, celebrity influence, influencer impact, and advertising budget allocations.

Brand Overview

Juicy Joint is the 2nd food truck venture of Ahmad Kilani, owner of Clutch City Cluckers, a very successful fleet of food trucks throughout Texas in addition to locations in Louisiana, Florida, & Amman, Jordan. Juicy Joint offers gourmet Wagyu burger & hot dog options with the unique feature of adhering to Halal practices.

Embark Marketing has been working with the Juicy Joint / Clutch City Cluckers team to open each food truck venture for the past several years. We implemented a multi-channel marketing and advertising strategy that incorporated digital efforts, as well as local celebrity and influencer advertising to spread the word about the new concept. The tactics and their effectiveness of which are detailed below.

Marketing Budget and Tactics

Juicy Joint invested heavily in a multi-channel advertising strategy, contributing to the grand opening’s high turnout and sustained post-launch interest.

Social Media and Influencer Campaigns:

• Social Media Ads: $12,000 was allocated for Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), Eventbrite, and TikTok Ads to promote brand visibility, engage local followers, and increase foot traffic.
• Influencers: $3,000 was spent on local food influencers and an additional $15,000 for local rapper, Paul Wall’s appearance. Influencers like @eatingwithcatherine and @hungry_inhouston posted stories and reels, which amplified interest and awareness around the grand opening.

In preparation for the grand opening, Embark Marketing began partnering with several local influencers to flush the Houston market with anticipation for the new food truck 3 months prior to the grand opening date, with a total investment of $3,000 allocated amongst the influencers.

In addition, a total of $12,000 was spent across Meta & TikTok with two specific advertising campaigns prior to the grand opening. The initial campaign highlighted the truck’s unique features and showcased the cuisine with a coming soon approach & CTA to follow the various social media accounts. The second campaign focused on the actual grand opening and expanded upon the previous material with the addition of enticing viewers with the promise of potential free food, celebrity appearances, & promotional giveaways. 

With both of these approaches, we were able to create a buzz online and direct traffic to Juicy Joint’s social media accounts, ensuring a captive audience for the event & brand recognition within the target market.

Timeframes and Key Metrics

1. Week of Soft Opening (Oct 7 – 13, 2024):
   • Revenue: $6,980.58 with 317 transactions.
   • Marketing on social media, particularly Instagram, attracted 61.69% of attendees, highlighting its role in pre-launch awareness.
2. Week of Grand Opening (Oct 14 – 20, 2024):
   • Revenue: $21,587.08 with 1,076 transactions.
   • Events like Paul Wall’s appearance and free meal promotions helped drive a 239% increase in transactions, with 300 and 280 transactions on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
3. Post-Opening Week (Oct 21 – 27, 2024):
   • Revenue: $26,026.31 from 1,032 transactions.
   • Continued engagement from influencer partnerships sustained high transaction levels, with sales increasing by 20.6% over the grand opening week.

From these numbers, we can measure the success of the campaign using several metrics. From the $32,000 investment, the truck took in a total of $54,593.97 during the 3 week timeframe despite giving away 100 free meals. This resulted in a revenue of almost $23,000 during this 3 week period alone.

Additionally, followers on Instagram alone rose to over 11,000 ensuring a consistent audience and brand recognition for the newly established business. This was achieved via direct advertising on social media along with funneling followers from Influencer and celebrity accounts via collaboration posts.

Transactions also increased significantly from the soft opening and continued an upward trend post-grand opening week, showcasing the hype surrounding the truck and real world validation of marketing efforts.

Analysis of Marketing Impact

1. Revenue and Transaction Growth:
   • Revenue surged 209% from the soft opening to the grand opening week, with transactions increasing from 317 to 1,076.
   • The post-opening week saw a further revenue rise of 20.6%, showcasing sustained customer interest beyond the grand opening, largely due to continuous influencer engagement and social media presence.
2. Celebrity and Influencer Engagement:
   • Paul Wall’s endorsement provided a local celebrity appeal that drew in crowds, especially on the grand opening weekend, with transactions peaking on Oct 18.
   • Influencers generated additional traction, contributing to a broader social media presence, which helped drive not only initial traffic but also return visits in the following weeks.
3. Advertising and Media Mix:
   • Juicy Joint’s $32,000 advertising investment across various channels ensured maximum reach. The blend of utilizing social media advertising, and celebrity and Influencer endorsement attracted a diverse customer base.

In summary, Embark Marketing’s strategic allocation of budget resources across multiple social media channels, combined with celebrity endorsement and influencer partnerships, generated substantial awareness, revenue growth, and sustained interest in the Juicy Joint brand. This multifaceted approach established a strong local presence and positioned the food truck favorably within Houston’s extensive and competitive market. Do you have a food brand opening soon & need assistance spreading the word? Contact us today for a free assessment!