CREATING BUZZ IN A WORLD OF NOISE:
Bunny Rocket creates remarkable campaigns for remarkable friends. Truthful connections between our friends and the friends they want to reach.
Just as we are setting our own flight plan, our marketing is also stretching the bounds of creative, unique and impactful messaging, creating brand fanatics.
Tell a story, educate, engage, give value to readers and audiences will find your brand.
TASTES GREAT: Just like barbecue, Sonny’s is all about community. The Florida-based restaurant company, founded in 1968, is deeply committed to building a loyal customer following by offering quality barbecue and outstanding customer service in over 150 locations.
INTO THE SMOKER: The highly-competitive barbecue business is one in which Sonny’s has gained strong name recognition despite other chains and local BBQ joints crowding the field. As consumer habits change, it was important for Sonny’s to recapture what they started when they were just a single bbq joint in Gainesville.
SECRET SAUCE: To solidify Sonny’s as a local brand, we worked with 15 franchises, positioning each as the community’s official barbecue expert — trusted friends willing to share grilling and smoking tips. While the pitmasters at each Sonny’s location run the kitchen, they compete extensively in barbecue contests across the country. They are experts.
SETTING THE TABLE: Using the pitmasters as the stars of a native advertising campaign, we let them share their grilling tips and secrets — in their own words. They know barbecue better than anyone else, so we positioned them as local celebrity chefs, and let their street creed do the talking.
DINNER IS SERVED: A strong food section in The Florida Times-Union became a natural home for a weekly native ad feature showcasing a different pitmaster to an audience already interested in food. Companioned with video interviews of each pitmaster, the series also lived on at Jacksonville.com, in social media and on a custom website, boosting SEO.
ADDING IT UP: As the campaign wound down, a strong report came back from Sonny's – sales in the targeted markets were up 5 percent — leaving the other franchises clamoring to see what happened..
BRAND SNAPSHOT: Stein Mart, a boutique-style men’s and women’s department store chain based in Jacksonville, was founded in the early 1900s. Currently, there are more than 266 locations in 29 states, while the company reported $1.26B in sales for the current year.
DOING IT RIGHT: Several factors make Stein Mart unique in the retail sector — 1) A pricing strategy CEO Jay Stein references frequently: “What built this company was values every single day.” 2) A long-standing personal shopper program — “Boutique Ladies” — normally reserved for high-end retailers.
IN SHORT: Stein Mart goes beyond traditional customer service. This test campaign aims at leveraging those tenets.
SWEET SPOT: The “Boutique Ladies” concept is the absolute pinnacle of customer service. It’s white glove and it’s as post industrial as it gets. It connectsbrand to customer in a powerful way that is reflected in Stein Mart’s growth.
CROSSING THE STREAMS: Despite the huge value Stein Mart’s “Boutique Ladies” brings, two new ideas could generate remarkable lift.
One, while the core demographic of a Stein Mart shopper may skew older (45- 65), that customer — the one who wants designer clothes at affordable prices — is always keeping an eye on what the younger generation(s) are wearing. They may not shop at a Forever 21 or an H&M, but they pay attention to those fashions.
Secondly, there is an online world of personal shoppers — “Boutique Web Ladies” — who write voraciously about fashion in blogs and on social media. They show their followers how to shop while often getting free clothes from designers and manufactures in hopes of being featured.
CAMPAIGN FOCUS: Using a local fashion designer — Sally Ann — as a test, a “Boutique Ladies 2.0” campaign modernizes the customer/brand relationship that Jay Stein has masterfully built. This campaign resets a fresh and current approach to engage loyal Stein Mart shoppers while creating relevance for a new demographic.
When our friends come by, they always ask what music is wafting through the speakers at Bunny Rocket world headquarters ... then they usually ask for a pint of beer or a latte depending on the time of day. These are some of the tunes fueling our creative energy this week. Share your favorites with us: musichelper@bunnyrocket.com.
THE HOT FIVE:
CHVRCHES - "Recover" — Chvrches (pronounced as "churches" and stylised as CHVRCHΞS) are a Scottish electronic band, formed in 2011. The group consists of Lauren Mayberry (lead vocals, additional synthesisers, and samplers), Iain Cook (synthesisers, guitar, bass, vocals), and Martin Doherty (synthesisers, samplers, vocals).
Gold Panda - "Snow & Taxis" — Hailing from Chelmsford, Essex, Gold Panda spent the early part of last year building a reputation as remixer du jour for the likes of Little Boots, Telepathe, Bloc Party, Simian Mobile Disco, Health and The Field, before releasing three EPs of his own material in the summer to huge critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, Dazed and Confused, The Guardian, NME and beyond. Live performances soon followed and his invigorated head hunched style quickly won further fans as well as establishing him as an artist who could play live rather than just prod at an expensive laptop.
Washed Out - "Amor Fati" – The music recorded by Ernest Greene as Washed Out has been nothing if not dreamy, but for his second full-length, he’s taken the idea of letting your mind wander to another state a huge leap further. On Paracosm, due out Aug. 13 on Sub Pop, the Georgia-based musician explores the album’s namesake phenomenon, where people create detailed imaginary worlds. The concept has been used to describe fantasy lands like Tolkien’s Middle Earth and C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, and it’s at the heart of the 2004 documentary In The Realms Of The Unreal about outsider artist Henry Darger.
The Temper Trap - "Trembling Hands" — With their choir boy vocals and panoramic pop/rock sound, the Temper Trap began building an audience in Melbourne, Australia, where the band first rose to local acclaim after playing St. Jerome's Laneway Festival in March 2006. The Temper Trap released their debut EP that same year, and word of the group's potential soon spread to other continents.
M83 - "Reunion" — M83 is an indie pop act of French musician Anthony Gonzalez. It is named after a spiral galaxy, Messier 83. The musical style of M83 owes something to the shoegazing genre in its extensive use of reverb effects and lyrics spoken softly over loud instrumentals, although M83's songs employ considerably less guitar than most shoegazing bands.
BEING MOBILE ON MOBILE: Today’s consumers live on mobile devices, making mobile marketing and mobile powered ad campaigns vital to creating engagement far beyond any other platform. The right strategy combines the right formats into smart marketing that drives brand awareness and cultivates robust customer loyalty.
LETTING THEM DRIVE: According to IHS Automotive, today’s drivers are more likely to stick with a brand they know and like, more frequently than they did in the past. Converting these loyalists into new buyers is “less expensive ... than to go out and capture one from another brand ... dealers need to be thinking a lot about how to keep customers,” the IHS report says. The study also shows Mazda had one of the largest jumps of any car maker in brand loyalty.
HIGH-OCTANE FUEL: Positive recommendations can boost the price consumers are willing to pay for a product by an average 9.5 percent, according to a study by The Paley Center for Media. The impact can range from a $30 boost for tech products to upwards of $9,000 for a vehicle.
INSIDE THE CAMPAIGN: On Instagram, a brand owner shares and tags a picture of themselves with their car [#JaxLovesMazda]. That action creates an organic recommendation from someone who just became a brand advocate. As their message reaches their personal social circle, the post is then redistributed through the car dealer's social channels, through Times-Union Media’s channels and in Florida Times-Union print ads and through native advertising on Jacksonville.com. The reach increases exponentially through each action.
THE NICHE GROCER MARKET: The top-tier players in the organic/natural grocery market compete for the same consumer turf while essentially using similar brand positioning geared at lifting combinations of five core values: organic/natural, fresh, health/wellness, local and knowledge.
WHO'S BUYING: The growing U.S. organic/natural grocery sector comprises more than 4 percent of the entire grocery market and was worth an estimated $35B in 2014.
THE DISRUPTORS: Organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and nearly 3 out of 4 conventional grocery stores in the U.S.
SETTING THE TABLE: The Fresh Market realizes that as demand grows for natural and organic groceries, they don't compete for the "low price" customer. That is not their business model and a reason they spend virtually no money in the grocery advertising space that is always a price-point play.
DIFFERENCES: At a level unmatched by traditional grocers (and many niche ones as well), The Fresh Market cares about the quality of food they sell and believes that their customers care as well. They respect food and treat it as such with stores that resemble open-air markets focusing on the quality of the meats, produce and other items them offer. The classical music and dramatic lighting supports a belief that what you eat matters.
SWEET SPOT: The Fresh Market doesn't need to compete in the price game with traditional grocers, but they do need to compete against other niche grocers. A heavily branded ad campaign that showcases the food they sell (and curate) in the same respectful and remarkable way they present it in store, is what powers this print/digital/social/native strategy for The Fresh Market. It's not about price, it's about quality. And, it's about keeping The Fresh Market top-of-mind as THE place to get quality natural and organic groceries.
In 2017, we will open the doors to Truth Coffee Co. and the Bunny Rocket CoWork Factory. Our latest venture is a collaborative effort with Bold Bean Roasting Co. between Canal and Spring Streets at 508 Greenwich St. in the heart of the Soho District of NYC.
THE JAVA: Truth Coffee Co. is an extension of the Truth brand at Bunny Rocket and the very foundation on which our company stands. Working with our coffee friends from Bold Bean, this unique cafe offers as well as a dazzling array of baked goods.
THE CO-WORK SPACE: Since before our launch, we've always wanted to help foster the entrepreneurial spirt that comes from shared work space. Opening Bunny Rocket Co-Work Factory next to Truth Coffee blends the best of both worlds with an energy that is creative and exciting.
GIVING BACK: As we have since we began Bunny Rocket, giving back is important to us. A full 10% of proceeds from Truth Coffee will be donated each month to the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of NYC.
Truth Coffee Co.: Mon – Sat 7am – 10pm, Sun 8am – 4pm. Transport: Subway: C, E to Spring St. Price: Average pastry: $5. AmEx, Disc, MC, V.
testing
The monthly Truth Talks Speaker Series will bring local and national thought leaders to the Bunny Rocket Cowork Factory in Soho for an evening of networking and learning from successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and notable business and nonprofit mentors.
Truth Talks will bring highly successful leaders from a variety of industries to share their experiences and give advice on topics ranging from "why truth matters" to "building a venture around intellectual capital" to "socially responsible leadership."
Events for the series take place at the Bunny Rocket Cowork Factory next to Truth Coffee Co. The series is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.
Truth Coffee Co. and the Bunny Rocket Cowork Factory
WHAT'S NEW: We've added a new line of hoodies for those cold fall days, and for our sporty friends, look for a chance to win a custom Bunny Rocket surfboard later this month.
IT'S A SALE: All children's shirts and hats are 20% off through Labor Day.
IT'S ALL YOU: Tell us what Bunny Rocket swag you'd like us to design and we will add it to our boutique.
GIVING BACK: Remember, 20% of all Bunny Boutique sales are donated to the The Humane Society. Look for Bunny Rocket pet gear coming soon!
The 2016 Bunny Rocket Concert Series kicks off on March 14 with a return performance by the Foo Fighters. If you missed their epic show last October at Whiskey NoNo, you won't want to miss this one. Dave Grohl in a Bunny Rocket shirt totally crushing the place? Yep, it happened.
2016 LINEUP [All shows at Whiskey NoNo, 2342 E. 63rd, NYC]
March 14, 9 p.m.: Foo Fighters
April 24, 9 p.m.: Neko Case
May 22, 9 p.m.: Kaskade and Jane’s Addiction
June 11, 9 p.m.: Skrillex
July 5, 9 p.m.: John Fogerty
August 6, 9 p.m.: Luke Bryan Unplugged
TICKETS: ticketmaster.com
