Shake Shack’s culinary jazz dinner with TABASCO® and Chef Nina Compton

Written By Alicia Vial

Situation

What started as a New York City hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, Shake Shack has quickly grown to become a cult-brand with more than 430 locations throughout the world. Teaming up with two Louisiana legends, Chef Nina Compton and TABASCO®, Shake Shack wanted to offer a New Orleans-themed culinary jazz experience in NYC and New Orleans, coinciding with one of the world’s biggest music festivals - New Orleans Jazz Fest.

The ticketed reception-style party would be two nights only (one per city), and feature Chef Compton’s creative take on New Orleans and Caribbean flavors with heat and excitement from a variety of TABASCO® sauces. Having previously worked with Gambel Communications to launch two new locations in the New Orleans area, the Shake Shack team called upon the agency to partner on the event for public relations support through traditional media relations and influencer marketing.

Strategy

Shake Shack has a corporate commitment to “Stand for Something Good” and engages local companies for localized events and projects. It was important to Shake Shack that the event activation communicate the brand’s messaging pillar, “food raises the bar,” and to reinforce their culinary credibility. Additionally, any key messages and influencer content would need to showcase their “asset to my neighborhood” brand pillar.

Teaming up with two Louisiana legends, James Beard-award winning Chef Nina Compton and TABASCO®, Shake Shack wanted to host the New Orleans-themed culinary jazz experience to coincide with one of New Orleans’ biggest music festivals – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, or Jazz Fest. Taking place at Shake Shack Canal Place in downtown New Orleans, the cocktail-style culinary experience would be inspired by Chef Compton’s creative take on New Orleans and Caribbean flavors infused with excitement and heat from a variety of TABASCO® sauces. The menu would feature an array of small bites including a crawfish grilled cheese, fried chicken sandwich sliders, Cantaloupe Soup with pickled shrimp, chicken and andouille gumbo, beignets with rum caramel sauce and a handspun vanilla custard topped with hot honey.

In advance of the ticket sales going live, Gambel Communications curated a media list and identified potential social media influencers that would support the brand pillars important to Shake Shack.

Results

Gambel Communications partnered with Shake Shack to promote the New Orleans Nina Compton tasting featuring TABASCO®. Ultimately, this campaign achieved the desired goals and objectives resulting in a sold-out event with attendees who might not otherwise have engaged with the Shake Shack brand.

Through strategic media outreach, Gambel Communications was able to secure 11 traditional media placements and secure partnerships with 15 social media influencers.

With traditional media placements reaching an estimated 23.8 million viewers and social media influencer promotional content reaching a potential 494,000 followers to promoting ticket sales, both waves sold out a week prior to the event.

At the event, the influencer content supported Shake Shack’s brand pillars by showcasing the brand’s culinary credibility and highlighting the exciting local community event.

Alicia Vial

Alicia Vial is a New Orleans native with more than a decade of experience elevating client stories and leading crisis response. As the senior director of strategy, Alicia acts as a leader within the Gambel Communications team ensuring each agency team member is positioned to deliver strategic public relations services that meet the highest standards of the industry. In addition to supporting the agency’s long-term business growth and development, she coordinates day-to-day account services and oversees strategic direction while staying abreast of best practices and industry trends to provide innovative solutions to meet client’s needs.

Before joining Gambel Communications, Alicia served as the communications director for the Louisiana SPCA, the oldest and largest animal welfare organization in Louisiana that impacts more than 74,000 animals per year. During her nearly eight-year tenure, Alicia oversaw numerous crises, served on national communication taskforces, oversaw all aspects of internal and external relations and worked alongside the development department to raise critical funding. Prior to that, she worked in the fast-paced New Orleans hospitality industry focusing on digital public relations for multiple hotels.

Alicia is a member of the Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL), Southern Public Relations Federation (SPRF), a board member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Orleans Chapter and a member of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute. An accredited public relations practitioner (APR), Alicia is also certified in crisis communications, organizational leadership, content marketing and social media.

A well respected and trusted public relations practitioner, Alicia has been recognized by SPRF as a ‘Senior Practitioner of the Year’. Dubbed early on in her career as one to watch, she also received the ‘Rising Star’ award by PRAL and was profiled in St. Charles Avenue Magazine as part of their Young Bloods series. Most recently, she was recognized at PRSA’s annual Fleurish Awards and received four Awards of Excellence for her work along with the ‘Plate Spinner’ award for her efforts on the board of directors for the chapter.

An LSU graduate, Alicia received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a concentration in public relations and minors in business administration and leadership development. She is a frequent speaker and presenter on public relations topics, most recently presenting at the Jefferson Economic Development Commission and SPRF annual conference.

When Alicia is not at work, you can find her at the ballpark with her three boys or cheering on the Tigers in Death Valley.

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