I admit to being hooked on The Food Network. Even if cooking isn’t your thing, by watching the Great Food Truck Race you can see how easily great marketing principles can be put into action.
The premise of the show: Gourmet food trucks travel the country trying to outsell one another at their two-day stops. They are each given the same amount of cash to start each week’s challenge. The one with the most cash at the end of the two days wins.
There’s no stopping the Nom Nom team, which sells Vietnamese sandwiches. Marketing seems to come naturally to them. They adjust their marketing strategies for each market. It’s fun knowing that we help our clients implement these same principles throughout the year.
Week one: In San Diego, the Nom Nom team won the first two-day challenge after parking their food truck at a busy street fair. Their face-to-face marketing strategy put them far ahead of their closest competition.
Week two: On their way to Santa Fe, the Nom Nom team used an effective PR tactic. They contacted Santa Fe reporters to tell them where they’d be parked. Their pitch: For two days only, you can try our exclusive sandwiches and be part of the fun of this TV show. Their pitch was timely, relevant and fun. As a result they had a nonstop line of people at their truck, whereas another competitor parked a few feet away pulled in the least amount of money and was sent home.
Week three: In Ft. Worth, all of the teams discussed how they should adjust their menu to meet the expectations of this meat-loving target audience. Going the extra mile, the Nom Nom team wisely formed a marketing partnership with a local gourmet grocery store. They got ready access to their food supplies, in return the grocery store’s customers were excited by the easy access to an unusual cuisine. The grocery store used social media marketing (its Facebook page) to generate excitement. Another great showing for the Nom Nom team!
Check out our website to learn more about each of these marketing tools, or give us a call to discuss our ideas for how you might use one or more of them to move your business forward.
