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It might not sound like a winning marketing strategy for a restaurant to refer to its most-popular dish \u201cslop.\u201d But it\u2019s working for Cava.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur guests lovingly call it that [online],\u201d Rachel Karten, a social strategist who works for Cava, told Marketing Brew about the fast-casual restaurant\u2019s Mediterranean bowls, which can tend to look slop-like when mixed up. \u201cThey\u2019re saying it in a way that\u2019s nice, so we use that word too and show that we\u2019re in on the joke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being tongue-in-cheek is part of Cava\u2019s broader approach to social marketing, which also includes posting memes and working with comedic creators like ironic song-mixer DJ Mandy and Alex Hartman, who parodies certain lower Manhattan residents on his Instagram account Nolita Dirtbag.<\/p>\n
According to Karten, being self-deprecating and taking on the tone of a friend has resonated with the brand\u2019s social audience, which tends to skew younger.<\/p>\n
But as any social manager knows, edgier social strategies don\u2019t often happen without the blessing of higher-ups: \u201cThey have a lot of creative license,\u201d Andy Rebhun, Cava\u2019s chief experience officer who oversees brand marketing, told us of the brand\u2019s social team. \u201cI very much am a believer of letting creatives create and making sure that it reflects the way we want to be perceived in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cava, which has more than 300 locations in the US, is preparing for its first Midwest location opening this spring in Chicago as part of a larger growth of its physical presence in the US. The expansion has prompted Rebhun and his team to think about growing as a brand while maintaining its \u201cpassionate fanbase\u201d and rewarding customers on social and in-app.<\/p>\n
For now, Cava\u2019s marketing is \u201cprimarily digital,\u201d Rebhun said, with a focus on making \u201cguests feel seen,\u201d according to Karten. That\u2019s where the memes and inside jokes come in. Since some trends and memes could pose potential copyright or trademark issues, the social team\u2014which consists of Karten, another strategist, and a social director\u2014often opt to use stick figures and pictures of Cava ingredients in posts, rather than \u201ccelebrity likenesses or any of that kind of stuff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brand partners have included well-known creators like Emma Chamberlain and Meredith Hayden (aka Wishbone Kitchen), who both made custom bowls for the brand. According to Rebhun, Cava is intentional about who it works with, and evaluates whether potential partners have an engaged fanbase and are existing customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look back with the partnership we did with [Chamberlain] and Nolita Dirtbag, these are people who have very much expressed interest in the brand and\u2026sent us direct messages or specifically called us out in an Instagram post,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When working with creators, Karten said she considers them to be \u201calmost extensions of the social team,\u201d providing content that the in-house team can\u2019t. In the case of working with DJ Mandy, that was apparent: \u201cNo one on our social team can DJ\u2014or fake DJ,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Sometimes, social content for Cava doesn\u2019t involve a creator at all. Karten said one winning strategy for content has started by imagining what a Cava fan might fantasize about, like a giant pita chip, and making content out of that. Another thing that\u2019s worked well for the brand, she said, is posting TikTok carousels to Instagram: one recent post, \u201chow to become a pita chip,\u201d has racked up nearly 50k likes in a month.<\/p>\n
\u2018We see customers create TikTok videos about our pita chips [and it\u2019s] very much frequently liked and commented on in our Cava social media posts,\u201d Rebhun said. \u201cTo me, that\u2019s just an example of doing social listening, understanding what the customer wants, and ultimately positioning it in a way that makes sense for our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond simply listening to customer feedback, Cava\u2019s social account often reposts customer-created content. According to Karten, the brand\u2019s photo dumps that compile user-generated content (which are often reposts of photos customers have shared of their Cava orders) have been some of the brand\u2019s more popular posts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very lucky we have a very passionate fan base,\u201d Rebhun said. \u201cYou see a lot of organic TikToks, a lot of organic Instagram videos\u2026and it\u2019s been something that I don\u2019t take for granted because in many of the concepts I used to work with, you had to pay people to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Cava debuted its \u201ccustom contest,\u201d in which customers are encouraged to share photos of their custom bowl orders. (Winners will receive a Cava app credit and a chance for their custom bowl to be featured on Cava\u2019s menu.) Not only are contests like these UGC opportunities, but also a way to further engage with customers, according to Karten. \u201cMemes are great, they\u2019re shareable, they make people feel seen,\u201d she said. \u201cBut how do we connect with our guests on a more personal level through social media?\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Rebhun, Cava plans to reintroduce a loyalty program later this year while continuing to focus on guest experience and connection, \u201cwhether that be through loyalty points or emails,\u201d as part of its continued efforts to boost engagement.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Karten and her team will continue posting and seeing what resonates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my work in social media, the best social teams are often the ones that have fewer approval processes or [don\u2019t have] too many minds thinking about it, so I\u2019m grateful that Cava seems very open to experiment\u201d she said. \u201cIf there\u2019s a mistake made, they move on, and it\u2019s all part of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n