Chipotle’s Innovative Approach to Customer Loyalty
Nearly every fast-food chain has a loyalty program to gather massive amounts of data on members. Chipotle Mexican Grill sparked nationwide attention by finding a unique way to use it.
Marketers for the brand understand that its Chipotle Rewards Loyalty Program members feel strongly about ordering entrees with very specific ingredients and seasonings — almost to the point of identifying personally with particular menu options.
The Chipotle Doppelgänger Campaign
The brand found a way to surprise and delight customers by simply notifying them by email that another anonymous customer just ordered exactly the same thing within the past two minutes at another restaurant nearby. Customers received no information about their food twin — only the time and date of their order, the restaurant where it was placed, and a listing of the customized ingredients. Loyalty members’ “Chipotle Doppelgänger” emails provided only the same information as shown on a receipt. Members were also offered a chance to order T-shirts printed with their entree preferences.
Impact on Sales and Engagement
The campaign was a home run. The 466,000 people who received Doppelgänger emails spent $4.8 million at Chipotle during the initial four weeks of the campaign. Loyalty program members are accustomed to receiving offers of exclusive discounts, special access to products, and preferential treatment. The Doppelgänger campaign was so unexpected, and so on- target in tone, that people clicked in to learn more.
“The brand found a way to surprise and delight its fans, and even sparked many to share the marketing email on their social media,” Contagious.com, a marketing platform for brands and agencies, wrote in a case study on the campaign. “The key here is the brand understands its Loyalty Program members.”
Chipotle’s ad partner in the campaign, Gale of New York, says most people receive about 150 emails a day and trash half of them unopened. However, the notion that everyone has a Doppelgänger is innately interesting, sparking enough curiosity to elevate email opening rates 44% above usual. All aspects of the campaign adhere to a key marketing principle at Chipotle, according to a marketing executive quoted by Contagious.com: Don’t be lame!
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