Emporio: A Meatball Joint x Pittsburgh Penguins
RESTAURANT BRANDING | CO-BRANDING | GRAPHIC DESIGN | MENU DESIGN | SOCIAL MEDIA | E-MAIL | RADIO | IN-AReNA TRIGGER | PROMOTIONAL MARKETING
To build off their amazing existing brand, I helped guide Emporio into a three-year partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins®.
Assets that I would develop include a branded store location inside PPG Paints Arena, an in-arena goal-trigger, radio spots, the ‘official meatball’ designation, a season-long social-media activation with over 2MM views, and a featured partner of the award-winning Golden Ticket promotion.
The partnership was hailed as a tremendous success by both parties and coincided with a championship season. Coincidence?
The final co-branded logo approved by the team with the Official Meatball designation.
Designing Signage
Tasked with creating eye-catching illuminated graphics to attract arena patrons, I tested letter heights to optimized visibility from a distance. I also created a custom menu for arena-specific items using sales-boosting techniques.
5 Goals = Free Meatball!
To add value to the in-game experience and to drive traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations, I introduced the Emporio Five Goal Free Ball! If the team scored 5 goals in a game, everyone receives a free meatball + sauce the next day. Assets included a tweet from the official team Twitter account and an in-arena animation.
It took some math to figure out the probability and cost to run a campaign but each season we were receiving almost 2MM impressions and a closer tie to the team.
Custom ‘Ball Buckets’
We needed to design a stadium food item that could easily been eaten in your seats. I created the ‘Big Little Bucket of Balls’ packaging that co-branded Emporio with the team and also gave new users a preview of Emporio’s catering options.
Increasing
Foot Traffic
The team introduced their ‘Golden Ticket’ campaign during our partnership, allowing 1 lucky fan season tickets for life. Quite a prize!
To leverage the fevor over offering such a reward, I saw an opportunity to increase traffic by offering entry (and capturing info) by visiting our locations. We had over 6000 new customers in our first 6 months.
My design for a co-branded shirts for our staff. Promoted the partnership on the front and hinted at our new takeout option on the back.
A ‘Meatball’ Mascot
What if your favorite meatball character came to life? I worked with a company that was able to take our 2D ‘Mr. Howdy’ logo and turn him into an awesome brand mascot!
Being able to walk around the concourse during games, make appearances at big events, and interact with fans (especially kids) was a great way to spread our brand and connect with our fans.