Most Contagious NYC: How Grubhub and Solo Stove leverage buzz to build brand
Feb 20, 2025
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Join Chris Barth, Principal Strategist at Contagious, along with George Bryant, Global Chief Creative Officer at Golin Harris, and Elizabeth Paul, Chief Strategy Officer at The Martin Agency. They delve into the creative strategies behind Grubhub's 'Special Delivery' campaign for new mothers and how it fostered loyalty. The discussion also highlights Solo Stove's collaboration with Snoop Dogg, emphasizing community engagement and emotional connections. Plus, examine the evolving role of humor in marketing and the significance of understanding consumer needs.
Grubhub's Special Delivery campaign exemplified the power of empathy-driven strategies, significantly boosting customer loyalty by focusing on emotional connections with consumers.
Solo Stove's collaboration with Snoop Dogg successfully transitioned from awareness generation to a sustained brand strategy, demonstrating the importance of integrating buzz with performance marketing for long-term growth.
Deep dives
Key Insights from the Most Contagious Conference
The Most Contagious Conference showcased a diverse range of marketing strategies, highlighting the dichotomy between absurd and traditional campaigns. Presenters discussed how brands can connect with consumers through unconventional approaches, such as Nutter Butter's focus on absurdity, while also addressing more serious, impactful work. A significant theme emerged from Dr. Marcus Collins's talk, which explored the tension between aiming for large-scale cultural moments versus deeply impactful ones. This illustrates the ongoing challenge marketers face in balancing creativity with meaningful engagement.
Navigating the Role of AI in Marketing
AI's impact on marketing generated considerable discussion at the conference, with speakers expressing apprehension about its ability to replace or enhance human creativity. Marketers are currently grappling with AI's potential to transform their roles and the industry landscape, indicating a growing tension surrounding these technologies. The conversations revealed that AI's ongoing evolution raises concerns about job security and creative authenticity within marketing. This ongoing debate highlights the need for marketers to adapt and find ways to leverage AI while maintaining human touch in their strategies.
Grubhub's Special Delivery Campaign
The Special Delivery campaign by Grubhub aimed to foster loyalty by delivering meals to new mothers after childbirth, capitalizing on the emotional significance of the first meal post-delivery. This initiative saw Grubhub provide 5,000 meals during a peak month, focusing on building trust within the targeted community rather than relying on traditional advertising. Remarkably, this campaign led to a 54% increase in customer loyalty, significantly exceeding the average retention rates in the competitive food delivery market. The campaign's success illustrates the effectiveness of empathy-driven marketing strategies that resonate deeply with consumers.
The Snoop Dogg Campaign with Solo Stove
Solo Stove's collaboration with Snoop Dogg evolved from a buzz-generating campaign into a comprehensive brand strategy aimed at long-term growth. Initially, the campaign created significant awareness without directly driving sales, prompting a reevaluation of its objectives for the subsequent phase. The follow-up campaign emphasized product features and created a robust dialogue around the brand, leveraging its earlier buzz. This approach resulted in increased consideration and sales, proving that integrating brand-building efforts with performance marketing can significantly enhance overall business outcomes.
In this second of a two-part series covering Most Contagious New York, WARC gathers takeaways from the day from Contagious principal strategist Chris Barth, and interviews presenters George Bryant from Golin Harris, and Elizabeth Paul from The Martin Agency on how their work for Grubhub and Solo Stove respectively built buzz that led to success throughout the funnel. To listen to part one, click here.
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