In the increasingly competitive food delivery marketplace, Grubhub needed to stand out from the DoorDash and Uber Eats of the world.
Enter New York indie agency Walrus.
Walrus helped Grubhub create its Q4 brand campaign, Summon the Food, which is all about the magic of food discovery, including a side pickle (more on that later). The campaign highlights how a simple tap of the Grubhub app instantly connects diners with the food they really want and the restaurants they love.
Through Summon the Food, Grubhub is zeroing in on those powerful, specific cravings (i.e., when you want a certain burrito from a particular restaurant versus any ordinary burrito).
The hero spot finds people dissatisfied with their current hunger situations — a woman craving a burrito at a Little League game, a couple at a rental house that only has an ancient jar of cumin in the pantry, a woman in a meeting with a blank look craving a chicken sandwich — reaching for the Grubhub app to sate their appetites.
Grubhub hired Walrus earlier this summer following an agency review led internally by the brand.
“The campaign leans into Grubhub’s new identity system, which uses big bold type, bright orange backgrounds and food imagery that’s different from everything else,” explained Deacon Webster, chief creative officer at Walrus. “We’re leading with the food expertise that’s in the Grubhub DNA, while competition focuses on delivering everything to everyone.”
The campaign is fueled by bold, distinct and highly engaging creative assets, ranging from extra cheesy mozzarella sticks stretched across the Oculus in New York in a long billboard to really big sandwiches.
Creative is currently rolling out across digital, CTV and paid social, with display and audio set to kick in over the next few weeks. This week, the campaign hits the streets with OOH takeovers in New York and Chicago, on buses, subway platforms and billboards. The centerpiece OOH execution is a custom-made giant 3D melty grilled cheese sandwich perched atop a bus shelter in Chicago.
Marnie Kain, VP, head of brand at Grubhub, said the platform is built for mass appeal.
“It’s fun to say [and it’s] empowering for consumers and scalable across every touchpoint. When you understand food better than anyone else, you can solve problems that matter most to diners: finding what they actually want, trusting the experience and getting exactly what they’re hungry for,” explained Kain.
Social shorts feature craveable foods, such as tater tots, a complementary “side pickle” with a grilled sandwich and even a couple opening their front door to discover a “burrito baby” in swaddling clothes on their porch.
Kain went on to say that Summon the Food positions Grubhub around the magic of food discovery, which she states is the top factor consumers consider when choosing a delivery service.
“The campaign underscores how Grubhub helps diners connect with restaurants they’ll genuinely love rather than simply what’s fastest to deliver. And it draws in consumers in an unexpected way with immersive offline elements such as a giant grilled cheese atop a bus shelter,” said Kain.
See the article by Kyle O’Brien in Campaign US here.
