Since its inception in 1951, Jack in the Box has been a favorite fast food restaurant of hungry Americans. Founded in San Diego, California, Jack in the Box grew from a small restaurant into a multi-billion-dollar fast food chain within a 67-year timespan. With more than 2,000 locations across the United States, Jack in the Box offers an extensive menu that satisfies any craving, from its burgers and world-famous curly fries, to tacos and breakfast sandwiches.
Jack in the Box Hawaii Restaurants hired 6 Pillars Marketing to launch its new limited time offering (LTO), called the “Food Truck Series”, which included an Asian Fried Chicken Sandwich, Prime Rib Cheesesteak and Pork Belly BLT. To support the LTO menu, 6PM developed a successful statewide public relations launch campaign to introduce the new food-truck inspired menu items.
As part of 6PM’s public relations campaign, we also presented a well-received social influencer event at the Anaha Ward Village residential tower. 6PM further collaborated with Jack in the Box to offer special locally inspired menu items, such as Portuguese sausage breakfast platters, fried rice, breakfast Spam croissants, and macadamia nut shakes.
6PM’s effective public relations campaign provided Jack in the Box with invaluable exposure in print, TV and social media.
Public relations, media relations, graphic design, event graphics, video production, photography, and event planning & management
The introduction of the Food Truck Series aligned nicely with Jack in the Box Hawaii’s overall public relations goal: to create a positive brand image recognized among local residents and tourists. To that end, 6PM planned and implemented a multifaceted PR campaign that enhanced the Jack in the Box brand and resulted in coverage of the Food Truck Series by local media and top social media influencers in Hawaii.
In preparation of the Food Truck Series launch, 6PM coordinated with its client for a preview of the new menu, to include information gathering and menu item photography. Working closely with the client, we learned its brand, marketing goals and target audience to build our campaign. We then produced a comprehensive press package with campaign information, product details and media-quality photographs. The package was distributed widely to all major Hawaii news and media channels. To ensure maximum coverage, our team conducted individual follow-up communication with members of the media, with measurable results.
Print Media
Hawaii’s leading daily print publication, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, covered the Food Truck Series launch in its print and online channels. A nearly full-page article by Betty Shimabukuro, one of Hawaiʻi’s most popular food writers, appeared in Crave, the Star-Advertiser’s food spotlight publication. This substantial article was viewed by a circulation of 115,561, with a calculated reach of 264,533 readers and a publicity value of $7,072.
Coverage on Television Networks
Local Hawaii affiliates of CBS and NBC networks featured The Jack in the Box Food Truck Series on the Hawaii News Now Sunrise Business Report. Howard Dicus, Hawaii’s leading business reporter, raved to co-hosts about the sandwiches he brought home. With a viewership of more than 16,000, our public relations and media team earned $900 of publicity value.
Following the initial launch coverage of the new Food Truck Series, 6PM expanded Jack in the Box’s earned media exposure on television. Our team secured two morning segments with one of Hawaii’s top-rated TV stations, KHON2 News, the Fox and CW affiliate. The station reported live from Jack in the Box’s Kapahulu location in a segment featuring a local Jack in the Box Hawaii franchise spokesperson. The “Wake Up 2day” broadcasts featured an engaging cooking segment while the TV host tasted sandwiches on air, giving favorable remarks. With more than 10,000 viewers, 6PM’s public relations campaign garnered Jack in the Box $13,860 in calculated publicity value.
6PM not only met our client’s goals for this PR campaign but exceeded them. In earned media coverage, the new Jack in the Box Food Truck Series reached an audience of 292,404 persons, with a calculated publicity value of over $21,800.
The Jack in the Box Food Truck Series statewide media launch event took place in the private, upscale chef’s kitchen at Anaha Ward Village in Honolulu. Hawaiʻi’s most popular social media influencers, together with local press and media representatives, were invited to attend the exclusive event. Jack in the Box served its mouthwatering Prime Rib Cheesesteaks, Pork Belly BLTs, and Asian Fried Chicken Sandwiches to VIP guests in attendance. 6PM designed exciting visuals of the menu items, equipping media representatives with what they needed to easily and effectively promote the Jack in the Box items on web, digital, and social media platforms.
In addition to implementing the media relations aspects of the VIP launch event, our team conceived and executed all other elements of the event from start to finish, with the exception of cooking the sandwiches, of course! 6PM provided the following:
Top Hawaii social media influencers enthusiastically shared pictures online of new menu items with thousands of their friends, followers and fans. Through 6PM’s initiatives, Jack in the Box Hawaii gained notable exposure and increased sales throughout the state.
Now more than ever, a picture is worth a thousand words. To capitalize on the social media reach of various influencers, 6PM designed graphics that focused on the launch event and touted the Jack in the Box sandwich that guests enjoyed the most.
To enhance the guest experience, 6PM provided complimentary photos, printed on-site and presented in unique Jack in the Box-branded photo frames, designed by our innovative in-house graphic design team. This creative piece served as a fun takeaway that further promoted the Jack in the Box brand.
Our team of experienced photographers and videographers captured hundreds of images of the Jack in the Box Food Truck Series launch campaign, including everything from the VIP event, to product and food photography, to videos and candid shots of the statewide media launch. In order to create a lasting impression of the campaign, our video production team created a video montage recap that truly captured the extent and success of the outreach.
Altogether, 6PM’s public relations campaign and its associated strategic activities resulted in one of Jack in the Box’s most successful menu introductions in Hawaii, in recent memory.