After much anticipation and excitement, JRI Hospitality officially opened its first The Original Grande location in Salina, Kansas on February 7th, 2022. The road to get here was long, but for ON Advertising, it has been one of the most rewarding experiences. We helped JRI create a brand that would stand out to consumers for its exceptional service and commitment to providing quality food.
For almost 30 years, ON Advertising has been one of Arizona’s top marketing agencies for our way of obtaining favorable results for our clients. We take a business-based approach in our partnerships, which means we look at the bottom-line growth for our clients. Read our blog post below to learn how we have helped JRI Hospitality launch The Original Grande and create a brand that excites its customers.
Who Are The Original Grande?
The Original Grande is a blossoming fast-casual restaurant chain that is owned and operated by JRI Hospitality. JRI has extensive experience in managing a variety of hospitality businesses including Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Chompie’s, Mokas Cafe, and the Salina Country Club.
The Original Grande is one of their newer concepts that focus on serving affordable Mexican food with friendly service. Their menu is full of your favorites, including tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and their famous taco burger. As a new venture, they needed help creating their brand from the ground up.
We Developed a Laid-Back Website That Builds Customers’ Appetites
One of the first things we were tasked with for The Original Grande was to create a website with personality and mouth-watering imagery.
Mexican food is loved by all and we wanted to highlight how the restaurant welcomes any and everyone to enjoy The Original Grande menu. To achieve this, we created a brand tone of voice that is laid-back and welcoming to any and every diner craving a taste of the southwest.
Frankie Calandra, ON Advertising’s Copywriter, explains, “when I was developing the copy for the website I looked at many different companies to see how they were presenting their Mexican food and overall business. I learned that creating a down-to-earth voice is important, especially when offering affordable menu items like The Original Grande.” He adds, “So, I incorporated fun language into the copy to show that while the restaurant takes its food seriously, they are a fun company to engage with.”
Since the website’s launch in January, the site has received 5,000+ user visits and has no signs of slowing down. This is due to our SEO techniques, strong website copy, design, and engaging social media content.
Speaking of social media, it’s a very important part of The Original Grande’s marketing strategy. We run the franchise’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, sharing images of their menu items and informing their audience of any updates about the brand. Our strategy is simple – spread the word of The Original Grande and encourage residents of the cities they’re located to visit.
“Facebook alone sees a high number of engagement. On average, a post will receive an engagement rate of 200.” says Michelle Berry, ON’s Director of Social Media. ”I am thrilled to see where we have taken the brand’s social. Its growth in followers and engagement has truly been exciting to watch.”
One activity we just launched, now that The Original Grande is officially open, is sending out emails to people who’ve subscribed to the e-club. We are focusing our email campaigns around hiring events, location updates, limited-time offers, and more. According to our Mailchimp analytics, since our first email campaign, the brand has experienced an open rate of 40%.
As the brand continues to grow and develop an even larger following, we anticipate this number to grow significantly.
We Created Corporate Characters That Relate to their Customers
As we began developing The Original Grande brand, we started thinking about other fast-food chains and what made them so unique. One of the biggest things we found was how businesses have a corporate character that almost mirrors the values and brand image they wish to portray.
So, we began knocking around some ideas for the brand. We came up with Señor Grande and Chico Grande. Their story goes like this:
Señor Grande, a southwestern saguaro, and his son, Chico Grande, were tired of the scorching hot Arizona summers and limited supply of water. The two decided to embark on a journey to find the perfect place to call home. They visited every state and every major city and noticed many did not have easy access to affordable Mexican cuisine.
The idea for The Original Grande was born. By prioritizing high-quality ingredients, the father-son duo made it their mission to satisfy customers’ cravings for affordable, quality Mexican food. They chose to set up shop in Kansas to entice people from all directions of the country to visit their restaurant.
Eric Garcia, ON Advertising’s Creative Director, explains what the duo represents, “It tells a humble origin story that represents the generation gap between old and new that brings authenticity to the brand. The story behind The Original Grande incorporates the company’s core values in a fun, engaging way. Additionally, we made it as simple as possible so anyone who reads Señor and Chico Grande’s journey understands what to expect when they visit one of the TOG restaurants.“
ON Advertising Are Experts in B2C Businesses
We are proud of the work we accomplished for The Original Grande and JRI Hospitality, and we are excited to continue our partnership with them. As one of the top advertising agencies in Phoenix, ON Advertising is an award-winning full-service advertising and marketing agency committed to the success of our clients — and featuring a diverse team of highly skilled professionals who are passionate about what we do. We provide our clients with award-winning services customized for each organization to ensure their brand succeeds. Contact us today to learn how ON Advertising can help you.
