For its first consumer activation, Verde Farms took a big swing, hosting not only a sampling pop-up, but also a five-course VIP dinner for media and influencers—all on the same day. And the two-part event on April 2 paid off, reaching 7,700 Nashville locals and tourists, as well as thousands of social media users.
First, the organic beef brand set up a food truck outside of Bridgestone Arena, and throughout the day, distributed 678 sliders in clamshell burger boxes custom-designed with a floral print and brand facts. The accompanying branded napkins featured the tagline “Messy burger. Clean ingredients.”
In addition to sampling, passersby stopped into the farm-inspired pop-up to engage with its educational touchpoints and video displays on grass-fed beef, regenerative agriculture, nutritional stats, and the brand’s certifications and impact.
“What we’re trying to do differently in the beef section is bring traditional CPG thinking to this category. With that comes the real need to talk directly with consumers, bring the brand to life and see their reaction,” says Brad Johnson, ceo of Verde Farms. “The idea was to pique people’s curiosity from across the street. We had a number of team members out, asking people if they would like to try a free slider. We had a lot of families come off of Broadway and sit down to have a burger together. That warmed our hearts.”
At the large “Organic Promise Wall,” attendees signed “organic pledge” commitments on colorful speech bubbles for a chance to win free Verde Farms beef for a year, which was awarded to five households. Reasons for taking the pledge ranged from “to feed my family the best” and “to succeed in my healthy goals.”
“We had a board where we asked consumers to write down the most memorable or compelling thing about our brand, and our brand management and agency teams were right there to see and hear that. We learned a lot about how we should express the brand going forward,” Johnson says. “It’s about dialogue, where the consumers get to affect our brand and how we talk about it, and it turns into a real relationship.”
While Verde Farms tapped into a high-traffic location and timed the event to catch spring break crowds, digital media was its main method of promotion. The brand engaged influencers, with whom it already had a relationship, to post about the event in the weeks leading up to it and then to come by the pop-up day-of. After it closed, the influencers headed to True Food Kitchen for an intimate VIP dinner.
The 25 attendees enjoyed a menu crafted by the chefs at True Food Kitchen, with which the brand has had a longstanding partnership, and the five courses were made with Verde Farms products, including filet tartare, charred Thai steak salad, beef and mushroom dumplings, red wine buttered ribeye steak and flourless chocolate cake with grass-fed ice cream. Each course had a cocktail pairing, ranging from a spicy pineapple margarita to an espresso martini.
“One of the fun things about working in the beef industry is we work for the most casual of all meals—literally eating at a barbecue off a paper plate. But we also wanted to show that our brand extends all the way into high-end fine dining,” Johnson says. “The menu was designed to show a few of our steak cuts, as well as how our ground beef can come to life in a more elevated dish. It hit all the marks on different flavor profiles, and I was hearing a lot of oohs and aahs.”
While this was the brand’s first foray into experiential, Johnson says Verde Farms has its sights set on bringing the pop-up to other cities, once the team analyzes all the results and gathers takeaways.
“The consumer response was amazing, so I think there’s more on the horizon for us,” he says. “What I’m going to have the team thinking about is: What was the thing that consumers were going ‘aha’ about? For me, it was our nutritional profile, so that’s one where we can build an event around, highlighting the taste and showing how that’s meaningful in people’s lives.” Agencies: Socially Inspired, lead event agency, influencer marketing; kkpr agency, p.r.
Photo credit: Sydney Valiente
