Talon & Grand Visual Launch Cutting-Edge Experiential Digital Out of Home Campaign for Shake Shack
Transforms Hundreds of LinkNYC Kiosks into Interactive Screens for Immersive “Shake Shack’s White Truffle Hunt” around NYC
NEW YORK – April 6, 2023 – Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) media agency, in collaboration with the company’s award-winning digital creative production arm, Grand Visual, today unveiled the launch of a cutting-edge experiential Out of Home (OOH) campaign for Shake Shack to promote the launch of their White Truffle Burger – part of its all-new White Truffle Menu.
Known as “the king of the mushroom kingdom,” white truffles are the rarest and most valuable mushrooms in the world. These edible fungi grow in limited locations and conditions need to be just right – from the trees and soil to the temperature and moisture. Generally, white truffles can only be found at fine dining restaurants, but Shake Shack is bringing the fine dining experience to your local Shack in collaboration with Regalis Foods – no reservations required – via their White Truffle Burger, which features real white truffle sauce.
Shake Shack partnered with Talon and Grand Visual to develop the interactive OOH portion of its multi-medium marketing campaign. The premise of the digital OOH (DOOH) campaign is “Shake Shack’s White Truffle Hunt” throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Phase one of the campaign will kick off on April 3rd and run through April 6th with a call to action to join the hunt for a chance to win $2,000 – the estimated value of one white truffle, along with other prizes like meal upgrades. Dynamic digital billboards near Bryant Park will count down the days, hours, and minutes leading up to the launch of the truffle hunt.
“Our White Truffle menu is our most elevated menu yet, and we’re excited to highlight the new items in a way that captivates and engages New Yorkers in their surroundings,” said Mike McGarry, Vice President of Brand Marketing, Shake Shack. “We look forward to bringing our immersive campaign to life right in our hometown of New York City.”
“Digital out of home is playing a pivotal role in spreading large-scale awareness and engagement with Shake Shack’s limited-run White Truffle menu item. In collaboration with the fast casual brand and our creative agency Grand Visual, we have designed a unique real-world brand experience for New Yorkers that is also creating real business value for Shake Shack,” said Jonathan Conway, Chief Operating Officer, Talon.
Shake Shack’s White Truffle hunt officially starts on April 10th as part of phase two, concluding on the 16th. Three hundred strategically located LinkNYC DOOH screens will turn into interactive zones. Each screen has a unique QR code that sends the public – the truffle hunters – a geo-tagged URL. The hunters are then invited to ‘virtually’ dig at that DOOH site using their smartphones to potentially uncover prizes, meal upgrades, or maybe nothing at all.
“Shake Shack is known for putting their guests at the center of everything they do – from their bold menu options to their digital infrastructure. In turn, we created an audience-led experiential campaign that unites smart media planning and creative digital execution to achieve a meaningful connection with their target audience,” said Dan Dawson, Chief Creative Officer, Grand Visual.
Every participating LinkNYC screen features a unique piece of campaign creative and is reactive to changes in weather, such as rain. (Hint: White truffles grow best in moist environments, and after a rain, truffles can appear overnight.) The groundbreaking display technology allows the brand to harness the full power of DOOH, tapping into the sophisticated medium’s ability to use dynamic messaging and weather triggers. It also allows Shake Shack to validate that its truffle hunters have found themselves at a specific hunt site, providing maximum flexibility to award prizes across a high volume of locations across the three New York City boroughs.
OOH continues to be one of the fastest growing mediums. According to the OAAA, the national trade association for the entire OOH media ecosystem, OOH advertising revenue increased 20.7 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year. A key OOH driver is the DOOH segment, which jumped 24.2 percent year-over-year.
