Case Studies

Linhart PR built brand awareness and customer loyalty in New York City for a well-known fast-casual burrito restaurant chain by building relationships with local reporters and securing a steady cadence of positive news coverage. Using a media relations approach rooted in what New Yorkers care about – news that directly impacts them, celebs and athletes and on-trend announcements – Linhart PR exceeded coverage goals, securing nearly 170 stories in the market in one year.

After relocating its headquarters to Newport Beach, Calif., Chipotle Mexican Grill called upon local market PR agency Linhart PR to assist in generating positive media coverage of the brand’s first-ever float in the New Year’s Day Rose Parade. By offering pre-parade interviews and tapping into traditional media outlets, Linhart PR secured 45 stories and more than 76 million impressions in key outlets like the L.A. Times and O.C. Register.

Pre-pandemic, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Linhart PR teamed up to make Chipotle a holiday hero with its new catering program, perfect for feeding large groups during the holiday party season. Linhart PR proposed, planned and executed a creator program to generate buzz about catering and encourage people to give it a try. And it worked: 27 creators posted more than 70 times about Chipotle catering as a delicious meal solution during the hectic holidays.

To build a more loyal and trusting consumer base, Chipotle Mexican Grill tasked Linhart PR with generating local news coverage of the brand’s documentary-style TV and digital campaign — “Behind the Foil” — which featured eight employees from across the country and offered a behind-the-scenes look into the brand’s kitchens, food preparation processes and farming partners. Linhart PR developed and executed a three-pronged media strategy to secure print, online, broadcast and influencer coverage emphasizing the brand’s commitment to real ingredients and cooking techniques. The result? Thirty-three placements boosting Chipotle’s relevancy and customer loyalty in local markets.

With nine new restaurant openings in Dallas-Fort Worth in a compressed timeframe, Chipotle Mexican Grill tasked Linhart PR with securing local news coverage of the restaurants to build awareness and drive traffic and sales. Linhart PR strategized and executed a three-pronged media outreach approach to secure print, online and broadcast news that not only highlighted the individual restaurant openings, but also told the larger story of Chipotle’s growth in the region. The biggest win: Linhart more than doubled its goal by securing 25 stories.

Amidst COVID-19, Chipotle Mexican Grill sought Linhart PR’s local market media expertise to secure coverage of its digital channel growth, as evidenced by the opening of the 100th drive-thru digital order pickup Chipotlane, and plans to hire 10,000 new employees to staff the new Chipotlanes opening in key markets nationwide. Linhart PR secured 75 stories in cities across the U.S., building brand and Chipotlane awareness; communicating digital growth and new ways to conveniently access Chipotle’s real food; and encouraging job seekers to join the Chipotle team and enjoy world-class benefits.

Athletes of all kinds have long been fans of Chipotle’s real food, often fueling pre- and post-performance with their favorite burritos and bowls. As a result, “Real Food for Real Athletes” is a focus area for the brand. So, when a female professional soccer player surprised a youth soccer club team eating at her Cincinnati Chipotle, the Chipotle PR team tasked Linhart PR with inviting local media to capture the moment. The results: 34 local event stories and an experience for youth soccer players that will last a lifetime.

As COVID-19 spread across the country in early spring of 2020, a multi-unit restaurant chain tasked Linhart PR with helping it quickly pivot to an all off-premise model, while driving consumer awareness of safety initiatives, loyalty sign-ups to encourage frequency, and restaurant transactions overall. Using a strategic, aggressive national media outreach approach, Linhart PR drove coverage in top-tier media outlets, reaching nearly 2 billion consumers, stakeholders and guests with key messages.

To launch its new Caulifloodles — a cauliflower-infused rigatoni — national fast-casual restaurant chain Noodles & Company tasked Linhart PR with driving awareness and trial of the new menu item to bring back lapsed guests, attract new ones, and increase the frequency of current guest visits. Using a two-pronged campaign approach that balanced earned and paid media, Linhart PR exceeded all objectives and reached key audiences with a variety of high-quality news placements about the new noodle.

A national multi-unit restaurant chain asked Linhart PR to help its subject-matter experts and executives more clearly articulate and confidently deliver their brand story to media.

Pizzeria Locale is a fast-casual, contemporary pizzeria in Denver. Linhart PR was tasked with generating news of its guest chef events though traditional and influencer outlets to boost restaurant sales, visibility and fundraiser participation.

To drive awareness for its new zucchini noodles that were a first among fast-casual restaurants, Noodles & Company was hungry for one of the biggest challenges in PR - national broadcast coverage – and they tasked Linhart PR with securing it.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers needed to quickly build brand awareness due to the chain’s aggressive growth plans and increasing competition. Linhart PR combined the popularity of cooking shows, the brand’s family audience and America’s love of gourmet burgers to develop the national Kids’ Cook-Off – a competition that generated year-after-year big news and business results.

Dine Brands turned to Linhart PR to assess the effectiveness of its systemwide internal communications with team members and franchisees. Linhart PR developed and conducted a multi-phase communications audit that included in-person senior executive interviews, team member focus groups, one-on-one interviews with field team members and franchisees representing both IHOP and Applebee’s brands, and an assessment of existing communications-related surveys and key communications vehicles.

Noodles & Company and Linhart PR leveraged August’s National Zucchini Day as an “ownable” holiday and created a promotion where guests could substitute Zoodles for classic noodles for free and without the usual upcharge. By launching a media relations campaign around the vegetable-inspired “holiday” and Noodles promo, Linhart PR secured coverage in national, trade and local outlets, helping drive awareness and trial. The biggest win: a Guinness World Record attempt on the TODAY Show for the most zucchinis spiralized by bicycle (which Noodles engineered and dubbed the “Zoodler”).