Chipotle Launches "My Chipotle" Advertising Campaign Tied to Menu Variety

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Mon May 11, 2009 9:30am EDT

Campaign Asks Consumers to Bring Favorite Menu Items to Life
DENVER--(Business Wire)--
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (NYSE: CMG.B), the national chain of burrito
restaurants known for serving Food With Integrity, has launched a comprehensive
advertising campaign to increase awareness of the 60,000-plus various food
combinations available on its menu. The new campaign, called "My Chipotle,"
seeks to harness the creativity of Chipotle`s dedicated fan base and engage them
via an online call for videos and original content. 

Chipotle`s menu offerings, made with the best-tasting sustainably raised,
premium quality ingredients, including naturally raised meat, rBGH-free dairy
and local and organic produce, allow customers to create thousands of delicious
burrito, taco and salad combinations. Because customers choose exactly what goes
into their individual order, they can tailor what they eat to meet any taste or
dietary preferences, making Chipotle appeal to a broad customer base. The
campaign calls attention to the varied options available at Chipotle and
demonstrates how meals in the restaurant can be personalized by and for each
customer. 

"With this campaign, it is our intention to harness the power of our most loyal
fans," said Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing officer of Chipotle. "We want them
to be a part of the process because we know they`re consistently expressing
themselves through their menu choices. By encouraging them to tell us why they
eat what they do, we think they`ll spread the word and encourage others to come
in and give Chipotle a try as well." 

Chipotle`s restaurant model emphasizes doing just a few things so it can do them
better than anyone else. This thinking is evident in Chipotle`s Food With
Integrity philosophy, which has the company selecting ingredients from more
sustainable sources whenever possible. Chipotle already serves more naturally
raised meat (from animals that are raised in a humane way, never given
antibiotics or added hormones and fed a pure vegetarian diet) than any other
restaurant in the world, uses locally grown produce when seasonably available,
serves only cheese and sour cream made with milk from cows that are not treated
with the synthetic hormone rBGH and uses a growing percentage or organically
grown beans. 

"The efficiency of our restaurant operations has always been one of our greatest
strengths," said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle.
"Demonstrating greater variety will help our customers better understand the
universe of choices, but without creating the operational challenges that often
come with a whole new menu or limited time offers." 

Consumers Need "Variety" Reminder

The "My Chipotle" campaign is based on extensive research surrounding customer
preferences which found that many customers were ordering the same thing every
time they visited Chipotle. The research suggested that the ordering experience
was confusing, even intimidating, to new customers and that, coupled with a
perceived lack of choice, set many customers into a routine where they order the
same thing on every visit. The new campaign better demonstrates the universe of
menu combinations available at Chipotle for both existing customers and
potential new ones. 

The My Chipotle campaign was created by Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, a
full-service marketing communications agency based in Sausalito, Calif. 

"Chipotle is a `passion brand,` with dedicated brand ambassadors in every corner
of the country," said Mike Shine, co-founder and executive creative director of
BSSP. "Chipotle has hundreds of unofficial fan groups on Facebook, posts funny
fan photos on their website and also has a number of photos on Flickr taken by
dedicated customers. So the most effective way to spread our message of variety
is to do it through the people that already know about Chipotle`s unique menu
and love it. We look forward to unleashing even more creativity from the
passionate masses." 

The "My Chipotle" campaign is now appearing online, in print, on the radio and
in out-of-home advertising (billboards, bus shelters and taxi tops) in several
cities around the country, including Sacramento, Denver, Dallas, Chicago and
Cincinnati. It includes a dedicated website, mychipotle.com, that allows
consumers to send content to Chipotle and view selected content submitted by
other users. Chipotle will add new functions to the site as additional content
is added, allowing users to share content using social media applications, rate
submissions and sort content to find favorites. The best entries may be used as
part of the campaign. 

About Chipotle

Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that
food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today,
Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a
burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw
ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive
atmosphere. Through our vision of Food with Integrity, Chipotle is seeking
better food not only from using fresh ingredients, but ingredients that are
sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land
and the farmers who produce the food. Chipotle opened its first restaurant in
1993 and currently operates more than 860 restaurants. For more information,
visit chipotle.com. 

About Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners

BSSP (bssp.com) is a full-service marketing communications agency based in
Sausalito, Calif. The agency provides services in advertising, online marketing
and web development, brand identity and design, and strategic brand consulting. 

One of the largest independent agencies on the West Coast, BSSP is recognized
for its ability to provide highly creative, fully accountable marketing
solutions to a broad array of marketers including priceline.com, LucasArts, MINI
Cooper, Epson, Greyhound, Take Care Health Systems and RadioShack. It is a
member of Worldwide Partners, Inc. the world`s largest, privately held,
owner-operated advertising and marketing services networks, made up of 100
agencies in 49 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and
North America. 

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5960797&lang=en. 







Chipotle
Chris Arnold, 303-222-5912
carnold@chipotle.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.