This year, Boston Market decided to incorporate mobile into its “The Unofficial Sponsor of Summer” campaign. The campaign encourages consumers to stop by any of its locations from June through August.

“Our strategy this summer is engage younger, new audiences who are starving for good food and fun, beginning with our ‘Summer at Its Best’ Sweepstakes,” said Dennis Wakabayashi, senior manager of digital marketing at Boston Market.

“Throughout the summer, we’ll provide a number of major promotions, targeted to these new audiences, including savvy mobile users, who will use QR Codes to access our sweepstakes microsite to win great prizes,” he said. “But the fun doesn’t stop there.

“For instance during June, kids who come into our restaurants wearing their team uniform will get a complementary dessert with a purchase of a kids meal – which we hope, will then be shared by way of tweet or posting to social networks inspiring everyone to have fun at Boston Market this summer.”

Boston Market features home-style meals in more than 476 nationwide locations.

Mobile sweepstakes
From June 25 through July 29, Boston Market is offering in-store consumers the chance to win a dream vacation to Maui for four, among other prizes such as sporting goods and gift cards when they scan the mobile bar code found inside every restaurant.

When consumers scan the QR code, they are encouraged to enter the grand prize trip.

By using QR codes, Boston Market is making its new campaign interactive and connecting with consumers on a deeper level.

“As we see the most active audiences using mobile devices to shop for things, find great places to eat and be part of the action, we’d like to be right there in the mix,” Mr. Wakabayashi said.

“Our Unofficial Sponsor of Summer campaign that launched today allows mobile users to register to win great prizes and get involved at the local level. We believe that by opening up to mobile users, we’ll invite a hungry new audience to have fun, win prizes and enjoy good food all summer long,” he said.

Mobile promotion
Boston Market is getting the word out about the campaign through different kinds of marketing collateral including digital ad banners and in restaurant printed pieces.

Additionally, the company will be sending the QR Codes out to its nationwide database of almost one million registered VIPs.

“This ties directly into our mobile, social and local focus for 2012,” Mr. Wakabayashi said. “This new digital aspect of our brand opens us up to active audiences, helps those audiences engage with us in fun way and hopefully enjoy the experience enough to post to their social networks.

“By collaborating our customers’ social networks with ours, we become relevant to even wider audiences,” he said. 

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York