A food truck takeover is a marketing strategy where a company will update the branding on a food truck to generate awareness for their brand or product. There are numerous brands that have used this strategy from food and beverage to alcohol, pet supplies and even video game releases.
One upcoming example of a massive food truck takeover event during the summer of 2017 is by specialty beer REDD’s Apple Ale. A total of three branded REDD’s Apple Ale food trucks will be criss-crossing the continental United States to help people discover this unique apple ale. Free samples of the product will be provided to individuals over 21 years of age at festivals, town events, and event grocery store parking lots. So be on the look out for this example of a food truck takeover coming to your neighborhood this summer. Read this article to see the role M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks played in this national promotion.
Another great example of a food truck takeover was executed by Roaming Hunger on behalf of the video game release for Gauntlet. Those of you over the age of 30 may remember the old Gauntlet game positioned in every shopping mall in America during the 80s. As part of the video game, your player could eat massive turkey legs as a way to rebuild strength in the game. The real-life Gauntlet food truck that was launched to help promote the release of the 2014 reboot of the game served massive turkey legs as well and generated a ton of press for Arrowhead Game Studios the developer of the game.
Photo Credit: RoamingHunger.com
Big Brand Benefits?
There are a few key reasons that major brands have begun to use takeovers as a marketing strategy. Other brands that have used this strategy include Jaegermeister, Dunkin’ Donuts, AppleBee’s, Texas Roadhouse and many more.
Generate Hyper-Targeted Awareness – If there’s an event or storefront that attracts your target demographic, you can attend and reach those people using a food truck at an event when they are primed and ready to try new things and have fun. Whether the destination is a rock concert, sporting event, or something as simple as a super market stop. If you know where your audience hangs out you can drive to them and reach them.
Taste / Feel the Product – The free taste test is a tried and true marketing tactic that allows people to try something new without taking on the risk of buying something they won’t actually like. The marketing strategy is old, but it continues to work as any longtime member of Costco will tell you. The only difference is if you pair free samples with a food truck, you’ll get a lot more exposure and excitement from prospects. It’s not every day that a food truck comes to a local grocer and hands out free samples. This is something different and intriguing that gets a better response rate and offers a more memorable experience than any free sample stand could ever offer.
Viral Components – You can leverage “selfy-culture” for your brand. There is much debate in the media on how to best market to and attract the attention of young millennial customers stuck in their cell phones. One proven way is to offer this demographic a new and unexpected experience. Combining a branded food truck with a giveaway is one way to accomplish this goal. Millennials, Generation-X, and Baby-Boomers all enjoy taking photos in front of food trucks and sharing them on social media. As you can see, if you want to reach a target demographic in a memorable way a food truck takeover is an effective way to accomplish this.
