Hoping to divert attention from its recent corporate setbacks, Chipotle Mexican Grill is directing consumers? focus to its temporary summer loyalty program and fueling memberships by encouraging users to view a new mobile-optimized short film and sign up for Chiptopia rewards.

Chipotle?s newest short, ?A Love Story,? is an animated piece that details the escalating rivalry between two entrepreneurs who eventually build competing quick-service restaurant empires and aims to change consumers? perception about fast food. Individuals can view the four-minute video by visiting Chipotle.com/alovestory on their smartphones or desktops, where they will also have the opportunity to sign up for the Chiptopia rewards program.

?Significant numbers of people choose to watch things like this on a mobile device, so we wanted to be sure it would provide a great viewing experience,? said Chris Arnold, communications director at Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Movies on mobile
Consumers who visit Chipotle?s mobile-optimized landing site for ?A Love Story? can click on the YouTube video that appears atop the screen. This will prompt the short film to begin playing.

?A Love Story? introduces viewers to two aspiring entrepreneurs, Evie and Ivan, who have opened up rival lemonade stands across the street from each other. Evie and Ivan are shown attempting to one-up each other to gain business by advertising homemade lemonade, free lemonade, and soon after, a slew of other snacks.

Their lemonade stands eventually evolve into bricks-and-mortar restaurants with massive billboards.

The two entrepreneurs? rivalry continues even as their businesses flourish into full-fledged empires. Evie is then shown exploring her business?s underground production center before one of the machines tosses her into a trash chute, where she stumbles upon Ivan in a similarly disheveled appearance.

Each of them reveals that they have been holding onto the other?s first lemonade stand flyer. They link hands, and decide to open up a more organic-based food truck with less artificial ingredients.

The video ends with a shot of Evie and Ivan as a couple, perched on top of their food truck alongside their child and puppy, watching a drive-in movie. The screen lights up with the phrase, ?Cultivate a Better World.?

The short film is accompanied by a cover of the Backstreet Boys? song ?I Want It That Way,? performed by Alabama Shakes? Brittany Howard and My Morning Jacket?s Jim James.

Roping in rewards
After watching the video, consumers can scroll down Chipotle?s microsite to receive more information on the Chiptopia Summer Rewards program, which offers members free burritos, branded swag and other prizes.

?The film is tagged with information about our Chiptopia Summer Rewards program and we believe it will support efforts to register customers into the Chiptopia program,? Mr. Arnold said.

Individuals can tap on the ?Register for Chiptopia Now? button to complete enrollment. This will bring them to Chiptopia?s mobile or desktop site, where they will be able to input their name, ZIP code, password, email address and phone number to begin earning rewards.

New members receive a complimentary order of guacamole and chips with their first qualifying purchase.

Chipotle is likely attempting to ramp up summer sales with its latest mobile initiatives as the company rights its footing following several corporate setbacks.

After experiencing a precipitous decline in foot traffic following an E.coli outbreak, Chipotle Mexican Grill successfully managed to drive a jump in visits by rolling out a mobile coupon for a complimentary burrito, as evidenced by an independent analysis of its customers' mobile location data (see story).

The recent arrest of the brand?s chief creative and development officer, Mark Crumpacker, on drug-related charges has the potential to cast an unflattering light on the QSR chain, making now the ideal time to test out mobile loyalty initiatives and keep fans engaged.

Several months ago, Chipotle fused gaming and coupons together in a push to get fans hooked on its guacamole that leveraged social media to encourage participation in a photo hunt challenge to win free food (see story).

Individuals who view ?A Love Story? on Chipotle?s microsite will also likely be inspired to sign up for the Chiptopia program.

?We've seen many brands find success connecting their mobile apps and their customer loyalty programs, with savvy marketers embracing campaigns that drive mobile engagement and retail activity in order to provide a great overall customer experience,? said Jon Burg, head of product marketing at AppsFlyer. ?This unique dynamic allows marketers to understand and measure each interaction, and optimize the cross-channel customer journey to deliver remarkable results.

?With that, it's interesting that Chipotle chose to start this journey with a mobile microsite,? he said. ?This approach allows viewers to engage the campaign with minimal commitment or investment - no app download or install needed.

?It's a creative way to engage a customer base that may have moved on due to recent circumstances that potentially impacted loyal customers. But the real one-two punch comes from the loyalty components of Chiptopia, which could be key for attracting once-loyal customers and reinforcing consumer behavior when it comes to dining options.?