Dive Brief: 

• Chipotle Mexican Grill is bringing back its in-person “Boorito” tradition after two digital-only installments, per details shared with Marketing Dive. Rewards members who visit the chain in costume on Halloween after 3 p.m. local time will receive a $6 entree. 
• The effort includes a 35-second spot and a BeReal activation. Members must be in costume at the chain on Oct. 31 when they’re prompted to upload a photo to the app, then post it to Instagram stories tagging Chipotle and #booritosweepstakes for a chance to win free burritos.
• The chain will also distribute $25,000 on Cash App between now and Oct. 27 for reward members who follow Chipotle on Twitter and reply to its tweet on Oct. 13, 20, 25 or 27 with their Cash App tag and #ChipotleBoorito.

Dive Insight: 

Chipotle is once again inviting rewards members to dress up in costume and visit the chain’s locations in the U.S. and Canada, an aspect that was absent from its annual “Boorito” promotion for the past two years due to pandemic restrictions and social distancing protocol. 

Leaning into the in-person element may offer a sigh of relief for Chipotle, which spent the past two years taking Boorito fully digital. In 2020, it offered 500,000 mobile users a chance to receive special codes for a buy-one-get-one offer using social media and a SMS integration. Last year, it became the first restaurant brand to create a virtual storefront using Roblox to give away $1 million worth of free burritos, though the plan went south when a bug kept the storefront from going live — evidence that many are still working on ironing out kinks when it comes to the metaverse. 

To spread the word of the in-person event, Chipotle enlisted Atlanta-based artist Pablo Rochat, who has done work across a variety of industries, including for The New York Times, Balenciaga and music artist Drake. In the 35-second trailer, viewers are comically reminded just how to earn their discounted meal, showcasing costume ideas like a multi-person donkey or an octopus. 

For the first time, Chipotle will also take to BeReal for the “Boorito” promotion, commanding users to be present and in costume at a Chipotle location when they get a notification that it’s “Time to BeReal.” The move shows a growing investment by brands to take to the “anti-instagram” app that has taken over social media and requires users to post spontaneously once per day, though Chipotle was one of the first major brands on the platform. Earlier this year, it made available a reusable promo code that would be usable for 100 people.

Along with the BeReal activation, Chipotle has committed to give away $25,000 to Cash App users to help cover the costs of Halloween costumes. Each day on Oct. 13, 20 and 25, the chain will give away $5,000 per day to rewards members who drop their Cash App tag on a designated Chipotle Tweet, and on Oct. 27 the prize fund will be raised to $10,000. The chain has utilized Cash App recently, having given away $100,000 in cash drops in March as part of its “Guac Mode” promotion.

All consumers taking part in the promotion in-store and via BeReal and Cash App are required to be Chipotle Rewards members, a move that could help the chain gather valuable customer data. Chipotle has put massive efforts into expanding the popularity of its mobile app and loyalty program in recent years, which has 28 million members as of June. For example, the chain gave away 10,000 buy-one-get-one offers to Chipotle Rewards members during the NBA Finals who texted a hidden keyword to a designated SMS short code.