Chipotle unwraps #GuacDance challenge on TikTok for Avocado Day

Brief:

Chipotle Mexican Grill on July 26 issued its second challenge on TikTok, the fast-growing social video app, as part of a campaign to celebrate National Avocado Day next week. On July 31, Chipotle will offer free guacamole on any entrée purchased through its app or website, per a company announcement.
The #GuacDance challenge, which urges guacamole fans to show off dance moves dedicated to avocados, features children's musician Dr. Jean, whose "Guacamole Song" went viral on social media. Chipotle partnered with YouTubers Brent Rivera and Loren Gray to promote the dance-off on TikTok.
Chipotle also will bring on-air personalities including Skeery Jones and Alex Gervasi from streaming radio platform iHeartRadio into its restaurants for a lesson on making fresh guacamole.

Insight:

Chipotle's guacamole-themed dance-off is its second challenge on TikTok after the #ChipotleLidFlip effort in May. The "lid-flipping" challenge, which urged customers to post videos of themselves flipping items that Chipotle uses to package food, generated 110,00 user-generated video submissions and 104 million video starts in its first six days, CNBC reported. Rebooting the TikTok challenge suggests that the first installment was successful in drumming up brand awareness, user-generated content (UGC) and social media chatter for the brand.

The response to that challenge demonstrates the viral power of TikTok, which is especially popular among Gen Zers. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has been the most downloaded app in Apple's App Store for five straight quarters, per app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Chipotle this year has made a strong comeback from the highly publicized food contamination incidents that plagued the chain for several years. Its stock this week hit an all-time high after the company reported earnings of $91 million, beating Wall Street estimates. Chipotle's digital sales nearly doubled in Q2 from a year earlier and its same-store sales growth jumped 10%, beating forecasts of 8.3% growth. The average customer check rose 3.5% after the chain raised menu prices last year and beefed up its loyalty program, CNBC reported.

The chain attributed the results to its strategic promotions, the expansion of its loyalty program and growing digital sales. Chipotle boosted downloads of its mobile app nearly fivefold with the nationwide rollout of a loyalty program in March, an analyst estimated. Its Chipotle Rewards had 5 million members by the end of Q2, CEO Brian Niccol said in a conference call with analysts this week.

To celebrate National Burrito Day on April 4, the chain offered free delivery on all orders of $10 or more through the Chipotle app and website or through food-delivery app DoorDash. This month's #GuacDance promotion may help Chipotle maintain its momentum into the current quarter.