Brief:

• Shake Shack started streaming a cooking show on social media that details how to make its signature menu items at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The fast-casual burger chain's "Shake Shack at Your Shack" is available on its Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages, per separate announcements on those social media channels.
• Shake Shack Culinary Director Mark Rosati and Executive Chef John Karangis host the weekly series, whose first episode showed how to make the brand's popular cheese sauce. The series aims to help people adapt to new cooking habits and build community around its brand, Fast Casual reported.
• Shake Shack worked with creative agency Circus Maximus to develop the weekly cooking show as part of a broader social content effort. The chain originally hired the agency for a product launch campaign, but shifted focus as lockdown orders disrupted operations, Campaign reported.

Insight:

Shake Shack's new cooking show on social media aims to connect with homebound consumers as the fast-casual chain upends its operations in response to pandemic lockdowns that have closed most dine-in options.

The series positions the brand as one that can help consumers who are stuck at home and looking to explore their culinary side, while highlighting the ingredients that go into its food. Half of surveyed Americans report they're cooking more frequently under quarantine, according to Statista. And while some consumers may make the recipes shared by Rosati and Karangis themselves, the show could also whet appetites for Shake Shack's takeout and delivery options.

Our new cooking-along series, Shake Shack at Your Shack, is here! In our first episode, our Culinary Director is teaching you how to make our classic cheese sauce at home. Trust us... you’ll want to drizzle this fan favorite on everything! #ShakeShack #AtYourShack pic.twitter.com/yNqmRdXMOI

— SHAKE SHACK (@shakeshack) May 11, 2020

Shake Shack's cooking series is another sign of how restaurant brands have dramatically shifted their marketing efforts amid the public health crisis, using social media platforms to connect directly with consumers and attempt to build stronger virtual communities. Chili's Grill & Bar, the casual dining chain owned by Brinker International, this week is collaborating with food delivery app Doordash on a dinner party that people can experience via YouTube. Chipotle Mexican Grill this month also hosted a branded hashtag challenge on TikTok for Cinco de Mayo, while Taco Bell unveiled an At Home Taco Bar that let customers assemble their meals at home.

By highlighting the people who develop its menu, Shake Shack could also make its brand more personable among consumers who may have formed a negative opinion about the company after it received a $10 million forgivable loan from the Small Business Administration. Amid the public furor over larger companies that received the taxpayer-funded loans, Shake Shack returned the money and sought other forms of financing to help weather the crisis.