Wayback Burgers, America’s Favorite Hometown Burger Joint and one of the nation’s fastest growing burger franchises, celebrated the first day of summer 2017 in a record breaking way with the chain’s annual “Free Shake Day” promotion.
On the summer solstice (Wednesday, June 21st), all participating Wayback Burgers locations handed out one free Junior Black and White Milkshake per guest. As searing heat gripped much of the country (specifically the southwest as temperatures topped 110 degrees), Wayback Burgers locations from coast to coast gave away more than 27,000 shakes on “Free Shake Day,” setting new records and boosting overall sales 17 percent compared to the 2016 event.
Wayback Burgers President, John Eucalitto, says “Free Shake Day” is an important tradition and a big reason why Wayback Burgers has established itself as America’s Favorite Hometown Burger joint.
“Our annual ‘Free Shake Day’ promotion is all about reminding people of the old-fashioned burger joint that they remember, filled with delicious burgers, fries and shakes, and fun with family and friends,” says Eucalitto. “‘Free Shake Day’ is all about bringing back that little slice of Americana while celebrating the beginning of summer. As the numbers show, ‘Free Shake Day’ has turned into a national phenomenon and we look forward to building on our success next year.”
All participating Wayback Burgers franchises loaded up on 30 times the required supply of milkshake ingredients just for “Free Shake Day.” It took more than 2,200 gallons of ice cream, 175 gallons of Hershey’s™ Chocolate syrup, and 175 gallons of Monin French Vanilla syrup to make the 27,000 Black and White Shakes. And that’s not counting the thousands of cups, lids, and straws for each shake.
While “Free Shake Day” has been a massive in-store success for years, Wayback Burgers has generated significant PR, digital marketing and social media traction in recent years as well. In fact, this year’s campaign created more sales, media coverage and online engagement than ever before. Consider that this year’s “Free Shake Day” promotion resulted in:
- A 17.22 percent increase in overall store sales from 2016
- A 70 percent increase in total transactions from the previous two Wednesdays
- A 47 percent average increase in customer spending from the previous two Wednesdays
- 35 percent higher Wednesday sales from the previous two months
- More than 120 media hits in national and local TV, print and online outlets, including feature stories by Style Magazine, QSR Magazine, Sacramento Bee and more.
- Comprehensive PR results of more than 128 million media impressions equating to more than $17 million in media value.
- 19,000 views of waybackburgers.com website for “Free Shake Day” – representing a 60% increase over average daily views
- 700-plus new Facebook Followers generated by the event
- And almost 1,000 Facebook Shares of “Free Shake Day”
Wayback Burgers Senior Vice President, Patrick Conlin, says the marketing team is excited to build on 2017’s record-breaking results.
“In today’s world, it’s imperative that all in-store campaigns are coupled by a strategic public relations, digital marketing and social media strategy,” says Conlin. “’Free Shake Day’ has always been a staple here at Wayback Burgers and we’re proud of how much we’ve elevated its reach and influence both in-store and online. We look forward to shattering more records next year!”
