Have you seen Chipotle’s recent video called "The Scarecrow"?
It’s an eye-catching little video meant to highlight Chipotle’s commitment to using far more sustainably grown ingredients than most fast-food chains do, or for that matter, most sit-down restaurants. Their brand is only mentioned at the very end for a few seconds.
Amazingly so… it has received a lot of press and people have either ferociously embraced it or strongly objected this little video. To date it has been viewed more than 11 million times.
Why was this video so popular?
First of all, Chipotle’s effort isn’t just to make a viral video: It's a brilliant content marketing play to get people involved in the Chipotle story on a massive scale.
Secondly, it pulls at our heartstrings - I will admit you can get a bit choked up with the video - and if you manage to do that in marketing, it’s an incredible feat. A secrete to storytelling is to create a character that your audience will root for. Chipotle did that brilliantly. (By the way, this isn’t the first time Chipotle has done this. They did "Back to the Start" in 2011, which was a similar movement.)
Thirdly, they are not trying to sell you anything! At least it doesn't blatantly feel like it. It is telling you a story. That's also key in content marketing. You want to make your audience feel that you have their best interest in mind, not that you want to pick their pockets.
One of the most important things in content marketing and storytelling is consistency, consistency, consistency. You need to take a 24/7 approach to telling stories to attract and retain your customers. This is exactly what Chipotle has done. They found their bigger story and began a movement around it.
If you think about what stories you can tell, they should not be about you but rather something you stand for, which will make a difference in your customers’ lives.
Let us know what you think...
