Tropical Smoothie Cafe: A Grand Opening Worth Waking Up For

Date: January 2024

The Challenge

When a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise owner prepared to open a new location in Noblesville, Indiana, they wanted to make sure the community knew about it.

The owner had previously opened another Indiana location with a similar grand opening promotion: free smoothies for a year for the first 40 customers. But despite the incentive, the earlier opening hadn't attracted the turnout they'd hoped for.

After being referred to Higgens Media for our experience promoting events and helping organizations reach local audiences, the owner decided to try a different marketing approach for Noblesville.

Our Approach

We developed a month-long Facebook and Instagram advertising campaign to introduce the new restaurant, build excitement for opening weekend, and keep the location top-of-mind.

Rather than relying on a single advertisement, we created more than 14 different ad variations, each with multiple versions of copy. Some highlighted opening weekend specials, while others introduced popular menu items and gave people more reasons to visit.

Higgens Media also set up the restaurant's Facebook and Instagram presence and developed a dedicated landing page, which attracted additional visitors through organic Google and Bing searches.

The biggest promotion was familiar to the franchise owner: the first 40 people in line would receive free smoothies for a year.

Facebook and Instagram were the only marketing channels used to announce that particular offer.

The Results

At 3:30 a.m. on opening morning in January 2024, people began lining up outside the new Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Noblesville.

The windchill was -13°F.

Even with colder weather than the franchise owner's previous grand opening, the Noblesville location drew a larger turnout. The campaign also generated enthusiastic engagement and organic sharing as people spread the word about the new restaurant.

The offer hadn't changed. But this time, a focused social media campaign helped get the message in front of the community and gave people a reason to show up.

Project Highlights

• 14+ ad variations with multiple versions of copy

• Month-long campaign promoting the restaurant before, during, and after opening weekend

• 3:30 a.m. — customers began arriving

• -13°F windchill on opening morning

• Greater turnout than the franchise owner's previous opening with the same promotional offer

The result was more than online engagement. It was a line of people outside a new restaurant before sunrise, in the middle of an Indiana winter.