Zaxby's

build a brand that’s as flavorful as its food

Indescribably Good

The Challenge

Over 16 years, we helped Zaxby’s grow from a regional company of 110 restaurants to a nationally recognized brand with more than 900 units — expanding the footprint while also helping their team double same-store comp sales in the highly competitive chicken segment of QSR/fast-casual.

Sure, Zaxby’s success is a result of great-tasting food, but their growth was also about something more.

The Approach

Brands are communities and “community” has always been part of the Zaxby’s brand experience from the company’s beginnings in rural college towns.

A sense of “Community” has always been leveraged for the Zaxby’s brand experience. It was founded as a place where friends and family could comfortably gather around great tasting food. So, we gave fans a platform to share their love for Zaxby’s, that indescribable yet palpable passion people.

Success At A Glance

doubled Average Unit Volume Over Our Tenure

900+ new stores opened

1.3x ABOVE QSR BENCHMARKS FOR LIFT IN STORE TRAFFIC

58 OF THE PAST 64 quarters of growth SAME STORE COMP SALES

GROWING THE BRAND

As the brand expanded into new and larger markets where people were unfamiliar with the brand, we transitioned to celebrities borrowing their familiarity and credibility to gain trial through affinity… because once people experienced Zaxby’s, they were in.

Enticing Participation Across Platforms

As the brand began to grow, we helped tell their story around a community we called the Taste Fanatics, celebrating that indescribable yet palpable passion people have for Zaxby’s. From real fans, to people tasting Zaxby’s for the first time, to celebrities telling of their love of food and flavor; we shared the Zaxby’s story in a way that was authentic, always approachable, always passionate and always focused on the food.

UNITING A COMMUNITY

As time went on we strengthened this community of “fanatics” by tapping into their other passions such as music and college sports, always putting Zaxby’s in the middle of the things fans feel most passionate about, bringing them together at concerts, college tailgates and Friday night high school football games.

“We love what you love” was and is an unspoken truth about the bond between Zaxby’s and their customers. And that community, built over time, is a true secret of their brand success.