White Castle Rings In Spring with Social and Influencer Campaign

To expand meal occasions for its iconic, Original Sliders, White Castle is showing consumers how to use Sliders as ingredients in new seasonal recipes. For Spring, agency Blue Chip created three classic Easter and brunch recipes that serve as the basis for a social media and influencer campaign to broaden the brand. Content pairs recipes with the Cravey Boat, a White Castle take on the classic gravy boat that Blue Chip created to stoke fans the brand calls 'cravers'.

“We want to be top of mind for occasions where sliders aren’t traditionally on the menu, but can be a dish or an ingredient,” said Jamie Richardson, VP/Marketing at White Castle. “We see an opportunity to become part of our cravers’ seasonal and everyday celebrations in creative ways. It’s one more way we’re keeping our ‘famous firsts’ party going strong as we celebrate our 100th year.”

The recipes are Brunch Craver’s Benedict, which lays the classic egg dish over White Castle Cheese Sliders; Castle Craver’s Poutine, which incorporates the sliders and French fries; and Bunny Sliders, which turn sliders into Easter bunnies by adding slices of apple, bananas, carrot and black olives along with marshmallows for the tails.

Social media posts like a Bunny Sliders animation lead audiences to the new recipes on WhiteCastle.com, which opens under the banner “Brunch is served.” The recipe portfolio also includes such other fun recipe creations as Slider Robots and Halloween Spider Sliders that Blue Chip concocted to support a successful test last fall – which involved influencers headlined by musician-chef Coolio. Additionally, an email promotion campaign engages influencers in food as well as in fashion, because White Castle has a fashion connection.

Blue Chip created the Cravey Boat to make White Castle a fixture on the dining table. The White Castle logo dots a plaid background with trademark colors. The special-edition Cravey Boat is available for sale online.

“We approached the Cravey Boat as a ‘crave-sake,’ a twist on keepsake,” said Kit Fries, Creative Director at Blue Chip. “It’s all about fun, creating things that make people smile every time they look. White Castle’s self-aware playfulness is infectious, and we’re excited to see where the Cravey Boat will take us.”