Chili's dishes out custom merch to showcase free delivery promotion

Dive Brief:

Chili's will give away branded merchandise to select customers that order delivery and share their experience on social media, according to a company announcement. The Brinker International-owned restaurant chain is offering free delivery Nov. 6-19 for orders placed through its website or app.
The "#ChilisMyHouse starter pack" includes a custom doormat with the customer's name, a wooden TV tray, a baby back ribs-scented candle to "make your whole house smell more like a Chili's," a chip clip and a trivia card game.
Chili's launched delivery capabilities in June, and the brand says 1.7 million homes have received delivery from its restaurants since then. The chain will also select one member of its My Chili's Rewards (MCR) loyalty program to win a "Chilified room in their home" via its social media channels.

Dive Insight:

Chili's is the latest casual dining or quick-service restaurant to highlight its delivery service with a fresh marketing campaign. Third-party services like Grubhub and DoorDash are making delivery a key part of customer growth for some restaurant chains, but there is still fierce competition between the service providers.

Along with free delivery through its site and app, Chili's is tapping into the branded merchandise trend that has become popular with restaurants and food and beverage brands that are looking to become a larger part of their customers' lives. The merch is quirky enough to garner consumer attention. The BBQ-scented candle, for instance, is reminiscent of KFC's various scented merch efforts that promote the restaurant's iconic seasoning blend.

After making 1.7 million deliveries, Chili's cheekily boasts that it's "opened" 1.7 million locations.

Chili's

In this case, the branded merch underlines the goal of the campaign: to turn customers' homes into their own personal Chili's. After serving 1.7 million customers via delivery, the brand cheekily boasts that it's "opened" 1.7 million Chili's locations. That number could go up as customers must share their experiences on social media to win the starter pack, potentially extending the campaign's reach.

The campaign is Chili's latest effort to promote new delivery capabilities. In June, the company signed an exclusive delivery deal with DoorDash. Previously, it had decided to pass on the boom in restaurant delivery due to concerns about logistics, quality and profitability, according to Restaurant Business Online.

"As we partner with third parties, we wanted to make sure that [customers] have the Chili's they know and love. With DoorDash, they quickly and seamlessly integrated with our back-of-house technology. That was a must-have for us; that ease of tech integration goes hand in hand with our ability to create great experience for guests," Chili's CMO Ellie Doty recently told Marketing Dive.