With a delicious, on-site product experience at the core of the machine, our creative idea cried out for an interaction-first format that would put pancakes – and the ingenious machine that makes them – front and center.

So we hired comedian Rob Riggle as the brand’s new “creative director,” and tasked him with spreading the word. He knew that the only things Millennials loved more than pancakes and food trucks were selfies. The Pancake Selfie Express (PSE) was born! A tricked-out food truck that would bring the branded experience out of the hotel and into the streets – allowing new consumers to taste free pancakes, interact with the awesome machine, and even get their selfie printed on a pancake.

The revolutionary Pancake Selfies served as the hook to appeal to this coveted younger audience, allowing the brand to communicate its core value while creating an experience for Millennials worth sharing.

The PSE hit the road on a six-week, nine-city tour, bringing pancakes to Millennials and encouraging them to be part of the #PancakeSelfie experience.

To build event awareness, PR/media outreach influenced local news stations as well as bloggers. The interest and excitement were through the roof, with over 100 media outlets reaching out for interviews and content for articles! We promoted geo-targeted social media posts, which informed audiences that the PSE was coming to their city and drove them to the brand’s web hub to check out our activation via the tour map and view #PancakeSelfies from previous events.

We also capitalized on National Pancake Day (September 26) to expand the awareness of #PancakeSelfie, inviting nationwide participation, and driving further usage of the hashtag.

Consumers rushed to share their experiences on Instagram and Twitter, as who doesn’t want to share a selfie of his/her own face on a pancake?!

Across 25 activation days and nine cities from Texas to California, the Pancake Selfie Express successfully:

• Achieved over 175 million PR impressions during its six-week tour, including featured mentions on Late Night with Seth Meyers, ¡Despierta America!, Yahoo!, Food and Wine, NBC, FOX, and ABC News

• Gained over 1.5 million social media impressions solely from UGC shares

• Reached over 283,000 activation exposures

• Garnered 33,145 on-site engagements

• Served over 16,000 pancakes

In fact, consumer appetite was so strong that a new leg of the tour has been planned for the Eastern United States this fall.