BFY Opps: Sweetgreen works with new influencer, increases spend (Score 72)

Sales Lead: Sweetgreen recently teamed up with Reneé Rapp on a new bowl, "This Is My Tony."

• The bowl is full of Rapp's favorite foods and provided Sweetgreen with a new influencer to work with on ads.
• The partnership kicks off at the same time as Reneé's sold-out Snow Hard Feelings Tour and invites her fans to a sweepstakes through which they can win unique concert experiences.
• The company will likely:
  • Pursue additional influencer partnerships
  • Continue working on brick-and-mortar expansion
  • Keep increasing spend
  • Implement roster shifts following a recent top marketing hire (more below)
• Target demographic: 
  • Better-for-you (BFY) ​​​​​​​Gen-Z and millennials
    • ​​​​​​​Sweetgreen co-founder and CBO Nathaniel Ru specifically mentioned Reneé's significant Gen-Z following.

Additional spending insights:

• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: Sweetgreen has spent approximately $3.2m on digital ads YTD, 52% more than the approximately $2.1m spent by this point last year.
  • YTD data: So far this year, the salad chain has earned roughly 493m digital impressions via Instagram (45%), Facebook (37%), YouTube (9%), and desktop display (9%) ads.
  • Last year: Sweetgreen's estimated full-year 2022 spend increased slightly (6%) to $3.4m from that of $3.2m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The company utilizes Google Ads along with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and online video (via Youtube.com, Youtube Android, and Youtube IOS) ads.
  • Sweetgreen sponsors podcasts such as Business Wars, Dhru Purohit Podcast, The Best One Yet, Masters In Business, and Business Wars.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: If you haven't yet done so, reach out soon to get on the radar of Michael Kotick, who joined Sweetgreen last month as its VP and marketing head.
• Current agency roster:
  • ​​​​​​​In-House: Creative

Insight Sources: Digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix; podcast insights by Podchaser.