Much like its salads, Sweetgreen’s marketing strategy is a combination of many organic ingredients.

“Traditionally speaking, we haven’t spent a lot on paid marketing as a percentage of revenue,” Nathaniel Ru, chief brand officer and co-founder of Sweetgreen, told us, though he didn’t share figures.

• Despite two consecutive quarters of lowered revenue outlooks in 2022, the salad chain has expanded into new territories, like the Midwest, with its CEO saying in March that it plans to have 1,000 locations by 2030.
• As the chain grows, Ru said it’s looked to the marketing playbook of its early days in DC, focusing on generating new customers through organic, on-the-ground activations and word of mouth.

We spoke with Ru about how the company adapts regionally, what it looks for in a collab, and what’s on the horizon in 2023.

Locally grown

According to Ru, the company’s focus on organic activations is known internally as “intimacy at scale,” built on the idea that even as the company expands, a Sweetgreen should feel local to the area.

• Part of that is adapting to new audiences. As the company expands to suburban locations, Ru said it’s looking to also appeal more directly to families, with “Sweetlane” drive-thrus, which first opened in Illinois, and kids’ meals being piloted in Minnesota and Indiana.
• To get the word out about new locations, Ru said Sweetgreen is leaning into local activations and events. For a recent opening in Minneapolis, the company partnered with local chef Ann Kim to create a bowl exclusive to the area.
• “Awareness is built through referrals,” Ru said, noting that events or collabs with local chefs can help the brand feel “like part of the community.”

Continue reading here.—KH

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Jacqueline Sidle is director of audience development at The Gazette and The Denver Gazette. She got her start as promotions director for iHeartRadio in Colorado Springs.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? To reach and cultivate an audience through social media and newsletters and create an emotional connection to that audience. Deliver the news that affects local communities where the audience is, rather than expect them to come to me.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? Our nonprofit, The Empty Stocking Fund. We run a four-month campaign promoting 20 local agencies in Colorado Springs and raise funds for those agencies through social media, events, and news publication. The campaign runs over the holiday season, and it is wonderful to see a local community come together and support one another.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? Duolingo! The combination of humor on their TikTok page and the transparency of allowing their social media manager to talk about her thought process when creating content is really inspiring to someone who is afraid to step outside of the “norm” of advertising tactics.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? My passion for nonprofits. I work heavily in raising awareness and funds for small veteran nonprofits like 22 Until None, which provides financial assistance to veterans in need. It is a priority to me to use the power of social media to help as many individuals as I can.

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? I listen to the Social Media Examiner when I need inspiration. Michael Stelzner covers almost every platform and makes you think about presentation in innovative ways.

2022 brought with it some bizarre food items, like Oscar Mayer’s bologna face mask and Vlasic’s pickle candle. And those are just a few.

Retail Brew’s Andrew Adam Newman rounded up some of the year’s most out-there food products. Read a portion below, or click here for the full story.

When Tropicana introduced a cereal this year for pouring orange juice over instead of milk, Tropicana Crunch, maybe you thought it was a gag. Or maybe you just gagged. Either way, you may have weighed in about it on social media or Slack.

Brands often do this just to get some buzz, of course. But sometimes they do it to keep things interesting for retailers who like some novelty to liven up the shelves.

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

: Bookmark these 2023 social media performance benchmarks to help fine-tune your strategy.

: Check out Pinterest’s trend predictions for next year.

: Start scheduling your 2023 social posts using this list of all the official (and not-so-official) holidays next year.

Grab a fresh cup of coffee and find a good reading corner: Here are some of Marketing Brew’s favorite long reads from 2022.

• Did this February article that predicted a ”vibe shift” foretell the Twitter meltdown, a possible recession, or the return of low-rise jeans? Who can say for sure?
• This piece from Vox explored TikTok’s effect on the trend cycle, like everything being labeled as an “aesthetic.” (And just as “trends are dead,” a story in The Atlantic declared that “Instagram is over.”)
• This New York Times feature broke down how product placements come to your favorite TV shows.
• Also from the Times, this story reflected on the rise of the TikTok audio meme.
• This funny and surprisingly poignant article about the relationship between journalists and publicists starts with a Slate writer accepting every PR pitch he received in a single day.

Snap poll: As a marketer, do you like watching the commercials during the Super Bowl?

Honestly…no
Yes!
It just depends

One of Campbell’s most recognizable ads features a snowman heading inside to warm up with a bowl of the brand’s chicken noodle soup. Which year did the commercial debut?

1. 1983
2. 1987
3. 1993
4. 1995

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Hunting for uncluttered ad space? Some brands are looking up
• The era of the ‘hard bundle’ is upon us
• Is streaming’s binge-watching era officially over?