Looking to spread the word about his french fry resturant, French Fry Heaven, Scott Nelowet created a mobile game app to educate the public about the store’s wide variety of french fry flavor toppings.
Players match ingredients with characters like Big Tater. If you complete the game, you go on to the next character — the goal is to unlock all 50 characters. Players can earn T-shirts and free French fries.
Although the game was created to entertain customers and improve the company’s branding, it resulted in an unexpected benefit. Several parents of the children who won prizes have become prospective franchisees. French Fry Heaven requires contestants to request permission from their parents before the prizes are mailed to their homes. At that point many of the parents look up the company, and this has resulted in the sale of 10 franchise stores and more than $250,000 in related revenue.
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Altogether this year, French Fry Heaven has added 57 new franchisees, and it expects to have 81 stores open by the end of the year. The franchises cost $114,000 to $298,000, depending on the type of location. “We wanted to be taken seriously as a business with a good product and a great opportunity for our franchisees,†Mr. Nelowet said, “but otherwise, we are having fun.â€
Source: NY Times.