Challenge
The Appetite It’s a Wawa World and We Love Living in It If you live in the Mid-Atlantic region, chances are you see Wawa not just as a nice-to-have, but as a need-to-have. As Wawa’s agency of record for more than 15 years, we’ve helped to elevate and cultivate this brand love through a constant pipeline of signature events, promotions, community partnership initiatives and storytelling campaigns backed by thousands of happy and engaged associates fulfilling the lives of millions of customers year after year. Landmark Promotions, Annual Celebrations, Product Announcements, Store Openings, Press Releases, Event Planning and Support, Event Coverage, Media Relations Consumer Marketing Unlike your typical convenience store, people have a deep emotional connection with Wawa. Customers have gotten married in Wawa stores. They’ve gotten Wawa tattoos. The New York Times even branded this fierce customer loyalty as a “convenience cult.” The Order Culture – the Key Ingredient to Brand Evangelism and Associate Loyalty As the company eyed new Wawa Lands, we found a way to ensure that Wawa’s culture and customer and media evangelism remained steadfast wherever Wawa went. We took Wawa’s stellar regional reputation and formalized an approach to maximizing customer excitement as the brand expanded its business while maintaining a focus on recognizing, celebrating and supporting the associates who are the true secret ingredient to Wawa’s success.
Solution
The Recipe Giving Wawa’s Purpose Flight We’ve been pivotal in helping Wawa’s brand love travel south, helping to engineer and promote its launch into Florida, DC and Northern Virginia. We’re way beyond press releases. We’ve established proven, repeatable processes for building on what Wawa does best. We’ve been on the front lines to develop and spread Wawa’s messages around culture, convenience, appetite, appeal and fulfilling lives every day in new markets and in its hometown. Long before Wawa opens its doors in a new community, we help to open hearts and minds through a seven-layer promotion strategy that we developed to foster community involvement and build media interest. With this wind-up, a humble store opening brings an average of three local news crews and generates a dozen articles. We infuse this same level of commitment into supporting Wawa’s Executive Office and employee-focused departments. For more than a decade, we’ve done branding, event planning and large communication campaigns to support initiatives like: The Big Six Values Program A story-sharing program based on peer-to-peer recognition Wawa’s Internal Care Department A team entirely dedicated to providing support for Wawa associates in times of crisis and celebration The Associates In Need Fund An associate-funded and managed 501(c)(3) organization supporting Wawa associates when they need it most We took Wawa’s culture and focus on the customer and turned it into a dependable and rewarding business asset. The Secret Sauce Culture as a Marketing Cornerstone Today, culture is Wawa’s competitive advantage. It’s baked into every Sizzli served, every gallon of gas pumped. People wish more businesses worked like Wawa, and they rejoice when Wawa joins their communities. It’s become a go-to media stop to get the pulse of the community during snowstorms, sporting events and when major news breaks. Here in Philadelphia, NBC created Wawa Wednesdays to connect with the community. That’s 45 minutes of dedicated airtime on a major regional station.
Results
By the Numbers We’ve played an instrumental role in elevating Wawa from a place to grab your morning coffee to a home away from home for customers and associates alike. Take a look at our partnership by the numbers. 2500+ Press Releases 500+ Media Interviews 300+ National Stories 100+ Cover Stories Billion+ News Impressions 1000+ Internal Communication Initiatives Developed 250+ Grand Opening Celebrations Organized 750+ Crises Managed 200+ CEO Events / Speeches Developed
Want fresh marketing stories in your inbox?
Get the weekly email that makes you a marketing genius.
Stay informed and inspired, for free.