Сәлем! Мен - I'M!
Клиент
Food Solutions KZ
Рабочая группа
Клиент
Food Solutions KZ
Рабочая группа
Project Director: Alexander Kerimov
Project Director: Olga Kalenichuk
PR Campaign Lead: Iris Amangeldy
Media Relations Lead: Madina Musaeva
Media Relations Manager: Valeria Kim
Digital Director: Galina Mershieva
Digital Manager: Aruzhan Zhusupova
Videographer: Ivan Smirnov
Art Director: Ekaterina Kamalitdinova
Задача
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Our project is dedicated to the sroty of a new quick service restaurant brand, specifically focusing on how it communicated through us—from "McDonald's" to the "We Are Open" sign, and from "I’M Aruzhan" to the "I’M" brand. Our dedicated team — comprising advisors, media managers, digital specialists, copywriters and designers — worked on this project. The process of presenting and localizing the new brand allowed us to experiment, implement bold creative solutions, and employ innovative PR techniques.
CHALLENGE
Let’s dive into an incredible story from early 2023. When McDonald’s exited Kazakhstan, closing all 24 restaurants across 6 cities due to supply chain issues, it left a significant gap in the market. This led to a lot of speculation about the arrival of a new Russian brand, "Vkusno — i tochka," and there was a significant amount of negative news in the media related to the shareholder’s legal case. Our team handled PR support for the launch of unbranded restaurants, directed the media strategy for an extensive HR campaign, and, in the final stage, managed the PR for the introduction of the new I’M restaurant chain brand.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
We saw this, as a fantastic opportunity to make a splash! We stepped in with a dynamic PR strategy. First, we supported the launch of the restaurants under temporary names, sparking curiosity. We kicked off a massive PR campaign for a new HR initiative and designed a comprehensive strategy for the introduction of the I’M restaurant chain.
Our approach was creative and strategic utilizing some exceptional PR techniques. We stirred up excitement on social media across 6 cities and kept everyone guessing with our “late reveal” tactic—those temporary names were actually names of our employees! We also encouraged people to pitch their own restaurant names, teased the campaign ahead of the main launch, and used news embargoes for best local and foreign media and top bloggers to build intrigue.
RESULTS
HR initiative: Total Number of Media Publications: 2,921, with over 5 million views. Total Number of Social Media Posts: 12,286, with over 10 million views. Sentiment of Publications: Predominantly neutral-positive. In terms of the number of posts, reach, views, and comments, the HR campaign became one of the top news stories of the week in Kazakhstan.
New brand presentation: Total Number of Media Publications: 803, with over 2.5 million views. Total number of social media posts: 6,453, with over 5.5 million views. Sentiment of Publications: Predominantly neutral-positive. The presentation of the new brand I’M was remembered on Kazakhstani media landscape as one of the top news stories of the week at the time of the event.
Today, the I’M brand has solidified its position by providing exceptional, friendly service and a vibrant, festive atmosphere. It continues to run its restaurants while faithfully maintaining the high standards of quality and service that were originally set.
Looking back, our PR efforts have been among the most ambitious of 2023.
Today, it’s hard to find anyone in Kazakhstan who hasn’t heard about the new I’M brand. Thanks for joining us on this journey!