Tijuana Flats Case Study

Push and Tijuana Flats—creating the first un-chain restaurant for 7 years and counting.

Challenge.

Tijuana flats is a multi-regional group of fast-casual Tex-Mex restaurants built on the combination of fresh food, unique atmosphere and friendly service. In 2004, they had 16 stores throughout Florida and wanted to expand. The goal was to create a brand platform, strong identity and marketing communication tools to elevate the strength of the concept and its overall appeal while maintaining consistency across locations and positioning the company for franchise opportunity.
Strategy.

The strategy was to discover the strengths of the current concept and find a unique direction for the brand without eliminating previous beliefs. Through research, we discovered customers saw the food as quality and service as approachable, yet they felt the atmosphere differentiated Tijuana Flats from other fast-casual concepts. This research helped to define the uniqueness of Tijuana Flats, and how each store was filled with local information and interesting visuals.

We set out to create the un-chain—the fast casual restaurant that feels like a homegrown, unique place, no matter how many locations exist. We did this by using creative that was honest and approachable in conversation with customers as well as prospects—the kind of marketing that would make people think, laugh or shake their heads to ensure Tijuana Flats was not perceived as an ordinary, mainstream restaurant.

To further enhance the brand, Push created additional campaigns that included print ads, digital boards, website creation, public relations efforts like the annual Rock Out With Your Guac Out music contest and the creation of the Flatheads loyalty club.
Results.

In the seven years of our partnership, we have garnered numerous industry awards for campaign creative and Tijuana Flats has grown to 73 locations.

Not one logo but dozens. One of the most dynamic aspects of the Tijuana Flats brand is its almost unlimited amount of possible identities.
Manifesto for Tijuana Flats became a staple in every restaurant, and the brand guidelines for creating work.
Guerrilla campaign created as part of a local store marketing kit.
Holiday ad campaign.
Holiday ad campaign.
Push created a series of special campaigns for holidays, such as Cinco De Mayo, New Year's and Father's Day (featured).
New website launched in 2010. See full case study.
Winner of the coveted Spec AD competition.
The original Tijuanaflats.com launch in 2005 was one of Push's most prolific projects to date. The site garnered dozens of awards and millions of visitors over its five-year run.
The Valentine's Day promotion, "Smack My Ass...I'm Single," is one of many custom holiday promotions created to drive traffic on traditionally slow days.
Justinqueso.org is a site created to promote the Just In Queso Foundation created by Tijuana Flats to help those in need.
Tijuana Flats - "Harvest" :30 TV

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Push.

Push and Tijuana Flats—creating the first un-chain restaurant for 7 years and counting.