Bearded man smiles at a young boy beside a red Jersey Mike's Subs cup reading "BE A SUB ABOVE" outdoors
Submitted by LinqiaAgency IPI Score 54/100

Jersey Mike's Month of Giving Instagram Influencer Campaign

Influencer Marketing

Linqia ran an organic and paid influencer campaign for Jersey Mike's 12th Annual Month of Giving, which the agency reports raised $20M for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.

$20MDonations Raised
17MOrganic Impressions
34KEngagements
6.64%Top Engagement Rate

About the campaign

Jersey Mike's raised $20 million for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games through a Month of Giving campaign with Linqia. Jersey Mike's is a fast casual sub sandwich chain with more than 2,200 locations across the United States. Its goal was awareness for the 12th Annual Month of Giving and in-store purchases on the Day of Giving, March 30th.

The agency sought influencers with a real-life connection to the Special Olympics, who shared personal stories leaning heavily on video. Posts also featured food and store imagery and closed on a call to order at Jersey Mike's and donate. Its paid media team tested all creative in the first half, then boosted the top ads in the second.

The agency reports 17 MM organic impressions, 34K engagements and 23K video views. The campaign's top engagement rate was 6.64%. The top post by Golden August reached a 6.5% ER, 2X higher than the IG average. Of audience comments, 77% showed awareness and consideration and 23% showed purchase intent and brand loyalty. Frequency reached 4.49X, and the top paid ad unit drew 1.7MM impressions and 32% of total engagements.

Case in 60 seconds

Jersey Mike's needed awareness for its 12th Annual Month of Giving and in-store purchases on the Day of Giving, March 30th, because those orders were how the brand raised money for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. As the third Month of Giving program run with Linqia, the work had to reach new and loyal customers with a message authentic enough to carry a charity ask.

Audiences answer a charity ask from a creator with a real-life connection to the Special Olympics, because a personal story explains why the cause matters before the call to order and donate arrives.

Linqia cast influencers with a real-life connection to the Special Olympics and gave them freedom to tell personal stories in their own voice, so the Month of Giving reached audiences through people who cared about the cause.

Influencers posted video-led personal stories with food and store imagery, using the dictation feature in Instagram Stories on Linqia's suggestion and closing on a call to order at Jersey Mike's and donate. In paid media, all creative was tested during the first half of the campaign, and only the top performing ads were scaled in the second half.

Linqia reports 17 MM organic impressions, 34K engagements, 23K video views and a top engagement rate of 6.64%, while Jersey Mike's raised $20 million for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.

Strategy Breakdown

New and loyal Jersey Mike's customers, reached through an organic and paid social media campaign.
Fast casual sub chains compete on fresh-sliced and fresh-grilled food, so Jersey Mike's gave its philanthropy, which sits at the heart of the company's mission, the job of setting it apart.
Jersey Mike's served as the route to giving, since ordering in store on the Day of Giving was how audiences contributed to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.
People act on a cause when someone they follow explains why it matters to them personally, which is why Linqia cast influencers with a real-life connection to the Special Olympics.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Instagram

Partners

  • Linqia

Participation mechanic

  • Audiences were asked to order at Jersey Mike's and make a donation, with the Day of Giving on March 30th driving in-store purchases that raised money for the Special Olympics.

Creator role

  • Golden August

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Donations Raised$20M
Organic Impressions17M impressions
Engagements34K engagements
Video Views23K video views
Top Engagement Rate6.64%
Comments: Awareness77%
Comments: Purchase Intent23%
Frequency4.49x frequency
Top Post Engagement Rate6.5% ER
Top Paid Ad Impressions1.7M impressions
Top Ad Share of Engagements32% of engagements

Why Linqia's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Testing all creative in the first half of a flight and boosting only the top performers in the second puts paid spend behind ads that have already earned a response, and here one ad unit accounted for 32% of total engagements.

  2. 2

    A platform feature carried from one format into another can set a creator apart, as Golden August showed when the dictation feature, usually used for grid content, delivered the top post in Instagram Stories.

  3. 3

    Repeat programs build on themselves because each run supplies the metrics the next one is planned from, which let the third Month of Giving record a 4.49X frequency against the average of the brand's 2021 programs.

  4. 4

    A simple family storyline and an opening line of long-time fandom establish a creator's authenticity quickly, which matters when the post closes on a request to buy a sandwich and donate to a cause.

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