The Challenge
Candlelite is an iconic family-owned restaurant in the Rogers Park neighborhood, serving up its famous Chicago “tavern-style” pizzas since 1950. Like nearly all restaurants, especially those in major cities, Candlelite was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,
and was searching for ways to keep its staff employed and active when in-person dining was not a possibility. Candlelite’s
co-owners, Pat and Molly Fowler, decided to launch a new frozen pizza product that could be shipped across the country, for those who did not live close enough for pickup or delivery from the restaurant.
3Points was tasked with getting the word out and driving excitement for this new offering, among both existing and new customers. As a way to help another small business during a difficult time for their industry, 3Points customized a new, flexible compensation structure below our typical minimum retainer.
The Solution
Through multiple discovery sessions, 3Points gathered information on Candlelite’s history, plans, and business landscape. From there, the team set about creating an overarching launch strategy, as well as brainstorming creative, out-of-the-box ideas outside of our traditional B2B service packages.
3Points employed each of its service areas to promote the frozen pizza launch. For earned media, the 3Points team pitched both established media and influencers. On the owned media front, 3Points filmed a short “thank you” video for customers who purchased frozen pizzas, as well as designed new artwork for Candlelite. Finally, 3Points dramatically ramped up Candlelite’s social media efforts, increasing frequency and generating new post ideas both before and after the frozen pizza launch.
The Results
Candlelite launched its frozen pizza offering on March 11, 2021, and saw numerous orders come through over its first few days and weeks — a strong start for a neighborhood restaurant building a new offering from scratch. As part of its tradition of giving back — and despite the difficult times it faced itself — Candlelite donated 5% of the first month’s proceeds to the Justin Wynn Foundation, a local charity in neighboring Evanston.
After the launch, Candlelite was featured in Chicago Food Magazine, in USA Today’s “10 Best Pizzas in Chicago”, and in a Youtube feature by influencers Kimchi and Beans. 3Points’ social efforts also energized Candlelite’s audience — both the Candlelite Instagram account and the Candlelite Facebook account saw their engagement more than double after 3Points took over posting.
If you want to support a local restaurant and taste some true tavern-style pizza, you can order Candlelite frozen pizzas here.
Packaging created by our design team
Statistics gathered are based off the four week period in which 3Points executed its media strategies
Testimonial
“We love the fresh look and feel that 3Points helped us create for the launch of our frozen pizza offering. The new imagery, engaging social media posts, and media placements have been instrumental in attracting new customers and reminding our returning customers why they love Candlelite.”
– Pat Fowler, Co-owner of Candlelite