For nearly four decades, Five Guys has operated on a theory that Madison Avenue might find either admirable or alarming: that the best advertising is no advertising at all.
The burger chain, which opened its first location in Arlington, Va., in 1986 and now operates more than 1,700 restaurants, has built what its executives like to call a "cult-like following" through the simple expedient of making hamburgers and trusting customers to discuss them with one another. It is a strategy that has worked well enough that the company has never retained a creative agency of record.
Until now.
Five Guys has named Mirimar, the independent agency based in Los Angeles, as its first creative agency of record, a selection that suggests the chain is ready to move beyond the word-of-mouth approach that has sustained it through its expansion across North America and into international markets.
"We're ready to tell our story to a wider audience and bring new business through the door," said Navin Sharma, the chain's chief commercial officer, in a statement that acknowledges, with admirable directness, that even cult-like followings have their limits.
Mirimar, which was founded by Luke McKelvey, will initially produce creative work for the North American market, with plans to expand the assignment to other territories later. The agency selection follows Five Guys' decision in August to name Canvas Worldwide as its media agency of record, suggesting that the chain's new, more social marketing era (as the company describes it) has been in the planning stages for some time.
Whether customers who have spent years recommending Five Guys to their friends will welcome the company's decision to start recommending itself remains to be seen. The chain, at least, appears confident that there is room for both approaches — though one suspects the french fries will continue to do most of the talking.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Five Guys Chooses Mirimar as Creative AOR to Share Its Story and Go Beyond Word-of-Mouth"