Buffalo Wild Wings, which hired its first CMO as well as a new creative agency last year, launched an aggressive ad campaign this week encouraging college basketball fans to watch NCAA March Madness games in the chain’s restaurants.
To that end, the 1,200-unit Buffalo Wild Wings chain is rolling out custom-designed stools at one unit in New York City and another in Los Angeles. The Jewel Stools are “an in-restaurant response to the spike in vasectomy procedures during the NCAA tournament, where thousands of men coordinate their doctor-ordered R&R to coincide with the biggest sports weekend of the year,” a company spokesman said.
The center of the barstools features a cooling apparatus for “numbing relief,” the company said, along with a chilled cup holder and light-up “Beer me” sign.
Photograph courtesy of Buffalo Wild Wings
Beyond the stools, the casual-dining brand is launching “That’s March Madness” TV spots and digital ads urging viewers to visit the restaurants to watch the tournament.
“Man caves and technology have divided us, conquered us and allowed a part of our herd to be divided,” Scot Crooker, associate creative director at The Martin Agency, Buffalo Wild Wings’ advertising agency, said in a statement. “Sports is about finding your tribe.”
In August, Buffalo Wild Wings’ parent company, Inspire Brands, appointed Seth Freeman as the chain’s first chief marketing officer. Freeman previously oversaw global marketing for InterContinental Hotels Group brand Holiday Inn.
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