On March 28, 2017, Chrissy Teigen, model, Lip Sync Battle TV co-host and wife of Grammy-winning singer/songwriter John Legend, took to Twitter to ask her 5MM+ followers how to make an Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion at home. Hunter PR, lead by the Social Media arm of the account team, though not responsible for managing Outback Steakhouse's social media channels, regularly and actively monitors social media, and within minutes of seeing Teigen's tweet alerted the social media team at Outback Steakhouse, insisting that they capitalize on this unique opportunity. Within just 20 minutes, together with the brand team, Hunter PR crafted a response and tweeted back at Teigen from Outback's Twitter handle, offering to teach her Outback's "special Bloomin' Onion tricks." Minutes later, Teigen responded, asking Outback to send a chef to her home.
The exchange was not only well-received by Teigen and her fans, it also caught the attention of an editor at People.com. The editor reached out to Hunter PR wanting to include Bloomin' Onion prep tips for the at-home cook to include in her article, which the team immediately provided. The article highlighting Outback's social encounter with Teigen and the Bloomin' Onion cooking tips went live the following day, March 29. Other national entertainment and lifestyle outlets quickly followed suit, posting articles about the Twitter exchange and amplifying their articles via their outlet's social media channels.
Keeping our promise, and per Teigen's request, on April 5 – just one week after our initial Twitter interaction – Hunter PR coordinated a Bloomin' Onion cooking demo with an Outback Steakhouse chef at Teigen's home in LA with Legend and a few of their closest friends. Key members of the Hunter PR team also traveled to LA to accompany the Outback chef to ensure a flawless execution.
Teigen, Legend and their guests shared their excitement and their Bloomin' awesome experience on Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, sparking a second (and much larger) wave of social conversation and, once again, capturing the attention of top-tier traditional media, including People.com, Marie Claire, InStyle, HelloGiggles, Refinery29 and more, all of which were impressed that Outback came through on its promise.
The following morning, Teigen tweeted, thanking Outback for the demo. Hunter PR tweeted back at Teigen and Legend to thank them for being fans and welcoming Outback Steakhouse into their home.
Note: As Teigen was never contracted as a paid spokesperson by Outback Steakhouse, Hunter PR was able only to respond to media inquiries, but not proactively pitch Teigen to media.
