Objectives

To celebrate the arrival of new cooking-competition show The Big Brunch on HBO Max we sought to bring the spirit of the show to life for potential viewers. Created by Dan Levy, this delectable cooking competition series celebrates culinary voices from around the country through brunch. But most importantly, per a review in Variety, the show places “emphasis on congeniality and warmth above all else” – and it’s that human element that would sing in creating the launch experience.

Our goal was to create a true give-back moment for the Los Angeles community while embodying and showcasing the show’s themes of community and genuine impact. 

KPIs for success would include 

• Media impressions and value

• Press coverage 

• Social media engagement 

• Event attendance

Strategy and Execution

The Big Brunch is not just another cooking competition show. Instead of cutthroat battles,The Big Brunch focused on community and how food helps fuel and give back to communities. We wanted to create a moment for The Big Brunch that captured its feel-good nature while embodying the tagline of “a great meal can be life-changing.” 

That’s why we celebrated the premiere of The Big Brunch in a big way, with an activation where guests could eat brunch with purpose via a pop-up community meal that gives back. The setting: an experience created in partnership with Homegirl Café —a social enterprise under Homeboy Industries that provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people. Guests were invited via local calendar listings and social posts from influencer and brand partners to join The Big Brunch at Century City for this pop-up café experience. Upon arrival, guests stepped into the set of The Big Brunch with our café photo moment and chef-plate wall that highlighted each judge and contestant on the show. In exchange for snapping and sharing their pic, guests would receive The Big Brunch Box—a brunch box featuring delicious treats from Homegirl Café and coffee beans from Go Get Em Tiger. 

Homegirl Café not only provided all the delicious grab-and-go brunch box items found in The Big Brunch Box, but also served as centerpiece in the activation, providing staffing and messaging for the pop-up. Homegirl Café staff were on-site distributing brunch boxes and answering questions about their work while key signage was strategically placed throughout our footprint, featuring a QR code that guests could scan to find out more about our non-profit partner. 

This public-facing event at Century City mall was also bolstered by our beverage partners, Go Get Em Tiger and Health-Ade. Go Get Em Tiger, an LA-based brand who takes pride in their LA roots, was a welcome surprise to attendees who were treated to complimentary coffee beverages made on-site and take home coffee bean bags. Health-Ade Kombucha also made for the perfect pairing for both coffee lovers and non-coffee drinkers to enjoy along with their The Big Brunch box. Both of our additional partners helped to embody the premiumness seen in The Big Brunch, building out the activation experience while allowing our primary partner of Homegirl Café to shine.

Results

The Big Brunch Café Pop-Up effectively drove:

• 162M+ Press and Social Impressions, promoting not only the show, but the mission of Homeboy Industries to the masses
• $1.5M+ Press and Social Media Value

This is in addition to:

• 26K+ Physical Impressions
• 1,383+ 1:1 Brand Interactions
• The experience also resulted in earned press in publications like Thrillist, LA Weekly, and KTLA 5, plus social coverage from thousands of attendees and even a post from Dan Levy himself

Media