Operators could take a page out of Arrow’s strategy. Team members hung balloons and solicited local businesses. What’s more was Arrow contestants seemed to have fun, whether they were behind the point-of-sale terminal or sprinkling tortilla chips.
Kinetic on the other hand didn’t appear to agree on anything, especially when it came to marketing. Marissa DeMato had the idea of sending chicken mascots to street corners, excessively talking about it. Her teammates rolled their eyes and made fun of her behind her back. But DeMato did not help her case by interrupting Trump several times while in the Board Room. He fired her.
To commemorate the chicken suit escapades, El Pollo Loco commissioned two chicken mascots for a company-wide watch party.
“We had two of our chicken mascots come in holding signs saying, ‘Marissa: We’re here for you!’” Eadon says.
All jokes aside, The Apprentice was a huge hit for the fast-casual chain. The contestants wore El Pollo Loco uniforms throughout, and El Pollo Loco never thought their brand was compromised for the sake of good television, even though NBC maintained editorial control.
“We were absolutely thrilled with how well they presented the brand after they did all the editing,” Eadon says.
A week after the show aired, Pollo Bowl sales increased 6 percent and catering sales grew 43 percent. Following Dairy Queen’s episode, Blizzard sales increased 30 percent.
The Apprentice is product placement; parties cannot comment on a dollar amount, but Keller says Dairy Queen “received at least a 2-to-1 return on invested media dollars.”
Bienstock believes The Apprentice has boosted sales for most placed products, even when the brand is not put in a favorable light.
“We had an issue in season three, where the product was Dove Cool Body Moisture Wash, and the candidates came up with these really racy, awful, terrible campaigns for it,” Bienstock says. “Had we let [Dove] executives jump in, they probably would have scrapped them.”
Instead Trump invited all contestants to the Board Room, where he grilled them and eventually fired somebody. The result? Dove had one of its best product launches in company history, Bienstock says.
As for who’s the next quick-service brand to be featured on The Apprentice, it could be your brand.
“You never know,” Bienstock says.