Restaurants
·
Casual dining · 50+ units
·
Full AOR
Smokey Bones came to ARSNL with the problem every chain operator dreads: same-store sales sliding year over year. We took on full agency-of-record responsibilities — media, creative, content, partnerships, and promo ideation — and went to work on the business end of the calendar. Inside six months we broke the YoY downtrend. In 2025 the brand is comping positive.
Client
Smokey Bones
Footprint
50+ casual-dining units
Scope
Media AOR, creative, content, influencer, partnerships, promo ideation
Audience
Casual-dining BBQ guests, regional core
The brief
The category was tough and the comp trend was negative. Smokey Bones needed an agency that could carry the whole calendar — from billboard to bar promos — and treat the marketing function like an operating problem, not a creative one.
We took on full AOR responsibilities and rebuilt the year around guest behavior: when BBQ shows up in consideration, what makes someone choose Smokey Bones over the burger or chicken chain next door, and which promos drive a visit instead of just an impression.
What we did
ARSNL runs the whole funnel for Smokey Bones — from awareness media to in-restaurant LTO support.
- Integrated media planning & buying. Billboard, radio, paid social, programmatic, search, apps, direct mail, sponsorships.
- Ad campaign development. Brand and promo creative that flexes across out-of-home and digital.
- Content creation. Food, drink, atmosphere and influencer-led content for owned channels — Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads) and TikTok.
- Promo ideation & execution. Bones Bar Bites, Bones Big Duo, throwback ribs — all exceeded KPIs.
- Influencer management. 6–7 foodie influencers per month, sourced, briefed, executed and reported end-to-end.
- Partnership campaigns. Robert Irvine “Dig In. Do Good.” with the Robert Irvine Foundation, plus the RIBFEAST limited-time tie-in.
- Event activation. Smokey Bones × Red Bull F1 “BBQ Pit Stop” event, co-promoted with Miami Guide and World Red Eye.
Selected work
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Creative · Partnership
Partnership the brand earned.
Robert Irvine work that gave the brand a culinary anchor and 1M+ reach.
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Creative · Cultural
Cultural moments that travel.
Red Bull F1 partnership work that put Smokey Bones into a cultural conversation it earned.
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Social · Always-on
Social that lifts the follow.
Always-on social that drove +26.3% follower growth as Agency of Record.
The results
Broke
The YoY same-store comp downtrend — trended positive 4 of 6 months in 2024.
Positive
Comping positive in 2025 under ARSNL's AOR work.
26.3%
Lift in social media followers during the rebuilt content era.
1M+
Users reached through influencer and event-led posting.
Exceeded
KPIs on Bones Bar Bites, Bones Big Duo, and throwback ribs promos.
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Why it worked
Most multi-unit operators have a media agency, a creative agency, a social agency, and a promo deck nobody owns. We carry all of it, which means the radio buy supports the promo, the promo supports the LTO menu, the LTO supports the partnership, and the partnership shows up in social with talent worth following.
That kind of integration is the difference between marketing that looks busy and marketing that breaks a comp trend.
What's next
Then let's plan to get there.
