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How 1 day of free shakes led to a 17% sales bump for Wayback Burgers

September 6, 2017

Giving away shakes on the first day of summer proved a good investment for Wayback Burgers. The 136-unit burger joint reported a 17.22 percent increase in store sales, over the same day in 2016, due to its Free Shake Day promotion, according to a press release.

Each location handed out one free Junior Black and White Milkshake per guest on June 21. That added up to more than 27,000 free shakes, Wayback Burgers President John Eucalitto said in the release.

"As the numbers show, Free Shake Day has turned into a national phenomenon and we look forward to building on our success next year," he said.

All participating Wayback Burgers franchises loaded up on 30 times the required supply of milkshake ingredients just for Free Shake Day. It took more than 2,200 gallons of ice cream, 175 gallons of Hershey's Chocolate syrup, and 175 gallons of Monin French Vanilla syrup to make the 27,000 Black and White Shakes. And that's not counting the thousands of cups, lids, and straws for each shake, according to the release.

The event has generated significant PR, digital marketing and social media traction for Wayback, Eucalitto said, with this year's campaign resulting in:

• A 70 percent increase in total transactions from the previous two Wednesdays.
• A 47 percent average increase in customer spending from the previous two Wednesdays.
• 35 percent higher Wednesday sales from the previous two months.
• More than 120 media hits in national and local TV, print and online outlets.
• Comprehensive PR results of more than 128 million media impressions equating to more than $17 million in media value.
• 19,000 views of waybackburgers.com website for Free Shake Day, representing a 60 percent increase over average daily views.
• 700-plus new Facebook followers generated by the event.
• Almost 1,000 Facebook shares of Free Shake Day.

"In today's world, it's imperative that all in-store campaigns are coupled by a strategic public relations, digital marketing and social media strategy," said Senior Vice President Patrick Conlin in the release. "Free Shake Day" has always been a staple here at Wayback Burgers and we're proud of how much we've elevated its reach and influence both in-store and online. We look forward to shattering more records next year."