The Centennial State’s 360 days of sunshine and stunning elevations produce a veritable cornucopia of agricultural products. Very few places deliver mountain peaks and verdant valleys like Colorado, and that combination doesn’t just mean a natural playground for outdoor adventures – it also provides farm-to-table experiences that are as unique as they are delicious.
And chefs and culinary enthusiasts have been noticing.
A rich agricultural history and blending of cultures has produced a palette of flavors you can only find in Colorado. Piquing the interest of renowned chefs, Colorado has drawn in some pretty heavy hitters from the culinary world who have earned themselves and the state James Beard Awards, one MICHELIN Star and four MICHELIN Green Stars. And most of those accolades have come in just the past few years.
Seizing the moment to lift up Colorado as a premier culinary destination, we worked with the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) to promote the state’s food and beverage offerings, particularly its farm-to-table experiences. Through a partnership with Atlas Obscura, we threw our chefs hat in with Blue Apron for a first-of-its-kind collaboration to lift up the state’s culinary scene and bring a taste of Colorado into the homes of Blue Apron customers.
Based in Colorado and known for his appearances on several Food Network hit shows, chef Brother Luck joined the historic partnership with Blue Apron. Drawing inspiration from Colorado’s bounty of products and flavors, Luck created a recipe that would put the taste of Colorado into the kitchens of Blue Apron customers across the country.
And that little taste ignited an appetite for more.
Engaging social media influencers to do Blue Apron unboxing videos, we raised awareness (and eyebrows) about the partnership. Custom content by both Atlas Obscura and Blue Apron brightened the spotlight on Colorado’s culinary scene, highlighting the remarkable relationships among Colorado’s ranchers, farmers and chefs that drive the authentic farm-to-table experiences.
The partnerships and marketing highlighted something else: Travelers couldn’t get enough of Colorado. Blue Apron delivered over 16,000 meals, making Brother Luck’s recipe the fourth most popular out of the 16 they had on offer. And Atlas Obscura’s interactive article featuring Brother Luck saw an engagement rate 20 times its average.
Proving to be particularly promotable, the campaign earned 110.7 million media impressions from 456 media pickups and delivered over 24 million digital impressions during the course of the campaign. A 20% total engagement rate, which greatly exceeded the industry benchmark, solidified that audiences were hungry for exactly what Colorado is dishing up.
Ultimately the unique partnerships and delectable Blue Apron dish served Colorado a 12% lift in recommendation intent for Colorado as a culinary destination, according to Nielsen. And SMARI reported that the campaign efforts drove 12% of total awareness from only 6% of the CTO’s budget, delivering an estimated economic impact of $209 million and an ROI of $52:$1.
Now that’s a recipe worth writing down.
To get your own taste of Colorado, you can cook up chef Brother Luck’s recipe for yourself. Or you could always go all out and head to Colorado for a much bigger taste of all the state has to pique your palate.
