Chalkboards are all the rage these days, right?
Back in July, when West Acres food court had a vacant space to fill, the Flint team suggested something interactive, a place where customers could freely voice their suggestions. A chalkboard barricade graphic did the trick!
The artwork asked people what restaurant they’d like to see in the space. When it went live on July 12, it filled up in less than two hours. After recording the suggestions, West Acres staff erased the chalkboard nightly, allowing people to start over the next day.
The first day it was up, West Acres also reached out to its Facebook fans, crowdsourcing the same question. Over 100 responses appeared (and most with multiple restaurant requests).
Traditional media also tuned in—specifically, Mike McFeely of KFGO AM thought it would make a fun radio topic. He interviewed West Acres on his show and asked callers to phone in their suggestions.
The people spoke: just last week Qdoba Mexican Grill opened in the West Acres food court. The nearly 80,000 Black Friday shoppers had the opportunity to enjoy lunch (err… breakfast?) at the new food court restaurant, chosen specifically by shoppers.
We all know word of mouth is powerful. Sometimes people just need a little nudge to talk—and sometimes it’s as simple as a food court chalkboard.