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UPDATE 2x: Joe from Chipotle wrote me back, how cool! Thanks, Joe!

Becky,

Thank you for writing us, and we are actually looking into a Twitter association for the future, so we appreciate your suggestion. As for Facebook applications, and the like, we’re considering those too, although most are extremely annoying and unwelcome to many folks. We’ll keep working on it though, and we appreciate your interest in helping us out!

Sincerely,

Joe Stupp
Chipotle

UPDATE (9/10): Yeah, no one from Chiptole ever wrote me back… Knew it was too good to be true. Still hurts a tiny bit.

Hey Chipotle, if you need some counsel around how to mobilize (rather than ignore) your product evangelists in the social media space, drop me a note. Think it could be a powerful strategy for you guys!!

Just wrote my favorite Mexican grill folks a customer feedback note. The form says they’ll write back personally… I find it tough to believe they can manage that with the volume of loyal eaters around, like me! Anyway, found this cool image on their site of my hometown, St. Louis.

The Chipotle Has Landed

The Chipotle Has Landed

Funny thing, the giant burrito is literally a block away from FH’s office. (I wish there was a Chipotle in downtown STL… mmmm.)

I love Chipotle Mexican Grill for many reasons – as a customer, former stockholder and community member. I’m not sure what my stance is on organics or growth hormones for cattle, but I appreciate that my fresh-mex joint of choice cares.


Chipotle
Mmm… Taste the fresh goodness. source


In a world where it’s so easy not to have an opinion, where the bottom line drives decision making, it’s refreshing (pun intended) to support an organization that can do well by doing good. Sure, they’re stock has gone wild and the sector is hot right now, but I’d like to think that their business model and corporate philosophy inform their success too.

Bottom line, public companies’ number one responsibility is to shareholders, I’m just saying that it’s nice that they care about what I think too. Very savvy branding! Chipotle, you’ve got a customer for life – many for life.

What’s your style? Not rhetorical.
I’m a bol, cilantro-lime rice, black beans, fajita mix, pico, corn and hot salsas, a half fwap of sour cream, cheese and lettuce. Just typing makes my mouth water.

Happy July! Yes, it’s true – it’s the middle of summer and hot as heck out.

One thing you’ll find on the blog is an emphasis on research. No, you won’t be bothered by the methodology or geeky, esoteric rhetoric. However, you will find periodic discussion of cool research and their implications to strategic communications.

I’d like to share a very special one with you today – a fine piece of research from the Missouri School of Journalism’s PRIME Lab (Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects Lab). Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to be part of the flagship research team assembled when three gifted professors came together to develop the lab: Paul Bolls, Kevin Wise and Glenn Leshner. I completed my master’s thesis in the lab, served as lab manager for a semester – and traveled to NYC and Lisbon, Portugal with the Lab. My time at the PRIME lab was some of the most fun I’ve ever had – also, conveniently located a block from my favorite Chipotle digs.

Ok, clearly, I’m biased here. Nevertheless, I’m pleased to share the fascinating research by my friends: The Choice Study. Won’t bore you with the methodological details – suffice it to say, they were rigorous and intense! This experiment is interesting, in a practical sense, because it informs us professionals about optimal communication environments.


A Choice Research Duo
A Choice Research Duo: Researchers Kimberlee Pepple and Kevin Wise at the Society for Psychophysiological Research conference in Lisbon, Portugal.


Essentially, less is more… when you want to remember it. The Choice Study used arrays of images (some small, some large) and tested recognition. Wise and Pepple found that fewer choices = greater recall (a.k.a better recognition). I’m putting it simply, but it supports the classic strategic communications theory/practice of simple messaging, a handful of key messages and consistency more maximized effectiveness.

The Choice Study is one of those great pieces of academic research that needs to carry over and become part of industry intelligence and practice. It has direct implications on how we build campaigns, design websites and blogs – it’s significant. My research in the lab was somewhat similar – looking at effective communication on corporate websites. Read the full manifesto, The Effects of Internet Content Structure on Attention and Memory – Exploring Optimal Structure for News on Corporate Web Sites, – you’ll be the fifth reader!

All this “choice” makes me think of restaurant menus. I want to say there was an article in the New York Times a few years ago about Manhattan restaurants simplify menus – because they found patron’s valued less choice, fewer options yielded less dissonance. It’s intuitive when you put it into context. Think about the last time you went out to dinner at a place that had a huge menu. I was at TGI Fridays last month – their menu is quite comprehensive – and it was a long and somewhat arduous process to come to a decision. What’s more, I was left waiting for my food with a healthy amount of cognitive dissonance! That’s sort of like the choice study – though its findings are exclusive to recognition, not emotional discomfort.

Enough for now. Check out Choice!