Cecil K’s
Cecil K’s is filling a vital need in rural Holton, Kansas – a hometown grocery store. After losing both grocery stores, cousins Carly Whorton and Chad Bontrager collaborated to re-establish a rural grocery store in their hometown. They drew inspiration from their great-grandfather, Cecil Kerns. Cecil was a farmer, community leader and father, grandfather and great-grandfather who cherished his community, the land and helping his neighbors and family. Strong values for a store providing nutritious, quality, safe foods for the 3,285 residents of Holton and the surrounding county are key to Cecil K’s initial successes.
While Carly and Chad are busy building the operational functions of Cecil K’s, they needed a team to provide strategic counsel for their communications and marketing needs. Cecil K’s engagement strategy is to ensure its customers and potential customers know and witness the values that drive Cecil K’s. Furthermore, with today’s consumers using the internet as their number one source for food system information, Cecil K’s wanted to ensure they were ready to engage via their web site, multiple social media platforms and through traditional media outlets.
The team supported Cecil K’s from its initial planning stages to the store’s grand opening in early 2018. Specific highlights include:
- Establishing creative materials such as logo and brand standards
- Building social media strategy and content calendars
- Supporting execution of social media strategy
- Drafting copy for Cecil K’s web site, social media and traditional media
- Outreach to thought-leaders and media for the early 2018 grand opening
Successes to date include:
- A 32 percent increase in followers during Q4 2017
- Above industry averages for digital engagement via social media
- Extremely positive qualitative responses to posts and updates
- Reaching Cecil K’s target market effectively and efficiently
