It's National Cheesecake Day!

I know it's late notice but today is: National Cheesecake Day. Now I can already assume that you knew this, as it was circled on your calendar. You have likely been planning for months to celebrate this most sacred of holidays with your loved ones. You have probably picked out an outfit, maybe worked out a little more often and prepared a small speech to share as you and your guests reflect quietly on this solemn occasion.


Or maybe like me you find made up holidays hilarious and you will poke fun at them at any opportunity.

In the interest of full disclosure I worked for the Factory for a few years and really enjoyed my time there. This is a great marketing tactic for the CAKE. They have created a non-Holiday to promote their restaurant and the kick off of their newest flavour: Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake. Beyond this CCF will be donating $.25 to Feeding America for every slice of said cake for the next 12 months.

I can't speak to how good the new cake is, but let's face it: if it is from the Cheesecake Factory, it has to be good. What I am more interested in is how CCF has found an opportunity to promote themselves while giving back to the community. I think this is a strategy that will increasingly become the norm as younger, more "issue oriented" consumers enter the marketplace. Rather than appealing to greed and offering say a diamond ring baked into 5 random cheesecakes (that would be a great promotion, but could make for an awkward date) they have found a more socially concious way of promoting themselves.

The way I found out about this particular promotion was through Facebook. CCF eschews traditional advertising instead choosing to rely on word of mouth. What better way to promote word of mouth than Facebook? I think again this is a trend that is not going away and we will be seeing Facebook get used more and more as a promotional tool, for better or worse.

Despite many Americans cutting back on the frequency of dining out, and some scathing news filler stories about how restaurants like CCF are the cause of our expanding waistlines, the company has been doing well of late. They have made some smart changes to the menu, offering some healthier alternatives and with continued smart promotions like, National Cheesecake Day, I have a feeling they will be around for a while.

DC