Real Chili has been a venerated “hole-in-the-wall” eating establishment in Milwaukee since 1931. After 75 years and careful consideration, the proprietor decided to expand. Real Chili needed help launching their new location on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where an abundance of restaurants lines the length of State Street.
Working to differentiate Real Chili while at Lindsay, Stone & Briggs, we discovered that consumers love dives. They frequent places like Real Chili religiously and often guard its existence. The new identity system and advertising campaign captured the no-nonsense personality of the brand through in-store posters, newspaper ads in the Onion, and a promotion that tapped into student culture.
