Rosie's Burgers: Neighbourhood to National
Helping a smash burger chain strengthen brand recognition and expand into new markets.
Overview
Rosie’s Burgers began as a small but fast-growing smash burger brand with 3 locations in the Greater Toronto Area. As the brand gained momentum, the objective evolved from building local awareness and driving in-store traffic to supporting a broader national growth strategy.
With franchising expansion underway, Rosie’s aimed to strengthen brand recognition and generate demand across both existing and new markets. Central to this effort was leveraging scalable digital channels to support store openings and build a strong foundation for continued expansion, which now includes more than 15 locations across the GTA, Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, and additional markets to come.
Project Scope
Services
Campaign Strategy & Execution
Timeline
2024-2026
The Challenge
Rosie’s Burgers had established a strong presence across the GTA, building a loyal following with its homey, neighbourhood burger-joint vibe and a menu focused on doing the classics well. The brand’s identity - simple, nostalgic, and quality-driven - resonated strongly with local audiences and helped Rosie’s stand out in a crowded burger category.
As the brand began expanding through franchising into new markets across Canada, the challenge became translating that same neighbourhood feel and brand familiarity to audiences who had never experienced Rosie’s before. While the brand already had recognition and cultural momentum in the GTA, new locations in cities like Calgary, Halifax, and Montreal required building awareness from the ground up while maintaining the authenticity that made Rosie’s successful in the first place.
The Solution
To support Rosie’s rapid expansion, we developed a scalable digital marketing framework that could be easily replicated for each new franchise location while continuing to build brand demand in established markets.
Working across Meta and Google, the strategy balanced highly localized campaigns for new store openings followed by broader city-wide brand initiatives designed to sustain long-term traffic and awareness.
What We Did
Creative Approach
Rosie’s creative direction, led by their brand team, leaned into the nostalgic, neighbourhood burger-joint identity that had already resonated strongly in the GTA. Our role was to translate that creative vision into high-performing digital campaigns, ensuring messaging and assets were deployed strategically across markets and platforms.
Phased Campaign Launch
The campaign structure followed a local-first, then city-wide approach. For new locations, we implemented a phased launch framework designed to build excitement and drive immediate foot traffic. This framework allowed each new franchise to launch with a consistent marketing playbook while still adapting to the dynamics of each local market.
Phase 1: Pre-opening Awareness
Promoting opening announcements and building anticipation within the local community.
Phase 2: Grand Opening Activation
Featuring high-impact promotions such as the “100 Free Burgers” giveaway to generate buzz, drive lineups, and establish early customer momentum.
Phase 3: Post-opening Sustainment
Transitioning to “Now Open” and ongoing brand campaigns that reinforced Rosie’s neighbourhood presence and encouraged repeat visits.
Loyalty Campaigns
To further support customer retention and lifetime value, we also launched loyalty acquisition campaigns, driving sign ups for Rosie’s loyalty program. Through integration with a catering platform called Incentivio, loyalty data was fed back into advertising platforms, allowing campaigns to optimize toward higher-value customers and repeat visits.
The Results
This combination of localized launches, city-wide brand building, and loyalty growth created a marketing system that could scale alongside Rosie’s expanding franchise network, supporting both immediate store success and long-term national growth. The click-through rate exceeded industry averages and reflecting strong audience engagement.
2.95%
Click-Through Rate
$0.25
Cost-Per-Click
295,383
Ad Clicks
Beyond the Metrics
The success of the campaigns helped establish a repeatable marketing framework that now supports Rosie’s ongoing national growth. As the brand continues to expand beyond its strong GTA presence, Fractal has remained closely integrated with the Rosie’s team, acting as a strategic marketing partner to support both new franchise launches and broader brand-building efforts. With additional locations planned across major Canadian cities, including Vancouver, the scalable local-to-city campaign model continues to power Rosie’s expansion.
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