Fleming’s Redefines Thanksgiving Dining

THE Challenge

Fleming’s is known for its Prime steaks, expertly curated wines and warm, attentive service that turns every visit into a special occasion. Despite its natural alignment with Thanksgiving, Fleming’s needed to stand out in a competitive and fast-moving holiday season. Guests expected convenience and quality, and competitors pushed big promotions.

THE Solution

Acquired Taste built a Thanksgiving campaign that balanced emotional storytelling with precise media execution. The strategy was designed to position Fleming’s as the stress-free, elevated alternative to home cooking while keeping the brand’s premium image intact. Key elements included:

• Creative Strategy: Warm, indulgent visuals and refined food photography emphasized comfort and sophistication. Messaging centered on ease, celebration and quality over price. Mid-flight creative swaps kept the campaign fresh and engaging.
• Channel Optimization: Paid efforts were streamlined around the most efficient platforms, with budgets consolidated to maximize ROI. Search highlighted intent-driven diners, while Meta leveraged immersive placements like Reels and feed for maximum reach and engagement.
• Tier-Based Budgeting: A four-tier system guided investments by market performance and readiness, ensuring flexibility to scale top performers while maintaining efficiency in lower-tier markets.
• Audience Segmentation: Loyalty audiences were prioritized for efficiency, with reengaged and core groups layered in to expand reach. This approach balanced new guest acquisition with repeat diner engagement.
• Email & Catering: Email deployments were timed to peak booking windows, reinforcing the campaign’s creative themes. As capacity tightened, a catering-focused track expanded the holiday opportunity beyond dine-in.

THE Results

The 2024 Thanksgiving campaign delivered record-setting performance and doubled year-over-year revenue, proving that even quieter holidays can become brand-defining opportunities.

• Revenue Growth: Holiday revenue increased by 123% year-over-year, fueled by both reservations and gift card sales.
• Record Reservations: Reservation starts rose to 33.9K, a 55% increase from the prior year.
• Marketing ROI: Loyalty audiences drove standout performance, with a 15.02 ROI on Search and an 11.92 ROI on Meta.
• Guest Engagement: Paid media achieved an 82.4% engagement rate, while top Meta placements consistently performed above 70%.
• Catering Expansion: Dedicated campaigns drove more than 1,000 catering-specific actions, extending the brand’s holiday reach.

THE Details

Strategy Alignment

By positioning Thanksgiving as both indulgent and effortless, the campaign reinforced Fleming’s as the premier choice for stress-free holiday dining.

Integrated Execution

Every channel—search, social, display, email and catering promotions—was unified under one message of celebration and convenience.

Operational Impact

Tier-based budgeting allowed flexibility at the market level, ensuring high performers received maximum support while maintaining ROI across all tiers.

Data-Driven Optimization

Creative refreshes and budget reallocations mid-flight kept campaigns relevant, sustained momentum and maximized ROI during the short booking cycle.

Why It Matters

Thanksgiving 2024 proved that even less glamorous holidays can deliver outsized results when backed by the right mix of creative, targeting and execution. Fleming’s and Acquired Taste transformed a seasonal opportunity into a record-breaking campaign—doubling revenue, expanding engagement and setting a new standard for holiday marketing success.