We increased Gen Z’s affinity for Arby’s
by planting a “meatfluencer”
Only 25% of Arby’s customers are between 18-34 (MRI Simmons). Unfortunately, this consumer demographic has led younger consumers to see Arby’s as a brand for older people, and not for them. This puts Arby’s at risk as older consumers are less likely to be frequent fast food consumers compared to Gen Z.
Gen Z Isn’t Hungry for Arby’s
We Have the Plant?
Playing on Gen Z’s obsession with influencer culture and parasocial relationships, we decided to create and plant a meat-obsessed influencer who slowly becomes an Arby’s brand character.
While initially concepted as an industry plant for reality TV, thorough cultural and audience research revealed that organic content creation was the best way for our plant to make their debut. With 71% of Gen Z and Millennials saying social media drives their restaurant choices, and category leaders finding success through social-first strategies, we knew social media was the clear answer for making the biggest impact.
Alongside my strategist, I conducted an analysis of influencers and mascots, exploring how and why Gen Z connects with creators and brand characters. Our research spanned content strategy best practices and in-depth brand analysis, including MRI-Simmons data, Reddit sentiment analysis, and qualitative research.
Beyond the concept, we cast talent and produced original content to test our approach on social media in real time. We leveraged the most common viral video formats and emerging trends to inform script development, while encouraging improvisation to maintain an organic, native feel.
Meet Meat Girl
Meat Girl—an absurd but loveable meat-obsessed content creator—came to life through a homemade steak oven mitt and a chaotically curated social strategy. Her rise (and Arby’s eventual payoff) follows this deliberate “secret” formula:
Meat Girl posts consistently, analyzes performance, and engages with her audience like a true creator to build authentic traction and community.
Arby’s sends PR packages, then officially “signs” Meat Girl as a full-time brand ambassador once cultural momentum builds.
The brand rolls out Meat Girl–inspired in-store features and a limited merch drop, giving fans a tangible way to express their love for both MG and Arby’s.
Arby’s expands the universe with short-form narrative content starring Meat Girl, spoofing popular reality TV formats to deepen the fandom and boost shareability.
We gained 92k Instagram profile views (top video 49k views) and 1.5k+ shares with 90% of the audience coming from Gen Z within first month of posting.
Before posting branded content, tagging, or following Arby’s, the brand contacted “Meat Girl” to send her merch for her next OOTD - a testament to MG’s alignment with the brand and proof of concept.
Gen Z (and Arby’s) love Meat Girl!
Meat Girl is taking a “mental health break” as our team prioritizes other work, but stay tuned for her return soon!
Follow for more: Meat Girl (@realmeatgirl)
The team:
Caroline Thomas - Strategist
Jennifer Kim - Art Director
Maddie Green - Art Director
Greg Patterson - Copywriter
My Role:
Strategy Partnership
Led cultural and audience research, including parasocial relationship and brand-character analysis, to inform strategy and guide the development of Meat Girl’s narrative and content approach.
Production
I managed the day-to-day team operations, coordinating shoots, schedules, meetings, and the content calendar while keeping team members aligned.
Social Media Management
I oversaw Meat Girl’s social channels and reviewed all creative to ensure every execution stayed consistent with Arby’s brand voice, the character strategy, and our campaign objective.