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Making Sizzler’s Grand Malibu Chicken a sizzling success.

Sizzler’s popular Malibu Chicken offering is getting an update. Now the Grand Malibu Chicken (available in both entree and sandwich form), Sizzler wanted to launch their new menu items alongside the re-opening of their newly renovated Corona, California location.

The problem was, the Chicken Sandwich Wars of recent years have raised the bar for quick service restaurant brands entering the chicken game. Sizzler’s outdated branding just wasn’t going to cut it.

Originally tasked with simply creating the design assets for the OOH campaign, Tavern applied our approach of branding at the speed of culture to the brief. We asked ourselves: how do we help Sizzler level-up their brand’s relevance as they take on this competitive new market, without straying too far from their existing brand identity?

Through subtle, yet impactful tweaks to Sizzler’s existing key brand assets - a brightened red here, a more contemporary serif font there - we stayed true to the brand’s VIS ID while sharpening it to be better fit for purpose. The icing on the cake (or rather, the breading on the chicken) was turning the Sizzler logo into a literal brand, both on graphics and the sandwich itself.

All this served as a more contemporary backdrop to the main event: an ultra-delicious new photography style complete with dripping sauces that glitter in the light and close-ups of craggy, crispy breading you can practically hear crunch.

The Sizzler team was so pleased with the work that we went on to partner with them to also update the Corona location’s menu boards, creating a more consistent omni-channel brand experience between OOH and retail.