How Bigballs and Red’s True BBQ are Using Instagram Video to Help You Ditch the January Diet

We’re now over two weeks into January – how’s the New Year diet holding up? If it’s starting to feel like death by a million cucumbers, this story is bound to test your resolve. Red’s True Barbecue is dedicated to spreading the gospel of properly slow braised meaty goodness to the heathens of the UK. To help spread the word about their newest restaurant, they joined forces with production company Bigballs. With a dedicated flock of followers and social media-savvy Head of Marketing, Instagram Video was the perfect platform for the campaign. Driven by passion for the barbecue pit and, err, a hunger to succeed the Bigballs team created 30 videos to roll out over 30 days and build up Red’s True’s very own self-help programme. LBB’s Laura Swinton caught up with Bigballs Head of Commercial Content Luke Taylor to find out more about working with the meaty messiahs. 

LBB> When you started talking to Reds True, what were they looking to achieve? What was their brief?

LT> Their main goal was to raise awareness for the opening of their Nottingham branch and to put a bit of a two fingers up to the January health fads that hit us all at this time of year. We loved their tone of voice and wanted to create something that worked throughout all their social platforms while still shining a light on the Nottingham launch.

LBB> There's a lot of interaction on their videos and the brand seems quite open to chatting with people on their social media platforms - were they already quite a socially savvy brand?

LT> We've known their Head Of Marketing James Newman for quite some time now and he's always been ahead of the curve in social. They understand the value of their customers and their voices, so communicating with them on a daily basis is integral to their brand.

LBB> Restaurants are, in some ways, pretty different from other kinds of clients as they often become part of the local community in which they're based - how did this effect the approach you took?

LT> The first thing they told us when we met them in their Leeds restaurant was how people would start queuing at 11am for a 12pm opening. And as if on cue, we looked out the window and saw people starting to wait. Immediately we could see how important this place was to the local community and we felt a duty to give something meaningful back to their fans, which is why we stupidly suggested that we'll make 30 films to go out daily through January, knowing we only had one day to shoot! 

LBB> Why was Instagram video the best platform for them to reach out and tell their story?

LT> We liked the 15 second rule on Instagram and took it as a challenge to make funny and engaging films that encapsulated the personalities of Scott and James (Owners) and their brand. They also wanted to increase their Instagram following and the films equally stood up on their Facebook channels.

LBB> When you started working on the brief what were your initial thoughts?

LT> WHY DID WE SAY WE COULD MAKE 30 FILMS!!? Mainly, we loved the guys' approach to no-nonsense honest food. They are literally geeks of the meat smoking world and we were excited to bring that to life.

LBB> And how did the self-help idea come about?

LT> The guys had always loved the cheesy American self-help films and showed us references like 'The Game' and 'The Secret'. They had always had it in their minds that they wanted to put a spin on this.

LBB> Even though the videos are short, the story is quite a long and developed, detailed one - how did you go about fleshing out all of the mini-ideas that contribute to the main idea?

LT> We took mantras from actual self-help sites and then called upon the legendary Phil Kerr, a brilliant comedy writer we've worked with on numerous occasions. He did a great job of taking the mantras and incorporating the menu and comedy into the scripts.

LBB> In terms of production, what were the main challenges?

LT> This was a labour of love, so mainly budget and time. But the amount of fun we had during the day's filming pulled us all through it, which I hope is reflected on screen. There's a very funny bloopers reel that will be shown at the end of the 30-day campaign.

LBB> What more can we look forward to from the campaign and, without giving too much away, what are you building up to?

LT> Eating the actual food. You'll have to come down to the opening with us, meet the guys and taste the best slow-cooked Nebraskan brisket you will ever have tasted in your life.