The Time Shop

Client

Industry

Background

Since first opening its doors, Chick-fil-A has valued quality time together. From building relationships between Team Members and Customers to encouraging shared moments between friends and families, togetherness has been at the core of their business philosophy. And during the holiday season, we wanted to extend that spirit of generosity even further. Our first-ever animated film tells the story of a family rediscovering the importance of time well spent with the help of a fearless little girl, a whimsical Time Shop, and a friendly Timekeeper.

At the center of our holiday campaign are Time Cards: printed cards in beautifully foiled envelopes that guests can personalize with a duration of time and an activity they want to share with a loved one in the upcoming year. From “8 hours of ice fishing” to, “45 minutes of handing down recipes,” it’s the time together that counts. Cards are available beginning on Thanksgiving Day in restaurants and at timeshop.com, and in December, at our pop-up experience in New York City.

Idea

Inspired by the film, we created an interactive pop-up experience in New York City, where guests can visit a real-life version of The Time Shop and learn, just like the family in our film, the power of time together. The popup will encourage guests to explore custom rooms inspired by different ways of sharing quality time: Story Time, Play Time, and of course, Snack Time. Before leaving, guests enter Giving Time, a room where they can create their Time Card to give to someone special. The Time Shop was free to visit, with reservations to be made online, and will be open to the public at 105 Wooster Street from 12/4 – 12/17, 11:00 AM-7:00 PM, except Sundays.

The New York pop-up required a colossal production. Workers clocked more than 9,000 hours creating and installing the elements to bring the film to life. Load-in began Nov. 1 and spanned an entire month, requiring work shifts of up to 18 hours by a 40-person crew. Nearly all scenic material was custom-built for the experience and designed in tandem with the animation of the campaign’s film.

Results

Ultimately, The Time Shop did exactly what it was designed to do—facilitate quality time with loved ones. And the data doesn’t lie: Visitors to The Time Shop spent an average of 50 minutes inside, nearly double what Chick-fil-A projected at the beginning of the program. And post-event data revealed that 92 percent of attendees would “definitely recommend the experience to a friend,” more than 7,876 time cards were created as gifts and more than 81,359 hours of time were gifted to others, ensuring the impact extended beyond the activation. Turns out time was on Chick-fil-A’s side.

AVERAGE TIME IN EXPERIENCE

50+ Minutes

TOTAL HOURS GIFTED

3,473,479

"My Favorite Holiday Campaign" - Forbes

"This campaign will make you cry" - USA Today