Mike's Hotdogs

about

Home of the foot-long wonder dog Mike’s Hotdogs has been a staple in New York City since 1952. Family owned and operated the hot dog joint has expanded in the last decade to 3 different locations in the city. With a fourth location opening in neighboring Boston, it was time to update the brand.

The goal of this redesign was to modernize the visual identity making it bright and bold with a splash of humor, using the inspiration of Mike the weiner dog as the centerpiece of the design. A new logo was created with supporting branding elements along with a new style guide for colors and typography.

Social media

Mike the wiener dog loves hotdogs and we wanted to showcase this on the social media branding of the restaurant. We made him the face of the restaurant online. Paired with shots taken on-site and stock photography, we crafted a campaign that Mike would be proud of.

The focus of this campaign was to freshen up the Facebook and Instagram profiles of the restaurant. Imagery focused on humor and community, pulling back from just posting food pictures. We did this to build an audience that could relate to the community and Mike the wiener dog. This led to customers sharing Mike and the jokes posts that were created.

"Working with Nikolai was a pleasure! He connected the dots between what he had and what we wanted in our company culture. Mike has always been a part of the business, but now he is the business! Redesigning the restaurant was a fear I had, talking to Nikolai changed that into a desire to change and grow my business"

Salvador DE Luca, Owner & head chef, mike's hotdogs

Results

• Since redesigning the take-out packaging for the restaurant take-out orders have increased, and customers have begun using the line "Taking Mike for a walk." on social media.

• The new restaurant in Boston quickly gained a cult following and brand recognition among locals, and the fourth restaurant has become a success.

• Mike has gained a small but engaging social media following on Instagram and Facebook.

Let's Tell Your Story.

Food Packaging

Take out made up a huge part of Mike's Hotdogs business before COVID but now has become 87% of their business. Partnered with GrubHub, Doordash, Mealo, and other food delivery services Mike's had to brand their take-out food to stand out.

By doing this every customer who left with food became a walking billboard. In a city filled with hotdog stands and thousands of competing restaurants, this became vital to beat the competition. Instead of leaving with a greasy brown bag, customers are taking Mike around the block for a walk. This concept was added to social media branding and added to the ordering process of the restaurant.

So will you be eating in today? Or will you be taking Mike for a walk?