Chipotle Mexican Grill (ticker: CMG) is channeling the Backstreet Boys in its latest attempt to win back consumers.
A cover of “I Want It That Way” plays during Chipotle’s newest video, “A Love Story,” which presents the tale of competing cartoon lemonade stands.
The restaurant chain, plagued by food illness outbreaks earlier this year, has made numerous attempts to recover, including giving away free food.
“A Love Story,” posted to YouTube on Tuesday, ends with a reminder about Chipotle’s new summer rewards program, yet another attempt to lure customers.
The video has been viewed more than 519,000 times as of Thursday morning, though MarketWatch points out previous videos garnered millions of views.
Chipotle has increasingly stood out among its competitors in the fast casual sector, though its E. coli scares shook its standing in the market. Trading at more than $758 per share a year ago, Chipotle now has a market capitalization of $11.6 billion and its shares have fallen to less than $400. CMG stock continued its fall Thursday, down 2.5 percent in morning trading.
In February, Chipotle’s fourth-quarter earnings posted a dismal 43.5 percent dip than the year before, at $2.17 a share. Revenue failed to meet analysts’ expectations, only hitting $999.7 million instead of $1.01 billion.
“(Chipotle needs) to do two things: Fight front-on what has happened over the next two months,” Scott Rothbort, president of LakeView Asset Management in Millburn, New Jersey, told U.S. News & World Report in February. “They also need to look and say, we have an opportunity here, a free roll of the dice, to improve upon our brand and bring in people who weren’t here before. I think that this is the type of management team that can do it.”
Other problems still linger for the company. Chipotle put Mark Crumpacker, chief creative and development officer, on leave after a New York Daily News report cited him as one of 18 customers of a purported cocaine ring named in an indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Crumpacker surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and was charged with seven counts of possession of a controlled substance, the Associated Press reports. He was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court in September.
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Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) Aims to Win Back Customers With New Video originally appeared on usnews.com
