The story a brand tells is as important as the product or service it sells. While getting a story in front of the consumer is easier than ever before (with the help of paid support, of course), ensuring they consume and actually absorb that piece of content is much more challenging.

Because consumers spend the majority of their time on a page above the screen fold, keeping them engaged and scrolling through the story is a challenge for every brand and marketer. Culver’s knew this, and that’s why they tasked our team with telling the story about the Midwest’s fish fry tradition. Our goal was to tell the story in a way that would catch the guests’ attention while building a deeper connection between them and the Culver’s brand.

The Task: Educate Website Visitors

Considering Culver’s Wisconsin roots, it’s no surprise that Lent is a popular time for their guests to visit local restaurants to enjoy a classic fish fry. But given that Culver’s is rapidly expanding across the country, there are many guests from outside the Midwest who don’t have familiarity with, affinity for or deep connections to Culver’s seafood menu items like Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp and North Atlantic Cod – whether during the Lenten season or beyond it.

To educate these guests on the history of the Midwestern fish fry and explain what’s on a traditional menu, we created the “What is a Fish Fry?” branded content interactive website.

With a proper nod to that classic fish-fry experience, the website celebrates the Midwestern tradition by highlighting five must-haves when enjoying a fish fry (all of which you can also order at Culver’s). Once the consumer dives in, they are immersed in what constitutes fish fry heaven with responsive-page scrolling that unveils delicious images that feature some of Culver’s finest seafood menu items.

There are also historical fun facts woven throughout to help readers understand how fish fries came to be so iconic, including the effects from Prohibition, the impact of immigrants on Midwest customs and traditions and even the rise of supper clubs in America.

The Results: Authentic Engagement Measured in Scroll Depth

“What is a Fish Fry” netted nearly 250,000 unique sessions in an eight-week period, with 31% of visitors scrolling through the entire piece. In addition to these record-setting benchmarks, this branded content piece also captured more than 20,000 downloads for a recipe for fish fry batter. The recipe appeared at the very bottom of the interactive webpage and was a first for Culver’s.

There’s nothing like a fish fry to prove that authentic storytelling leads to more meaningful content consumption and absorption as well as greater connectivity with the target.

Interested in discovering what an in-depth and interactive content piece could look like for your brand? Reach out to Dana Arnold darnold@heibing.com to schedule a call.