Connecting With Speedway's Superfans
IRVING, Texas — Earlier this month, 7-Eleven Inc. launched its first-ever brand campaign for Speedway. The two well-known banners joined forces following a $21 billion deal between 7-Eleven and Marathon Petroleum Corp. in 2021. Now, 7-Eleven is putting Ohio-based Speedway in the spotlight.
The multichannel campaign highlights food and beverage items that have helped make Irving-based 7-Eleven the top convenience store chain in the United States — including Big Gulp, Big Bite Hot Dogs, taquitos and 7-Eleven's frozen beverage, the Slurpee — and are now available across all Speedway stores.
To help get the message out, the company connected with musician, influencer and Speedway superfan, JD Eicher.
"We brought two of the largest, most respected brands in convenience under one umbrella. Now, we get to showcase the Speedway banner with the help of a real customer and brand fan like JD Eicher," Marissa Eddings, 7-Eleven's senior director of digital marketing, told Convenience Store News.
As Eddings explained, the retailer found Eicher online where he would post odes to Speedway on Instagram. A collaboration soon formed.
"We love his authenticity and how he truly loves Speedway. When we proposed a collaboration, it was so obvious that it was really just a matter of deciding how we could work together," Eddings said. "We're really excited about the results. JD's a huge fan of Speedway coffee. We call that out, but as the campaign says, 'There's more.' There's Big Gulp. There's Slurpee. There's Big Bite, doughnuts and Speedway's one-of-a-kind loyalty program, Speedy Rewards. We're bringing beloved products together and maintaining the integrity of our brands."
As someone who spends a lot of his time on the road, Eicher is no stranger to convenience stores, gas stations and rest stops. His job initially brought him to Speedway's door, but it is what's inside that keeps him coming back.
"Over the years, I found myself gravitating to Speedway stores because of their reliability and consistency. It was their coffee that really got me, though. The coffee is great and on the road, it's nice to know I can get a consistently good cup — and quickly," Eicher told CSNews.
As a musician and influencer, bringing his love of the brand to social media was a natural fit.
"It started with a video from a show where I was drinking Speedway coffee during the performance and talking about it being great. I posted it just for fun, and Speedway got in touch and asked if I'd like to partner and do more," he recalled.
That partnership developed into the current Speedway campaign, which is composed of 15-second TV spots; 15- and 30-second radio spots; six-, 15- and 30-second social and online videos; streaming audio and video; out-of-home marketing; paid digital; and search and programmatic displays.
"The team really let me run with the videos that followed, so I've just kept saying yes to more ideas. I love when companies have a sense of humor and fun spirit in their marketing, and so I've been excited to work with them on these campaigns. It just keeps being fun, so I keep wanting to do more," Eicher said.
The Speedway campaign will run through 2024.
7-Eleven Inc. operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the United States and Canada. In addition to 7-Eleven stores, the retailer operates and franchises Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Co. and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits locations.
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