The idea was to use the food as a canvas and a palette to take part in the popular culture conversations of the day. Content was strategically crafted around movie releases, television premieres and gaming. The focus was on key communities within each that drilled several layers down and identified with fans in a way that was relevant to them. Arby’s food and packaging was used in each post as subject matter, as opposed to the industry-standard sandwich beauty shot with price point.

Taking a “fellow fan” approach, we geared our creative toward niche topics, cult followings and inside jokes — ultimately reaching a mostly untapped, under-engaged audience hungry for smart, compelling and shareable content. In QSR terms, we discovered an underserved market and fed its hunger. Over and over again.

And we couldn’t have done it without Facebook. The platform’s unique ability to deliver targeted interest buckets allowed us to reach and engage with new, clever audiences. The platform enables our fans to engage, allowing Arby’s to join in on the conversation in real time and provide additional content. Our efforts to date on Facebook have been so successful that they’ve opened new opportunities for Arby’s to interact with the gaming/nerdist audience outside of the platform itself.

Fans ate it up. They showed their love for the “true insider” content that Arby’s was serving up by responding, engaging and sharing in droves. Engagement increased by 175% in just a few months. Sentiment also jumped to an all-time high: Overall net sentiment reached +56% and — best of all — the brand was able to link social posts to actual food sales: Arby’s stores nationwide experienced a record-breaking 8.0% increase in sales in 2015.

And that myth that younger consumers aren’t interested in fast food? We debunked it. We also proved that when it comes to connecting with younger generations, a 52-plus-year-old heritage brand can still be young at heart.

Our efforts earned accolades and attention outside of social media, too, with articles and mentions on Adweek, Reddit and Nintendo News — just to name a few.