Chick-fil-A’s ‘The Brake Room’ was a haven for food delivery workers

More than 65,000 food delivery workers work in New York City, connecting consumers with their favorite restaurants at almost any hour through third-party delivery apps. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here But the convenience for consumers comes at the expense of the workers, who endure long hours and travel significant distances with little time to take a lunch break, use the facilities and just relax. With this in mind, Chick-fil-A wanted to give the workers a free place to park their bikes, warm up, charge their phones, use Wi-Fi and enjoy coffee and tea. “The Brake Room,” developed by McCann New York, operated on the Upper East Side from Feb. 16 to April 13, 2023. The campaign aimed to support delivery workers and raise awareness about their contributions. The initiative “felt genuine,” said one Creativity Awards juror. Another juror added how it was part of Chick-fil-A’s “brand DNA.” “We created The Brake Room as a small gesture, a little thing to thank them for all they do to serve our guests, especially in a market experiencing high demand in sometimes harsh winter weather conditions,” said Joe Saracino, senior VP of brand strategy, advertising and media at Chick-fil-A, when the pop-up was announced. He described food delivery workers as an extension of the Chick-fil-A restaurant experience, highlighting their importance to the business. “The Brake Room” garnered a positive response from delivery workers, with 99% feeling cared for, and generated 1.8 billion media impressions and $10.5 million in earned media. Following the initiative, Grubhub and delivery e-bike rental platform JOCO opened their own hub for restaurant delivery workers in New York. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here

Chick-fil-A’s ‘The Brake Room’ was a haven for food delivery workers

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