How Cool is this a Mobile App to inspire holiday cooking…..The Safeway Chef Assistant iPhone app.

Safeway Chef Assistant App

When I saw this come through yesterday, of course as a Mobile and Local Internet Marketing specialist I had to download the App.  This is really cool!  When I loaded it up from my ipod, I was greeted by the sound of a Turkey.  It was so funny, Casey (our dog) started to park, thinking an animal was in the house. It was so funny!  However, Safeway claims you can cook a turkey in a 2-hour window.   Mmmmm, I am not fully sold on that yet.  Since I haven’t cooked my turkey yet, I cannot honestly say that this works.  I am really curious though.

Safeway is helping consumers prepare for the holidays with a recipe and a Mobile iPhone App.  What a concept!  Talking about giving customers what they want.  Safeway did a survey to their customers and the results showed that there was an opportunity to build a broader awareness of all that Safeway has to offer to alleviate seasonal stress. According to the survey, 58 percent of women said their biggest holiday regret is being so busy that they don’t get to enjoy the food or company. To win back some of the lost time, the Safeway’s new Chef Assistant free mobile application shows how easy it is to prepare a flawless, moist and delicious turkey with an exclusive 2-Hour Turkey Recipe. In addition to step-by-step instructions on how to prepare, cook and carve a turkey, the application features four custom timers and reminders to ensure steps aren’t missed.

Combined with their Holiday Inspirations website and the “Chef Assistant” Mobile App, Safeway provides inspiring solutions to help with holiday menus, events but more importantly their Mobile App. What a way to be connected with their customers even when the stores are closed over the holidays.  How many times do you think people will be mentioning the word “Safeway”.  What a brilliant way of name branding.

The Chef Assistant app is available for free in Apple‚ App Store.

Mobile cooker

• The app is aimed at moms and families who are looking for tips on cooking holiday meals.
• Using the app, users can view step-by-step directions on how to cook a turkey in two hours.
• Consumers can view tools inside the app to find the perfect cooking time for their turkey based on its weight.
• The app also includes a three-minute video demonstration that walks users through the process of preparing a turkey meal.
• Food lovers can also watch a video on how to carve a turkey.
• To cater to Safeway‚ target demographic of savvy moms, the app aims to make meal preparation simple with four ingredients.
• In order to move forward through each step, users must indicate that they have completed a step by tapping.
• Consumers can also set a virtual timer to cook their turkey with voice reminders.
• The app also features a section with commonly-asked questions about cooking a turkey.
• For example, one of the questions is, should I not stuff the turkey before cooking?‚
• In addition to cooking content, the app is branded with Safeway and its other owned grocery chains.
• Safeway has also rolled out a mobile Web site that is holiday-themed with tips for entertaining and cooking during the holiday season.
• Users can access the mobile site at mobile.safeway.com for recipes and receive tips from Safeway chefs Jeff Anderson and Debi Lilly.

Mobile Grocery Store

With the holidays quickly approaching, many grocery stores are rolling out mobile initiatives similar to Safeway.  For Safeway, the special-edition app is a unique decision because it focuses on Safeway, consumers but does not offer any in-store features, such as a location finder or store deals.  However, their mobile site features a location finder, deals and links to follow the grocer’s social media links, which are all important features for a mobile site to have.  They created the Safeway Chef Assistant mobile app to help there customers spend less time cooking and more time with their family and friends jsut like their survey showed.

Cheryl’s Final Take

I think this is an amazing App for a grocery store.  In September 2011, Safeway surveyed 525 women who have hosted or are planning to host a holiday party via online provider, Zoomerang. Given that 40 percent of the women surveyed said their biggest holiday stress is accomplishing everything that needs to be completed within budget, Safeway delivered affordable solution….FREE App. It is all about the customer and not about them, but yet, their name (Safeway) will be in front of millions of people all around the world even when their door closes for the holidays.  What a great branding idea! Many grocery stores may want to model this type of Mobile Marketing strategy for their business.

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,694 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $41.1 billion in 2010. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

If you are thinking in developing an App for your business or you are considering implementing Mobile and Local Marketing strategies and tactics for your business, please visit our website at http://www.cheryllynninternational.com.  We look forward to working with you and your business! 905.981.8761