Meta Ads success story · Fast-casual restaurant franchise

How Teriyaki Madness lifted ad recall 31.6 points by making video for the phone, not TV.

Name: Overtop Media Digital Marketing
Address: 933 Louise Ave Suite 101-18, Charlotte, NC, 28204, US
Telephone: (704) 237-0707
Price range: $$

The fast-casual chain, with more than 200 franchise locations across the US, swapped repurposed TV spots for vertical video built for Reels and a much wider mix of creative. People remembered the ads, liked the brand more and were more likely to buy.

Business: Teriyaki Madness
Market: United States
Goal: Brand awareness, store traffic and sales

Glazed teriyaki-style chicken with sesame seeds over white rice

The results.

Measured against a control group of people who did not see the ads.

31.6 ptslift in ad recall
4 ptslift in brand favorability
2.3 ptslift in purchase intent

Meta brand lift test, October 6-December 14, 2025.

The challenge.

Teriyaki Madness has served cooked-to-order teriyaki bowls since 2003 and now has more than 200 franchise locations across the US. It wanted more people to know the brand, more visits to its restaurants and more sales.

Its earlier campaigns reused video first made for television. On a phone, TV spots struggle: they are horizontal, they open slowly and they look like ads, so people scroll past before the message lands.

Meta example of several vertical Reels video ads with a Shop now button

What they did.

Vertical Reels video · Creator videos · Diversified creative

More kinds of creative: Alongside its usual ads, the brand added creator videos and AI-generated videos built around far-fetched, real-life-style moments, following creative recommendations from Meta’s own campaign tools.
Made for Reels: Vertical Reels ads were shot full-screen with sound on, hooked viewers in the first seconds and kept the key message where it stays visible on screen.
Where people scroll: Ads ran in Facebook and Instagram Feed, Stories and Reels for adults 25-54, with budget moving automatically to the best-performing ads.
Measured in memory: A brand lift test surveyed people who saw the ads and a control group who did not, to measure what changed in their minds.

Why it worked.

Our read on the decisions behind the numbers, and what any business can take from them.

The phone is not a TV: Vertical, fast and sound-on video looks native on a phone. It earns attention instead of asking for it.
Variety reaches more people: Different styles of creative appeal to different people, and give the system more options to match the right ad to the right viewer.
Creators feel like recommendations: A real person eating a bowl they love reads like a tip from a friend, not a commercial.
Recall comes before visits: People cannot visit a restaurant they do not remember. A 31.6-point recall lift and higher purchase intent are the start of more orders.

How we would run this play for your business.

You do not need a national budget to use the same ideas. This is how Overtop Media Digital Marketing puts them to work in our meta ads management.

Shoot for the phone: We produce vertical video with the best local creators and videographers, made to stop the scroll in the first two seconds.
Launch several ideas at once: Every campaign starts with several creative concepts, and the budget follows the ones people respond to.
Local for every location: For multi-location restaurants, ads are tailored to each neighborhood, with directions and ordering one tap away.
Own the "near me" search: Hungry people search before they choose. Our Google Ads management and local search work catch them at that moment.