When Luz Bickert started working for Chili’s in her 20s, she knew she wanted to engage a young audience. Now, nine years later, as the director of social and digital marketing, she knows a thing or two about getting Gen Z to fall in love with Chili’s. (Those Wicked margarita TikToks? Yeah, she helped make those go viral.)
To anyone who loves to scroll, Bickert has a pretty sweet gig — I mean, spending time on social media is crucial to her role. Her higher-than-average screen time is a small price to pay for staying on top of the latest trends that are resonating with Gen Z. “I love to carve out 30 minutes during the day when my brain is fresh to scroll my phone, to see what’s happening, to see what Deuxmoi is posting, what Page 6 is posting,” Bickert tells Her Campus. (Honestly, who doesn’t?)
While some may find keeping up with trends challenging, Bickert thrives in the chaos of her fast-paced work environment. “Having to have a constant pulse on what’s going on, so you can jump in on those trends, is a challenge,” she says. “But it’s also a really fun task to be the brand that has a voice in that.”
Her work has paid off; Chili’s is no stranger to the cultural zeitgeist. One of Bickert’s favorite social campaigns that she worked on surrounded the opening of a Chili’s restaurant in Scranton, Pennsylvania (yes, of The Office fame). “We partnered with a couple of the actors from the show, and we did TikTok trends with them,” Bickert recalls. “I call it LOL-worthy content.”
Another one of Bickert’s most successful posts was also her most unexpected. “A couple years ago, we posted a really innocent TikTok … It was us putting up a sign in front of a Chili’s,” she says. “It looked just like the Spirit Halloween banner that we all see in suburbia when it’s getting to be Halloween time. It said ‘Chiliween.’” The post was one of the brand’s best-performing pieces of content. “It went super viral that year.”
If you’ve ever tried to get internet famous (I know you’re out there), you know how hard it is to predict what post is actually going to gain traction. Part of Bickert’s job is cracking that code. “Once you become a marketer and you work for a brand, leadership often asks you, ‘How can we make this go viral?’” Bickert says.
The truth is, there’s not one right answer. But one thing Bickert knows about Gen Z is that this generation doesn’t just want to consume content — they want to get in on the fun of making it. From the Triple Dipper craze to the cheese pull challenge, Chili’s trends make it so that anyone can create a viral moment, all while bringing attention to Chili’s products. “It creates a moment for you to get your phone out and create that shareability,” Bickert says.
Plus, Bickert knows Chili’s has a lot of history with its Gen Z audience, and that’s a fact she often comes back to in her work. “Everyone has a Chili’s memory,” Bickert says. “Nostalgia is the memories that make us happy … I feel like creating those moments for Gen Z has been a success.”
Beyond actually creating social media posts and campaigns, Bickert’s day-to-day consists of a lot of collaboration with other teams, sometimes in ways you wouldn’t expect. “If we’re going to launch a cheese pull campaign, I need to partner with a supply chain,” Bickert says. That’s because Chili’s trends tend to do so well, that if a social campaign is promoting a certain product, stores need to be well stocked and ready for the masses to come in and order it. “Communication is important,” she notes.
For college students dreaming of a job like hers, Bickert encourages them to take advantage of opportunities to build connections during their college years. “Create relationships and friendships with people outside of your friend group,” says Bickert. “We can all figure out what the trends are. We can all learn to write an awesome press release or a funny social post. But what differentiates someone that can do the job [from] someone that can do the job well is that relationship aspect.” So, the next time a classmate invites you out for apps and a round of Presidente margs, you just might want to say yes!