Last month in this very blog, we covered the culinary Godzilla that is KFC’s Double Down. The marketing and buzz for the heart-clogging delight was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Not to be outdone, everybody’s favorite closed-on-Sunday chicken hut, Chik-Fil-A, has launched an online, full-tilt boogie campaign for its new spicy chicken sandwich.
For being widely considered an old-fashioned, good-family-values kind of fast food chain, Chik-Fil-A knows how to rock online marketing, social media and positive word of mouth. Chik-Fil-A tweets regularly about it new store openings and value meal deals, but this media monster is sort of a groundbreaker for a place that always played second fiddle to the Colonel.
So what the heck is this promotion, anyway? Well, according to Time Magazine online, Chik-Fil-A is playing a guest list game with online fans. The new spicy chicken sandwich (which only will be available for a limited time) won’t even be on the menu until June 7th, but those who register on the company’s website get a free sample of the sammie from May 31st through June 5th. The website is careful to inform customers that they need to bring ID before Chik-Fil-A will relinquish its latest product.
“All this for a chicken sandwich?!?” you might be screaming. And I agree that the hubbub over such an item hasn’t been seen in quite awhile. Nevertheless, you have to give Chik-Fil-A a marketing gold star for getting people to talk about it. Facebook is abuzz with mentions of the offer as fans share their experiences and overall excitement. One friend of mine sent it out as a post with the disclaimer “This is not a scam! Let’s go!” On Twitter, Chik-Fil-A was even a hot trending topic last week.
At this stage of the game, Chik-Fil-A has already won. They’ve created a fury over a little sandwich – not because its grotesque but simply because folks are excited about it. Chik-Fil-A has been gaining on KFC’s lead for the last few quarters, which means we may just see the beginning of an online chicken marketing war. Let the feathers fly!
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