Viral marketing fuels Popeye’s sandwich relaunch success

The Popeyes chicken sandwich is now permanently back in restaurants, launched on November 3 in, what else, a tweet.

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Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Sales

The Popeyes chicken sandwich is now permanently back in restaurants, launched on November 3 in, what else, a tweet.

The return of the Popeyes chicken sandwich has generated a 300% increase in restaurant visits compared to the normal baseline, says Placer.ai, a company that tracks retail foot traffic and other data, exceeding the 255.6% increase seen in August with the original launch.

Chicken is considered one of fastest growing segments of quick service restaurant menus. During the 2010s, the number of quick-serve restaurants specializing in chicken increased 40% and the revenue generated by chicken at quick-serve restaurants food revenue tripled, according to a July report from IBIS World.

Online buzz led to 2019 chicken sandwich war

The chicken sandwich craze of 2019 almost wasn't. The August 12 launch of the fried chicken sandwich from quick service restaurant Popeyes Louisiana Chicken nearly went unnoticed. That is — until seven days later — when rival restaurant Chick-fil-a sent out a tweet reminding customers that their own sandwich was "the original chicken sandwich."

The resulting Twitter feud generated major buzz, garnering rave reviews for the Popeyes sandwich which sold out in less than two weeks.

Customers and fans debated online which chicken sandwich was better, with the term #chickensandwichwars rising to the top of trending topics on Twitter.

A case study in how to launch a limited time offer

Nick Reader, chief executive and co-founder of regional chicken chain PDQ, called the Popeyes sandwich launch "a case study in how to launch a limited-time offer." Forbes Magazine called the launch a "marketing win" that generated "$65 million in equivalent media value as a result of the Chicken Sandwich Wars."

Social media interaction played a crucial role in getting people excited about the Popeyes' sandwich, Reader noted. The quick-serve restaurant's online campaign targeted rival Chick-fil-a in a digitally edgy way that attracted customers.

"Word traveled fast that the sandwich is delicious and created an unprecedented demand. A lot of the buzz was created organically on social media,” Felipe Athayde, president of Popeyes for the Americas, told USA Today’s Kelly Tyko. “Our guests were engaging with us and we decided to have some fun alongside them.”

"I attribute the success to 'Influencer Marketing by Accident.' Popeyes chicken sandwich went viral after a dunk from Chick-fil-a. Popeyes’ sharp response by its social media team won them their chicken victory: 11 characters earned them over $20 million, 25,000 new followers, and priceless brand recognition," De'Andre Brown, an account manager and public relations specialist for communications firm LMD, wrote.

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