So, Gen Z and Millennials Relate Well to Popeyes

 

Popeyes Chicken, the classic fast-food chain that has been serving spicy, New Orleans style chicken since 1972, has recently experienced a surge of popularity among younger generations. Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes that customer focused relevant messaging including a Super Bowl ad will drive continued engagement.   

So, let’s look at some of the reasons why, a viral marketing campaign that sparked a social media frenzy over its new chicken sandwich.

The chicken sandwich, which was launched in August 2019, quickly sold out in two weeks, as customers lined up to try the crispy, juicy, and flavorful product. Popeyes cleverly ignited a Twitter war with its rival Chick-fil-A, which claimed to have the original and superior chicken sandwich. The online debate drew in millions of users, who posted memes, videos, and reviews of the sandwiches, creating a massive amount of free publicity for Popeyes.

According to Apex Marketing, the social media explosion generated approximately $65 million in equivalent ad revenue for Popeyes, based on the number of impressions and mentions it received across various platforms. Popeyes also gained more followers on Twitter in a single week than it had in two years, reaching a wider and younger audience.

The success of the chicken sandwich was not just a one-time phenomenon. Popeyes has continued to capitalize on its momentum by launching new products, such as the Cajun Flounder Sandwich and the Blackened Chicken Sandwich, that appeal to the taste preferences of Gen Z and Millennials. These generations are known for their love of spicy food, constant snacking, and adventurous eating habits. Popeyes has also leveraged its brand identity as a fun, authentic, and culturally diverse chain that resonates with the values and aspirations of these generations.

Popeyes has proven that viral marketing can be a powerful tool to attract and retain customers, especially in the highly competitive and saturated fast-food industry. By creating a buzz-worthy product, engaging with its fans and critics on social media, and staying true to its roots, Popeyes has established itself as a leader in the chicken sandwich category and a favorite among Gen Z and Millennials.

Yes, Popeyes has unveiled its first-ever Super Bowl commercial featuring actor, writer, and comedian Ken Jeong trying the famous brands’ new Wings for the first time.

This funny commercial is based on Jeong, who cryogenically froze himself 52 years ago waiting for the best-ever wing to be created. Jeong is unfrozen to discover Popeyes has permanently launched Wings in five delicious flavors – along with many other changes from 52 years ago, including drones, driverless cars, scooters, and new breeds of doodle dogs.

The advertisement was created by Popeyes in partnership with its creative agency, McKinney, and was directed by filmmaker and MTV Video Music and Grammy Award Winner Calmatic, who is well known for directing movies like House Party and White Men Can’t Jump. 

Sami Siddiqui, President of Popeyes North America, stated, “Football and Wings is the all-American pairing, so we couldn’t think of a better time to go all-in on launching our new wing line up than during the Super Bowl,” … “Ken Jeong is a comedic genius who really makes this commercial a lot of fun to watch.”

Popeyes new wings in five delicious flavors are available nationwide starting at $5.99 for 6-pieces: 

·         Ghost Pepper: The perfect balance of flavor and fire.  

·         Sweet ‘N Spicy: A sweet and spicy blend of chili, garlic and ginger.

·         Honey BBQ Wings: Tangy and sweet, like a good BBQ should be.   

·         Roasted Garlic Parmesan: The perfect blend of roasted garlic and parmesan cheese.   

·         Signature Hot: Nice and spicy with just a dash of southern sweetness

Looking for success clues of your own? Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced food marketing and business development ideations. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities, technology, or a new menu product segment.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

 

Carl's Jr. Branded Consumer Interactivity

Regular readers of this blog have been constantly reminded by Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® of the importance that branded food discovery, consumer interactivity that is participatory with the brand is. So when we find a great example we try to highlight it. 

Today that example is from Carl’s Jr. who is giving away fanny packs to ‘tweet decoders’. The Carl’s Jr. ‘Slider Hider’ Fanny Pack promotion is one of the best interactive promotions that we have seen this year it digital marketing and merchandise promotion will be an important part of the new electricity that drives top line sales and bottom line profits according to Johnson.  .

Here is how it works; Carl’s Jr. is challenging their Twitter followers to decode a series of tweets for the chance to win a Slider Hider fanny pack, the ultimate Sliders on the Sly swag. The Carl’s Jr. Slider Hider Fanny Pack is perfect for sneaking Sliders wherever you go.

The Sliders start at $1.25 each/ $1.75 for a double and are available at Carl’s Jr. locations now. Beginning yesterday (Friday July 27th at 2 pm (eastern), Carl’s Jr. begin blasting a series of coded tweets. There will be a total of 10 coded tweets (and 10 winners) over the course of the next two days. For each code, the first follower to quote-tweet with the decoded message will win a #SliderHider fanny pack (a fanny pack that perfectly fits Carl’s Jr.’s new Charbroiled Sliders) along with a gift card. On July 27, Carl’s Jr. will announce the winners and the decoded phrases.

When branded food marketing is combined with digital interaction, food, beverage, and logoed merchandise this will be a marked up-tick in interaction and an increase in consumer top-of-mind interaction. Success does leave clues and Carl’s Jr. has pick up all the right ones.    

Does your brand need a refresh? If your brand looks more like yesterday than today or tomorrow it just might be time that you called for outside eyes to help you drive inside results.  What is the new electricity that is driving your top line sales and bottom line profits?  Are your customer counts growing? 

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, urban clothing, grocerant consultants, urban farming (produce, seafood, etc.), autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, cash-less payments, digital hand held marketing. This program has all of that.

Foodservice retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships more now than ever before according to Johnson.

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Long Live Burger Kings Commercial’s and Gamification

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson has long encouraged retail foodservice operators from grocery store service deli’s, convenience stores, fast casual restaurants, fine fast restaurants, furniture stores, drug stores, and fast food restaurants to incorporate the FIVE P’s of food marketing into their brands with consumer focused interactivity and participation.

Burger King has a new interactive participatory TV commercial that does just that. Yes, the marketing team at Burger Kings has found a way to reach into your home and extend the TV commercial. (See the link to the AD below).  This is brilliant! It might also be a bit disturbing but brilliant none the less. It’s not they kind of gamification our Grocerant Guru® so often speaks of, but it is voice technology and interactive.

So basically Burger King is going to “Hack Your Google Home Device” press reports say.  I have a Google Home, I like it and have tried playing this AD and I can tell you it works some times.  I don’t know if  my laptop speaker was not loud enough or clear enough.  But I did not get the answer I or Burger King wanted.  My devise is still leaning.  I’m wondering if they should have started with Amazon’s Alexa? She is fantastic.

Burger King is leveraging voice technology and attempting “to highjack viewers’ voice-activated speakers to prolong the commercial” according to press reports.  Here is how it works according to press reports:

Prompted by an actor in the commercial saying, “OK, Google, what is the Whopper burger?” the intention is to trigger a Google Home device that would then begin to describe a Whopper from a Wikipedia entry, according to a demo.

“You’re watching a 15-second Burger King ad, which is unfortunately not enough time to explain all the fresh ingredients in the Whopper sandwich. But I’ve got an idea,” an actor says before asking Google to describe the sandwich.”  Like I said in my case playing the TV spot off my laptop it did not work as well as I would have liked”  but then again I’m kind of a nerd about this stuff.  Here is what is important.

In January as regular readers of this blog know we began with an blog titled Can Mobile Augmented-Reality Save Full Service Restaurants a couple days later we wrote a blog titled  Mobile Marketing + Virtual Retail vs Foodservice Brick and Mortar Retailers.  We wrote those blogs because the team at Tacoma, WA Foodservice Solutions® believes food marketing, food branding, and customer interaction has forever changed.  Technology and consumer adoption of that technology had driven that change.

Consumer’s overwhelming adoption and migration of smart phone technology including voice have driven rapid adoption of both Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Home devices. Burger Kings leadership in this marketing foray is to be commended. While it is not working perfectly nor is it understood fully how customers will react.  It is a stepping stone to a closer understanding of consumers, marketing reach, and voice ordering.  While this is an invasive tactic it is and will continue to garner consumer and industry buzz. 

Burger King would be well served to offer anyone who comments a free Whopper or by working with Google Home offer Google Home devise owners a reward for listening?  What else do you think Burger King should do to capture leader ship in this space other than partner with Amazon or Google for more proactive interactivity?  We have several ideations do you? 

Do your marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.