POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN | CHICKEN WARS | 2020
A Two-Word Tweet Sold Out a Sandwich / POPEYES "CHICKEN WARS"
In August 2019, a tweet of just 15 characters shook up the restaurant industry. The story goes that a chicken sandwich — ten weeks' worth of stock — sold out in just eight days.
The problem
The chicken sandwich market had long been dominated by Chick-fil-A. Popeyes was the challenger, launching a new sandwich into that market on August 12, 2019.
The insight
Popeyes' team was keeping an eye on what people were saying about the brand online, and noticed that fans were already comparing them to Chick-fil-A on their own, without any prompting. The conversation had started before Popeyes ever stepped in.
The idea
A few days after Chick-fil-A tweeted that they were the "original," Popeyes replied with just "...y'all good?" Wendy's jumped in too, turning it into a three-way Twitter spat that spread fast, especially among Black Twitter users.
What happened
The tweet gathered more than 320,000 likes, and reportedly generated 800 million impressions worth an estimated $87 million in media value. As a result, ten weeks' worth of sandwiches sold out in just eight days. At Cannes Lions, it won Gold in the PR category, along with Silver and Bronze in other categories.
Afterthought
Just two words. But those two words were only possible because of the quiet, unglamorous work behind them — constantly watching what fans were already saying. It's a good reminder that sometimes timing and paying attention beat flashy creative work.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2020
