Marketing Genious

**hairypumper** · 08-06-2012, 02:30 PM

If anyone deserves an eight figure salary it's the CEO of Chik-Filet. With one comment he set off a chain of events that brought nation wide free advertising and a huge boost in sales. There were many who had never eaten at Chik-Filet. If the food was good they may become repeat customers. Were they supporting his beliefs or his right to express them? What will he come up with next? He set the bar pretty high with this bit of marketing genious.

**evilkumquat** · 08-06-2012, 07:41 PM

**hairypumper** · 08-07-2012, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by evilkumquat

Yes Evil, I'm serious about this one. I think the next move should be to publicly thank the people who showed their support. If he can get the gays riled up enough to start picketing his stores it will bring more media attention and more business. According to the local news, people waited in line for an hour and a half to get served at one store in Fort Wayne. I doubt they would do it again, but if he could get a fourth of the business compared to that day it would be huge for their bottom line.

**evilkumquat** · 08-07-2012, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by hairypumper

Yes Evil, I'm serious about this one. I think the next move should be to publicly thank the people who showed their support. If he can get the gays riled up enough to start picketing his stores it will bring more media attention and more business. According to the local news, people waited in line for an hour and a half to get served at one store in Fort Wayne. I doubt they would do it again, but if he could get a fourth of the business compared to that day it would be huge for their bottom line.

Actually, this looks like more of a short-term boost that will likely have long-term negative repercussions:

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The national discussion surrounding Chick-fil-A’s support for what it calls a "biblical definition of the family unit," or opposition to same-sex marriage, has taken a toll on the brand’s perception among American consumers, according to new research from market research firm YouGov BrandIndex.

According to BrandIndex, Chick-fil-A’s index score sank from 64.9 out of 100 ahead of the controversy to 38.7 on July 25, or about 10 days following the media’s first pickup of the story. Chick-fil-A’s index score typically hovered nearly 20 points higher than the average index score for all the quick-service brands that BrandIndex tracks.

http://nrn.com/article/chick-fil-con...id-controversy

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I'd never really known much about Chick-fil-A beyond a vague recollection they were a churchy organization which, frankly, would have been enough for me to possibly avoid eating there had we one in the area. Now, of course, you couldn't pay me to eat there.

It is likely, considering how churches love to network, that most religious bigots would have supported Chick-fil-A anyway, knowing how "holy" their sandwiches are; now, however, the company has made its hate-filled position so well known that even those with no more than a passing familiarity with Chick-fil-A understand how backward and small-minded it is- a fact the company's bean counters recognize because they have issued official statements trying to back away from Cathy's ridiculous comments.

Somehow, their press release stating "going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena" doesn't sound like they appreciate the "genius" behind Cathy's bold pronouncements.

**hairypumper** · 08-07-2012, 12:01 PM

Thanks for the link. I have little to no faith in surveys. It's all about what questions you ask, how, and to whom. 2.5 million people worldwide isn't a very broad base for opinions. (Numbers from BrandIndex site) Their rating only dropped 20 points even with a negative 52 rating among gays. Of course the company has to be apologetic, but I don't see Cathy getting his hands slapped or anything. Yes, this is something that should pass shortly, but if the product is good it could mean more sales in the long term. Many of the people who stood in line had never eaten there before, I know two who told me it was very good and they would go back.

**evilkumquat** · 08-07-2012, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by hairypumper

Thanks for the link. I have little to no faith in surveys. It's all about what questions you ask, how, and to whom. 2.5 million people worldwide isn't a very broad base for opinions. (Numbers from BrandIndex site) Their rating only dropped 20 points even with a negative 52 rating among gays. Of course the company has to be apologetic, but I don't see Cathy getting his hands slapped or anything. Yes, this is something that should pass shortly, but if the product is good it could mean more sales in the long term. Many of the people who stood in line had never eaten there before, I know two who told me it was very good and they would go back.

I have even less faith in "friend of a friend" stories or hearsay.

Fewer and fewer companies are taking the bigot positions these days. Most are embracing diversity because they can see where the country has been and is heading.

I think Chick-fil-A has pretty much guaranteed itself a much smaller niche and zero appeal outside the Bible Belt.

**hairypumper** · 08-07-2012, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by evilkumquat

I have even less faith in "friend of a friend" stories or hearsay.

Fewer and fewer companies are taking the bigot positions these days. Most are embracing diversity because they can see where the country has been and is heading.

I think Chick-fil-A has pretty much guaranteed itself a much smaller niche and zero appeal outside the Bible Belt.

Perhaps you should have read the information from the organization you quoted. The company approval rating went up in the midwest, hardly the Bible Belt. When this all blows over they will be right back where they were if not slightly better.

**evilkumquat** · 08-07-2012, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by hairypumper

Perhaps you should have read the information from the organization you quoted. The company approval rating went up in the midwest, hardly the Bible Belt. When this all blows over they will be right back where they were if not slightly better.

I suppose time will tell, but if history is anything to go by (and it pretty much usually is), Chick-fil-A will lose a lot of market share unless they embrace diversity.

Otherwise, in twenty years, they will be another fast food footnote like Burger Chef and Hardees.

**Copycatted** · 08-08-2012, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by hairypumper

If anyone deserves an eight figure salary it's the CEO of Chik-Filet. With one comment he set off a chain of events that brought nation wide free advertising and a huge boost in sales. There were many who had never eaten at Chik-Filet. If the food was good they may become repeat customers. Were they supporting his beliefs or his right to express them? What will he come up with next? He set the bar pretty high with this bit of marketing genious.

Yeah Hairy (and going to the eight figure salary...) but who was it that not only loosened the cap on even that business generator and only on occasion had to (and militarily speaking) but anyway who has only on occasion ever had to change step on the principles of what he said he'd do if getting elected. Forget? about having been an U.S. Senator but what hasn't hurt either is that both he and the wife are attorneys at heart and am sure he'll have job security in 2016.

**hairypumper** · 08-30-2012, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by evilkumquat

I suppose time will tell, but if history is anything to go by (and it pretty much usually is), Chick-fil-A will lose a lot of market share unless they embrace diversity.

Otherwise, in twenty years, they will be another fast food footnote like Burger Chef and Hardees.

In that case, here are more that won't be around long. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...#slide=1432743

**evilkumquat** · 08-30-2012, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by hairypumper

In that case, here are more that won't be around long. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...#slide=1432743

Man, I haven't seen WordPerfect in YEARS. Does anyone still use that?

But thanks for reminding me about Dominos. We really don't like the pizza there (even though it has best online ordering system) and only get it when my daughter begs for it. Now I have a better reason for telling her "no".

**hairypumper** · 08-31-2012, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by evilkumquat

Man, I haven't seen WordPerfect in YEARS. Does anyone still use that?

But thanks for reminding me about Dominos. We really don't like the pizza there (even though it has best online ordering system) and only get it when my daughter begs for it. Now I have a better reason for telling her "no".

Don't feel bad, I had to ask my wife what WordPerfect was.

**evilkumquat** · 08-31-2012, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by hairypumper

Don't feel bad, I had to ask my wife what WordPerfect was.

Back in the day, all the law firms used it.

It was so primitive, you had to manually enter code to make text bold, underlined or italicized. As in, an actual written command in the middle of your sentence if you wanted to bold a word in it, like how HTML works today when you type <BOLD>BOLD</BOLD>. I cannot remember the old codes, but that's roughly how it worked.