Popeyes let Chick-fil-A build its ad for free

Popeyes launched a new fried chicken sandwich on August 12, 2019, entering a category Chick-fil-A had defined and dominated for years with far greater brand recognition and marketing resources — a category leader Popeyes had no realistic paid-media budget to out-shout directly. For the first week after launch, the sandwich generated only modest attention.

On August 19, Chick-fil-A posted a tweet reading 'Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the [heart emoji] for the original' — a pointed, if subtle, dig at Popeyes' new sandwich a week after its debut. Popeyes' social media team replied with two words: 'Y'all good?'

The two-word reply escalated into a public, days-long back-and-forth between the two chains' social accounts that other brands, media outlets and ordinary fans piled onto voluntarily, none of it paid placement. Popeyes' 'y'all good?' tweet alone drew over 320,000 likes and grew the brand's Twitter following by roughly 60% in the following weeks, versus a 4% increase for Chick-fil-A over the same period.

Provoked a public feud with a two-word reply, turning the incumbent's own audience and the media into free megaphones for the challenger.

Chick-fil-A's dig gave Popeyes a hook to reply, turning a one-off post into a conversation.

The two-word reply was witty and relatable, prompting fans and other brands to join in.

Media coverage of the feud amplified the exchange far beyond the original tweets.

The free attention drove massive demand, selling out the sandwich and boosting sales.

When you can't win a spending war, bait the leader into engaging on your terms; their reaction becomes your free media.

Popeyes sold out of the new sandwich nationwide within 15 days of launch — the company's biggest product launch in 30 years — with sandwich sales estimated at around 1,000 units per store per day and store traffic roughly doubling during the period it was available; the product had to be pulled and relaunched two months later to meet demand. The unpaid Twitter exchange generated a reported $87 million in earned media value, and Popeyes' full-year same-store sales rose 13%, contributing roughly $1 billion in system-wide sales, off a campaign that spent almost nothing on paid media.