Using Email to Build Suspense & Response: A Chick-fil-A Case Study

You may have heard recently that the fast food franchise, Chick-fil-A, launched a new Spicy Chicken Sandwich. What you may not have heard was that they ran a special invite-only event promotion to taste the new sandwich (for free!) well in advance of its launch date.  I was lucky enough to be forwarded the link to their reservation page (www.getspicychicken.com) by a friend and fellow fried-chicken-sandwich-lover, signed up immediately, and shared the link on Twitter.  First, I received this reservation confirmation message, with a link to print out my invite (click to view larger):

Chick-fil-A Confirmation Email

Chick-fil-A Invite to Print

This email read like a personal note, included all of the information I need to know to get my free spicy chicken sandwich (date/time, location, and the link to the invite itself), and even included the name and photo of the store’s manager to add to the personal touch.  I had 11 days to go before the big day, but I couldn’t wait.  The day before Spicy Chicken Sandwich Day, I received this friendly reminder:

Again, clear and simple instructions for redemption, a link to print my invite in case I lost it, and directions to the store. Perfect timing, and once again, I’m excited to try the spicy version of one of my favorite fast food indulgences.

So the day finally comes, we go to Chick-fil-A, trade in the invites for free sandwiches, and pay for our drinks and fries.  Interestingly, there was no signage or anything that denoted the day’s special events, which actually made us feel as if we were getting something special that others weren’t, nor were they even aware of it for that matter. They did have a few tabletop tents in one section that said “Reserved for Spicy VIP” – a clever way to add to the mystique and give a wink to those in the know.

The verdict on the sandwich?  Delicious.  I hope they’re planning to make spicy nuggets as well. The verdict on this email campaign to drive attendance? It must have been good, as Chick-fil-A moved forward with the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and rolled it out on menus nationwide a few weeks later.  Maybe they were planning on launching it regardless – if anything, this promotion gave them the opportunity to get feedback on the sandwich pre-launch, and get people talking about it before it hit stores. I went back to their landing page recently to try and get a screenshot, and found it had changed to signify the end of the promotion.  They conveniently included links to become Email Insiders and Text Insiders, as well as their Facebook and Twitter pages. Guess who’s a proud Chick-fil-A Email Insider now?

Think about how you could do something similar to this to promote a new product, an event in your store (online or brick-and-mortar), or your presence at a trade show. If you’ve experienced something similar, please share in the comments below!

Julie Waite
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto