Chick Fil-A: 'Eat Mor Chikin'

Exactly one year ago I stepped into Chick Fil-A for the first time and my life was changed. Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic.. but you need to understand that as a marketing fanatic and lover of sandwiches, I was ecstatic to find both in one place. While I gobbled (yes, because that is how quickly I ate) this sandwich, I  came across one of the wittiest strategic marketing campaigns I have ever seen.

Let's dissect this image further, shall we?

America is renowned for its plethora of fast-food restaurants with revenue reaching 191 billion USD in 2013 (Statista, 2014) easily making it the largest market for fast-food in the world. Dominated by fast-food giants from the likes of McDonald's, Subway, and Yum! Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc) the industry is heavily speculated by market researchers to be in the mature stage of its life cycle. In such a large market dominated by big players like McDonald's what chances does a small fast-food chain have?

One of the fascinating things about Chick Fil-A's marketing strategy has been its ability to analyse their competitors and strategically position themselves as a niche fast-food chain.

Using Peter Drucker's theory that there are three levels of a product, one can see how Chick Fil-A has assessed themselves in relation to their competitors. As an augmented product, Chick Fil-A's offerings can be seen as a general service that can entertain or satisfy similar needs. For example: diners, restaurants, and even movie theatres and amusement parks. The Actual product, on the other hand, would be related to the fast food industry: McDonald's, Wendy's, Yum! Brands, etc. What distinguishes Chick Fil-A's marketing strategy from other fast-food restaurants is how they define their core product: a CHICKEN fast-food restaurant. By defining their core product in this way, Chick Fil-A separates themselves from the McDonald's and the Subways of this world and severely shortens their list of direct competitors to the likes of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. 

Once this simple product strategy was defined, Chick Fil-A went on to design a marketing campaign to communicate this message. Featuring a cow holding up a witty sign that says 'Eat Mor Chikin', the campaign differentiates Chick Fil-A from the traditional beef/cow-based fast food restaurant (e.g. McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc.). In addition to adding some sass and humour anyone in the family can appreciate, the ad communicates the product strategy perfectly. And what of the cow? The cow continues to be featured in equally comical billboards becoming an icon of the brand; the Ronald McDonald or Jared of Chick Fil-A.