Sometimes a fail is the result of incredible carelessness and it’s so blatant, there’s no hiding it. Chick-fil-A’s recent promotion of National Sandwich Day is a prime example. Chick-fil-A sent out emails promoting National Sandwich Day, only to be made aware that National Sandwich Day fell on a Sunday, a day Chick-fil-A is famous for being closed.
While this fail is small and very unlikely to harm the brand, it does reflect a serious problem in Chick-fil-A’s marketing department. Specifically, a lack of diligence and process. Any competent marketing organization ensures there is a solid process behind how promotions are planned and executed. It’s very clear that there was either no such process in place at Chick-fil-A or it wasn’t adhered to with this promotion.
Here’s where failure meets opportunity. WIthout missing a beat, the social media folks over at Popeye’s stepped in with a light-hearted jab at Chick-fil-A.
This is a tiny fail, but a team careless enough to make this kind of mistake is capable of much larger mistakes. Kudos to the Popeye’s team for turning a competitor’s fail into their brand’s opportunity.
Author’s note: The pun “Chiclk-fil-A? More like Chick-fil-D-” was not used on this story out of our committment to serious journalism.