McKinney’s first work for Popeyes debuts a brand new positioning for the model, fittingly titled “We Don’t Make Sense, We Make Hen.”
The 30-second spot revolves round New Orleans tradition and is about to air on digital channels subsequent month, earlier than nationwide out of residence and TV activations launch in June. The quick advert packs a punch, capturing all of the eclectic and memorable websites and scenes one would possibly absorb whereas strolling the French Quarter.
Popeyes, based in New Orleans in 1972, desires customers to recollect town it hails from. It additionally desires them to acknowledge that identical to New Orleans, it does issues a little bit in another way than its rivals. It’s bought colourful beads, bikers and rolling reclining chairs—the endearing issues which have grow to be New Orleans’ cultural staples. The model wished to make an genuine marketing campaign that captured stuff you couldn’t discover simply anyplace. In pursuit of authenticity, the model additionally employed New Orleans-based actors to star within the spot.
“Popeyes has been a model that was actually good at spikes of curiosity,” stated the model’s CMO Jeff Klein. He recalled the “Hen Sandwich Wars” that took the model viral on social media and led many places to promote out of sandwiches.
It was clear that the meals (plus a savvy social technique) may hype clients. However Klein wished a model technique that might grow to be deeply ingrained in clients’ minds—a story that might outline Popeyes for the following three-to-five years. If all goes in response to Klein’s plan, the marketing campaign slogan will grow to be a part of customers’ “vernacular.”
“What we actually wanted was a artistic framework the place we may enhance our messaging to customers sort of on an on a regular basis foundation…We need to construct reminiscence constructions over time,” Klein stated.
The spokesperson is a spot
That tracks with McKinney’s purview as described to Adweek earlier this month: Spotlight Popeyes’ New Orleans roots and promote extra rooster. Though the model’s (technically) known as “Popeyes, Louisiana kitchen,” customers have a tendency to simply name it simply Popeyes. To treatment this unintentional disconnect from its New Orleans heritage, the model’s determined to concentrate on New Orleans in its advertising.
“When you might have one thing that may’t be copied, which you could personal, that’s genuine…then it’s best to lean into it,” stated Jonathan Cude, McKinney’s chief artistic. “And on this case, that was what occurred. Popeyes has one thing in its heritage, in its DNA, that’s genuine and comes from a sure place on the earth.”
On the coronary heart of the marketing campaign, and what Popeyes hopes viewers perceive, is that its strategy to creating rooster is totally different than its rivals. The cooking methodology is uniquely New Orleans—the slow-marinated and hand-breaded meals’s bought Cajun spices and recent components. Its time-consuming cooking strategies may not make sense for a so-called fast-food restaurant to make use of, however because the artistic describes, they work for Popeyes.
