Wendy's recently expanded its value menu, adding 18 items that include new cheeseburgers and chicken wraps. In an effort to create social media buzz about its "Right Price Right Size" menu, the company hosted a public promotion at Chicago's Union Station January 15.
Held in the lunch-friendly time frame of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the activation was a live extension of Wendy's "Claim Your Taste" digital campaign. Developed by VML earlier this month, the campaign asks consumers to log on to claimyourtaste.com to share their favorite flavor combinations. After choosing three descriptors from a quirky selection that includes "DoubleYum" and "Pow," users can become virtual spokespeople for the new flavors. The company posts individuals' Facebook profile picture and name, along with "taste claims," to Wendy's Web site, Facebook page, and banner ads. Customers who share their taste combos on their own Facebook pages become eligible for prizes.
The Chicago promotion doubled as a launch party for the campaign and brought it to life with a game called the "Tasty Trio Toss." Essentially a brand-friendly game of bags, the activation let guests throw beanbags at a wall of rotating panels that held words from the "Claim Your Taste" campaign. Players threw three bags to reveal as many words. Then, using on-site iPads, they could visit the "Claim Your Taste" Web site to enter their personal flavor combos.
To further encourage guests to share Wendy's-related content, a photo area let them stick their heads through a hole in a giant replica of the new menu and have their pictures snapped. They could then print out the photos and upload them to Facebook. Brand reps are still tabulating the social media impressions that resulted from the event.
Guests who stopped by got $5 gift cards to sample an item from the new menu. The brave consumers who wanted a Frosty on the January day also left with a free sample of the icy treat.
