How to track the ROI of a new product launch

How to track the ROI of a new product launch
Tags: Chicken, Food & Beverage, Industry Services, Marketing / Branding / Promotion, Online Services, Software
June 15, 2010 - Christa Hoyland

When Chick-fil-A rolled out its new Spicy Chicken Sandwich, it could have tried a variety of traditional marketing tactics: a downloadable coupon, free samples or a sandwich giveaway to any customer dressed like a cow.

But the company had tried those tactics before and was never quite satisfied. For example, although last year's Labor Day promotion, in which fans dressed in sport attire received a free chicken sandwich, drew crowds, customer service suffered. Chick-fil-A wanted to make sure that didn't happen again when it launched its first new sandwich platform in more than 10 years.

So the company tapped Mobilization Labs and its personal impact engine to develop an online reservation system that would allow the company not only to prepare for the product trial but also provide data on customers who came in to try it.

Chick-fil-A vice president of brand strategy and design, William F. "Woody" Faulk, said before the product launch that the reservation system also provided "a more personalized way" to launch the sandwich.

"We want to invite our customers to taste the flavor and quality of this spicy sandwich, but we don't want a cattle-call setting where we won't be able to extend 'second mile' service to our customers," he said.

Mobilizing fans to action

The reservation system included a microsite, getspicychicken.com, where fans could select a store as well as a time frame during the week of May 31. After making their reservation, fans could post comments on Facebook or Twitter or e-mail their friends to sign up as well.

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Caleb Clark, CEO of Mobilization Labs, said that data helped Chick-fil-A track the viral spread of the promotion as well as learn who its most influential fans are. The brand knew who acted on and spread the invitation and then which of those recipients acted on the invitation. In all, more than 1 million customers redeemed their invitation for a free sandwich.

Just as important, the reservation campaign helped Chick-fil-A encourage trial while continuing its normal operations. By breaking the reservations into various time frames throughout the day, operators could plan to have enough product — and staff — on hand to manage the demand.

It also rewarded fans with an early introduction to the sandwich since it was only available to those with an invitation.

"What we're helping our clients do is take their huge supporters or their fan bases and really connect and create personal experiences for those fans," Clark said.

Leveraging the data

Beyond the in-store experience, Mobilization Labs provided Chick-fil-A with insight into demographic data for those customers who actually went to the store to get the free sandwich. With every reservation, customers printed an invitation with a bar code and personalized letter from the store's operator. At the store, staff confirmed the reservation by asking to see identification.

That demographic data can then be given to individual operators to help them plan future local store marketing events, information typically unavailable from a systemwide promotion, said Joe Hamm, vice president of marketing and business development for Mobilization Labs.

"That information can be repurposed to better understand, better target, better communicate (with) and engage customers at the local operator level," he said.

The Chick-fil-A campaign makes the first quick-service customer for Mobilization Labs, which has been helping political candidates, non-profit organization, businesses and musicians mobilize their fans and supporters into action. The company is best known for helping musical group Jonas Brothers build its online fan base to more than 600,000 members in about four months.

The company also helps the group promote its concerts. One recent campaign tracked the viral spread of information about an upcoming concert. It also rewarded the group's top three fans who had the most impact in spreading news about the concert with a day with the band and special seats at the event.

Campaigns that offer such rewards generate the most excitement and are the most successful, Clark said.

"It's a two-way street," he said. "You want the fan to get excited about you and tell others, and it also requires you to be excited about the fans."

Mobilization Labs customizes each campaign based on the purpose of the promotion and what the client wants to accomplish. For QSRs, Clark sees a myriad of possibilities, from product launches to loyalty campaigns — "anything that gets your customer base excited that you can then turn into action."

"We're just touching the tip of the iceberg," he said.