Operations

How Golden Chick is taking on QSR giants with new ‘Gimme That Golden’ campaign

Golden Chick CMO Howard Terry discusses how the brand's energetic new "Gimme That Golden" campaign modernizes the legacy concept to compete with major QSR rivals, attracting younger guests through a high-energy, craving-centric platform while maintaining the operational excellence and core quality that loyal customers expect.

Photo: Golden Chick

July 17, 2026 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

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In an increasingly crowded QSR landscape where chicken concepts and burger giants alike are fiercely battling for consumer loyalty, Golden Chick is refusing to blend into the background. Armed with nearly 60 years of heritage and a reputation for legendary hand-battered tenders, the brand is boldly stepping into a high-octane new era with its latest brand anthem, "Gimme That Golden."

Driven by impressive pre-launch creative testing — including a staggering 96% brand recognition score — the disruptive campaign is designed to break consumers out of their default dining habits and tap directly into their deepest cravings. We spoke with Howard Terry, chief marketing officer of Golden Chick, in an email Q&A to discuss the consumer insights fueling this high-energy pivot, how the brand is modernizing without alienating its traditionalist fanbase, and why operational execution at the restaurant level remains the ultimate secret ingredient to fulfilling the "Gimme That Golden" promise.

Howard Terry, Golden Chick chief marketing officer. Photo: Golden Chick

Q: "Gimme That Golden" is a highly energetic, craving-centric platform. What specific consumer insights or shifts in the fried chicken landscape drove the decision to pivot to this high-energy brand anthem approach right now?

Terry:Chicken is one of the most competitive categories in QSR right now, and tenders continue to be a major point of interest for guests. We've been making tenders since 1985, long before many of the big brands offered a boneless option. But today, we are not only competing with other chicken brands. We are competing for attention against the biggest names in QSR, including mega brand burger concepts with major creative firepower. That meant we had to step up to that level creatively and give Golden Chick a campaign with enough energy and distinctiveness to compete effectively. The guiding insight was that people tend to settle for the default out of habit, and the offerings from some of the go-to bigger players don't always live up to the hype.

We also conducted significant copy and creative testing to make sure the campaign would resonate and achieve its goal of showing that Golden Chick offers some of the best chicken in QSR. Creative testing by System1 showed the "Gimme That Golden" campaign broke through with consumers, achieving 96% brand recognition and 82% purchase intent among Golden Chick consumers. The results validated a platform built to drive brand connection, craveability and visits in a crowded category.

We know first-hand how one taste of Golden Chick is all it takes to convert and create a new fan. We needed a campaign that would convince people who hadn't tried or were unaware of Golden Chick that they didn't need to settle for basic. When that craving for amazing chicken hit, they could dig into the kind of chicken that chicken fanatics obsessed over.

"Gimme That Golden" gives us a more ownable way to talk about that craving. We are putting more energy and language around what our loyal guests already know, while giving new guests a clear reason to try us. Golden Chick has been focused on chicken in all formats for nearly 60 years, and this campaign helps us introduce that story in a way that feels more current, memorable and competitive.

Q: Golden Chick has a deeply loyal, established fan base. When launching a disruptive campaign like this, how do you balance modernizing the brand and attracting younger demographics without alienating your core traditionalists?

Terry: The most important thing is that we did not change the core of Golden Chick as a brand. The food, hospitality and family feel are still our foundation. We are modernizing the way we express it, not walking away from what made people loyal in the first place.

Our longtime guests love Golden Chick because of the flavor, the portions, the rolls, the sides and the way they are treated when they come in. That is not going anywhere. "Gimme That Golden" is about making the brand more relevant to a younger guest, while celebrating our core guests' beloved chicken.

Q: A brand anthem relies heavily on multi-sensory energy, sound, visuals and distinct language. How are you rolling this out across your media mix, and which channels do you expect to do the heavy lifting for this campaign?

Terry:We built this campaign to work across the full guest journey. The anthem gives us sound, color, language and motion that will show up in TV, digital, social, in-store merchandising and local restaurant marketing. The goal is for guests to feel that same "Gimme That Golden" energy whether they see the spot, scroll past us online or walk into a restaurant.

Digital and social will do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to reaching younger guests and driving frequency, but TV still plays an important role in building broader awareness.

In-store is just as important because that is where the campaign must connect back to the food. Once someone comes in for the $5 tenders or the one-pound tender meal, the experience has to make good on the message.

Q: From a marketing operations perspective, how are you measuring the success of this new era? Are you tracking near-term traffic and LTO lifts, or is this primarily a long-term play for top-of-mind awareness?

Terry:It is both. We are watching near-term performance, including traffic, offer redemption, product mix, digital engagement and LTO performance. The summer tender offers give us a clear way to see how the campaign is translating into action at the restaurant level, and early performance is encouraging.

At the same time, this is bigger than one offer or one flight of media. We want Golden Chick to earn a stronger place in people's minds when they think about chicken. That takes consistency over time. The campaign may create the first visit, but the food and experience are what create the second one.

Q: A "new era" usually means updates beyond just commercial spots. How are your franchisees reacting to "Gimme That Golden," and are there plans to integrate this new visual energy into packaging, uniforms or restaurant design?

Terry: Our franchisees have been very engaged because they understand the need to keep the brand moving forward. This is a competitive category, and they do not want us standing still. What has made this campaign resonate internally is that it is built around the food they serve every day. It is not a marketing idea disconnected from the restaurant experience.

We are looking at the brand experience more broadly, including how this rallying cry can show up in restaurant merchandising, packaging, digital channels and future brand touchpoints. This campaign builds on work we have already been doing across the guest experience, from restaurant-level execution to digital engagement. "Gimme That Golden" is the public-facing expression of that broader next chapter.

Q: When you introduce a powerful new marketing message that amplifies the consumer's "craving," it puts the spotlight squarely on the team members to deliver. How are you leveraging this campaign internally to motivate crew members and ensure the operational execution matches the marketing's energy?

Terry:The campaign only works if the restaurants deliver. We can create all the excitement we want in marketing, but the guest experience has to match it when someone walks through the door or comes through the drive-thru.

That is where our "Every Guest, Every Time" training program becomes so important. Internally, it gives our teams a clear focus on the fundamentals that matter most to guests: great chicken, accurate orders, friendly service and a consistent experience from one visit to the next. We want our teams to feel proud that the brand is being talked about in a bigger way, but we also want them to understand that they are the ones who bring "Gimme That Golden" to life. The craving starts with the marketing, but it is fulfilled by the team members.

Q: The QSR chicken category remains one of the most fiercely competitive spaces in franchising. Beyond the catchy new tagline, what does "Gimme That Golden" signal about Golden Chick's broader, long-term growth strategy over the next three to five years?

Terry: It signals that Golden Chick is ready to compete with the big players with more confidence. We know we have to earn attention differently than some of the national mega brands, so we have to be more memorable and more intentional with every touchpoint. "Gimme That Golden" gives us a platform that can grow with the brand as we continue expanding.

Long term, the strategy is to keep building awareness while staying true to what makes Golden Chick different: hand-battered tenders, fresh-baked rolls, more chicken variety, strong franchisee relationships and a guest experience that feels personal. We believe there are a lot of guests who would make Golden Chick part of their regular chicken rotation if they gave us a try. This campaign is about enticing more people to do so.

Q: If a customer walks out of a Golden Chick location after experiencing this new era for the first time, what is the exact feeling or phrase you want stuck in their head?

Terry:I want them thinking, "that was so good, how have I never had it before? I can't wait to have it again!" That is really the whole idea behind "Gimme That Golden." It is the moment when the food delivers on the craving, and the guest leaves knowing they foundsomething they want to come back for.

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the Pizzamarketplace.com and QSRweb.com editor for Connect Media. An award-winning journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and, yes, she can tell you where to find the best pizza slices in the country.

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