News
Herds of customers expected to stampede Chick-fil-A restaurants
Nationwide Cow Appreciation Day July 15 -- Chain Awards Free Meals to Cow-Dressed Customers --
July 11, 2005
ATLANTA, July 12, 2005 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/-- For one day only, black and white spots, cow bells and furry ears will be appropriate attire in the nation's second largest chicken chain. In celebration of July 15, Cow Appreciation Day, an unofficial - yet nationally recognized holiday, Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A will award a free combo meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) to any customer who comes to one of the chain's 1,200-plus restaurants fully dressed as a cow. This is the first year the chain has celebrated the Cow Appreciation Day "holiday" on a national scale. In 2004, a number of Chick-fil-A restaurants experienced success with local Cow Appreciation Day activities. Restaurants
welcomed dozens of customers, both young and young at heart, dressed in cow- centric costumes and homemade sandwich board messages - their personalized renditions of Chick-fil-A's popular "Eat Mor Chikin®" campaign icon. With a chain-wide celebration planned this year, Chick-fil-A anticipates even more festive costumes, adding legions of customers to the bovine best-dressed list. "For years now, our customers have questioned why Chick-fil-A doesn't celebrate Cow Appreciation Day, a day that seems to be a natural fit with our 'Eat Mor Chikin' Cows," comments Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A's senior vice president of marketing. "Our Cow campaign has attracted an incredible following among our customers, and this promotion is a fun way to respond to their wishes and celebrate the Cows' holiday!" In fact, this year marks the 10th year that customers have rallied around Chick-fil-A's Cows, and the Cow Appreciation Day celebration is the centerpiece of Chick-fil-A's 10th anniversary of the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign. In addition to the Cow Appreciation Day event, the Cows will be the focal point of several other promotions Chick-fil-A has scheduled throughout the year. In May, the Cows held a retro summer sales campaign with the launch of a national in-store promotion dubbed "Chikin-A-Thon." With the Cows donning not-so-stylish plaid pants, sport coats and off-centered toupees, the comical campaign featured slogans such as "All Chikin Must Go!," "The '05 Chikinz Are Here," and "Trade In Yer Burger For Chikin." In October, Chick-fil-A will roll out the 2006 cow-themed calendar, dubbed "Cows in Shining Armor." Now in its ninth edition, the Cow calendar has become the largest-selling calendar in the nation - more than doubling the sales of Sports Illustrated's wildly popular Swimsuit calendar. For the past decade, Chick-fil-A's renegade Cows have entertained consumers with their desperate, self-preserving antics in an effort to convert beef eaters to chicken fans. The Chick-fil-A Cows and the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign have enjoyed such widespread public success that the chain has turned the theme into a fully integrated marketing program. In addition to clever roadside billboards, the "Eat Mor Chikin" Cows are the focal point of Chick- fil-A's in-store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales of more than $42 million since July 1996. The excitement around participation in Cow Appreciation Day serves as proof that more customers than ever are heeding the Cows' advice. Since the Cow campaign debuted in 1995, Chick-fil-A sales have more than tripled, from just over $500 million in 1995 to $1.74 billion last year. Its brand awareness also has grown 81 percent, and its unaided brand awareness has jumped 44 percent in its top 27 markets over the last four years.About Chick-fil-A Inc.Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc., the nation's second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain (based on sales), currently has more than 1,200 restaurants in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Credited with inventing the chicken sandwich and first introducing the chicken nugget concept, Chick-fil-A serves nutritious and freshly prepared food products in malls, free-standing units, drive thru-only outlets, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House® and Truett's Grill® full-service restaurants, and through licensed outlets in college campuses, hospitals, airports, businesses and industrial sites.In 2004, Chick-fil-A reported system-wide sales of more than $1.746 billion, sustaining its 37-year-streak of consecutive sales gains. More information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain's websites, located at http://www.chick-fil-a.com, or http://www.chick-fil-apressroom.com.source:Chick-fil-A, Inc.
welcomed dozens of customers, both young and young at heart, dressed in cow- centric costumes and homemade sandwich board messages - their personalized renditions of Chick-fil-A's popular "Eat Mor Chikin®" campaign icon. With a chain-wide celebration planned this year, Chick-fil-A anticipates even more festive costumes, adding legions of customers to the bovine best-dressed list. "For years now, our customers have questioned why Chick-fil-A doesn't celebrate Cow Appreciation Day, a day that seems to be a natural fit with our 'Eat Mor Chikin' Cows," comments Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A's senior vice president of marketing. "Our Cow campaign has attracted an incredible following among our customers, and this promotion is a fun way to respond to their wishes and celebrate the Cows' holiday!" In fact, this year marks the 10th year that customers have rallied around Chick-fil-A's Cows, and the Cow Appreciation Day celebration is the centerpiece of Chick-fil-A's 10th anniversary of the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign. In addition to the Cow Appreciation Day event, the Cows will be the focal point of several other promotions Chick-fil-A has scheduled throughout the year. In May, the Cows held a retro summer sales campaign with the launch of a national in-store promotion dubbed "Chikin-A-Thon." With the Cows donning not-so-stylish plaid pants, sport coats and off-centered toupees, the comical campaign featured slogans such as "All Chikin Must Go!," "The '05 Chikinz Are Here," and "Trade In Yer Burger For Chikin." In October, Chick-fil-A will roll out the 2006 cow-themed calendar, dubbed "Cows in Shining Armor." Now in its ninth edition, the Cow calendar has become the largest-selling calendar in the nation - more than doubling the sales of Sports Illustrated's wildly popular Swimsuit calendar. For the past decade, Chick-fil-A's renegade Cows have entertained consumers with their desperate, self-preserving antics in an effort to convert beef eaters to chicken fans. The Chick-fil-A Cows and the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign have enjoyed such widespread public success that the chain has turned the theme into a fully integrated marketing program. In addition to clever roadside billboards, the "Eat Mor Chikin" Cows are the focal point of Chick- fil-A's in-store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales of more than $42 million since July 1996. The excitement around participation in Cow Appreciation Day serves as proof that more customers than ever are heeding the Cows' advice. Since the Cow campaign debuted in 1995, Chick-fil-A sales have more than tripled, from just over $500 million in 1995 to $1.74 billion last year. Its brand awareness also has grown 81 percent, and its unaided brand awareness has jumped 44 percent in its top 27 markets over the last four years.About Chick-fil-A Inc.Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc., the nation's second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain (based on sales), currently has more than 1,200 restaurants in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Credited with inventing the chicken sandwich and first introducing the chicken nugget concept, Chick-fil-A serves nutritious and freshly prepared food products in malls, free-standing units, drive thru-only outlets, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House® and Truett's Grill® full-service restaurants, and through licensed outlets in college campuses, hospitals, airports, businesses and industrial sites.In 2004, Chick-fil-A reported system-wide sales of more than $1.746 billion, sustaining its 37-year-streak of consecutive sales gains. More information about Chick-fil-A is available on the chain's websites, located at http://www.chick-fil-a.com, or http://www.chick-fil-apressroom.com.source:Chick-fil-A, Inc.Related Media
Subscribe
Get the latest news and resources from QSR Web.
