Popeyes 12-Hour Drive-Thru was the first and only
fast-food drive-thru to start in one state and end 850 miles away in another
state. It had to be that long because Popeyes marinates its chicken that long.
That’s what makes it so good.
We took a menu order board normally found at one of our
restaurants and installed it 12 hours away from our flagship location so that
fans would have to drive for as long as their chicken marinated. It was the
perfect way to show them just how long 12 hours really is. Along the way,
billboards and even cheering crowds told them how much longer their chicken had
to marinate.
In a world of six-second ads, this activation pushed the
boundaries of consumer engagement, compelling the industry to rethink how long
people are willing to spend with your brand as long as you give them a unique
experience.
To executive the stunt, we took a digital menu board
normally found at Popeyes and installed it along a desolate stretch of
Interstate 10 in the West Texas desert. This made for an arresting visual—and
the board really worked, allowing people to place orders through a talk box,
just like at a regular drive-thru. Then
fans drove 12 hours to the flagship Popeyes in New Orleans, Louisiana, while we
marinated their chicken.
Along the way, we let them know how much longer they—and
their chicken—had to go with billboards in Fort Stockton, San Angelo and
Beaumont, Texas, plus Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In San Antonio, a moving
billboard drove by the fans, surprising them, and in Houston, crowds held
banners and cheered on drivers from a freeway overpass.
Popeyes 12-Hour Drive Thru launched in October 2018 with
a PR and social media campaign targeting fast-food fans throughout the United
States. Paid and organic content was posted to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and
YouTube.
Hundreds applied on Popeyes.com to be part of this
experience, which took place in November 2018.
Eighteen fans
completed Popeyes 12-Hour Drive Thru and millions followed their journeys,
learning that Popeyes marinates its chicken 12 very long hours.
This campaign
got tons of media coverage from Creativity
and Adweek to Us Weekly and Food & Wine.
The campaign earned 150.6 million media impressions ($1.5 million in
paid-media value).
In addition,
the 12-Hour Drive-Thru website generated 880,000 impressions, reaching 588,000
unique users. Hundreds applied to make the drive. Through paid social media channels, the
campaign delivered 8.7 million additional impressions, reaching 5.7 million
unique users.