There is a lot of great thinking behind what chicken chain Chick-Fil-A does to help drive sales and increase awareness. Lessons here for other businesses as well in that you don’t always need huge budgets — just great ideas to get results.

Here’s the Article from Advertising Age:

For chicken chain Chick-Fil-A, gimmicks and giveaways are ringing sales at the cash register — even if it means having customers get dressed as cows.

Dress as a cow for ‘Cow Appreciation Day’ and get a free meal.

Whether its through grass-roots marketing or giving away meals to customers, those stunts by Chick-Fil-A, a growing fast-food chain known for its lightly breaded chicken sandwiches, appear to be paying dividends. It’s all part of a back-to-basics strategy that’s also heavy on word of mouth and community outreach and it has Chick-Fil-A posting gains even as competitors with bigger ad budgets struggle with how much food they can offer for a dollar.
The chain today reported that as of June, systemwide sales were up about 10% year to date, and same-store sales at malls and stand-alone locations were up 3%. The company also increased projected openings for 2009, by five restaurants, to a total of 80.

Appreciating cows
Tomorrow, the chain is holding its fifth-annual “Cow Appreciation Day” when it expects 132,000 people to show up at its 1,450 restaurants. Those dressed in full cow regalia get a free meal — an entrée, choice of side and a drink — but for those who can only pull off a cow-printed accessory will have to settle for an entree.

The event is part of a broader ad campaign that has been phenomenally popular for a fast-food chain that has yet to become a big-time advertiser. According to TNS Media Intelligence, Chick-Fil-A spent about $25.3 million in domestic measured media in 2008, but that represented a 47% increase over the $17.3 million media outlay in 2007.

The promotion itself was born of a desire to bolster the chain’s 14-year-old “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign. (For the uninitiated, Chick-Fil-A’s advertising features cows asking consumers to consume more fowl. Charmingly, the bovines can’t spell. The campaign is from the Richards Group, the chain’s agency of 16 years.)

And Chick-Fil-A has masterfully milked the cow for all it’s worth. The chain creates cow plush toys that have become collector’s items, with a high price on eBay of $15, and an annual cow calendar, which comes with coupons, for purchase at restaurants.

Chick-Fil-A is also known for its ability to stimulate grass-roots marketing responses. The chain routinely offers free food when it opens a new restaurant. And doors often open to a throng of devotees, some of whom have spent the previous night in the parking lot.

‘The funnest’ event
While tomorrow’s event is not the chain’s biggest marketing day, Steve Nedvidek, senior manager-marketing, said it is “the funnest.” He noted that operators now hold parties in their restaurants to prepare for Cow Appreciation Day. Summer bible camps, families and daycare centers in many cities drop by to eat while working on their costumes.

And the promotion has grown since 2004, when some restaurants only served one “cow” customer. Now each restaurant may serve nearly 150. Last year, the chain doubled down on PR outreach and earned more than $1 million in measured media, including coverage on CBS’s “Morning Show” and “ABC World New Tonight.” Chick-Fil-A also focused its manpower on New York City, a relatively new market for the chain. It’s continuing with that focus this year. (Part of that effort included feeding Ad Age’s often ravenously hungry newsroom.)

Mr. Nedvidek said that the sagging economy could make this year’s turnout even more robust than expected. He pointed out that Cow Appreciation Day was already an accepted holiday. “We just started leveraging it,” he said.

The chain is planning another big giveaway on Labor Day. And this one has a lower bar. To promote the onset of the sporting season, anyone arriving at a Chick-Fil-A wearing any sports logo — be it for a professional team or a pee-wee league — will receive a free chicken sandwich.

Article By Emily Bryson York
Published: July 09, 2009

Found this great article by Guy Kawasaki on entrepreneur.com. Lots of great tips and ideas.

Here’s Guy’s list of what NOT to do:

Forcing immediate registration: Requiring a new user to register is a reasonable request—after you’ve sucked him in. The sites that require registration as the first step are putting a barrier in front of adoption.

The long URL: Say a site generates a URL that’s 70 characters long or more. When you copy, paste and e-mail this URL, a line break is added. Then, people can’t click on the link or it only links to the first part of the URL.

Windows that don’t generate URLs: Have you ever wanted to point people to a page, but the page has no URL? Did the company decide it didn’t want referrals, links and additional traffic?

The unsearchable website: Some sites don’t offer a search option. If your site goes deeper than one level, it needs a search box.

Sites without Delicious, Digg and Fark bookmarks: There’s no reason why a company wouldn’t want its fans to bookmark its pages. When my blog hits the front page of Digg, page views typically increase six or seven times.

Limiting contact to e-mail: Don’t get me wrong; I live and die by e-mail. But sometimes I want to call or even snail-mail a company. Many companies only let you send an e-mail via their “Contact Us” page. Why can’t companies be honest and just call it “Don’t Contact Us”?

Lack of feeds and e-mail lists: Make getting information about your products and services easy by providing e-mail and RSS feeds for content and PR newsletters.

Making users retype e-mail addresses: How about the patent-pending, curve-jumping Web 2.0 company that wants you to share content but requires you to retype your friends’ e-mail addresses? I have 7,703 e-mail addresses in Microsoft Entourage. I’m not going to retype them into some done-as-an-afterthought address book.

No e-mail addresses as usernames: I’m a member of hundreds of sites. I can’t remember my usernames, but I can remember my e-mail address. So why not let me use that?

Case-sensitive usernames and passwords: I know; these are more secure. But then I’m more likely to type in my user name and password incorrectly.

Friction-full commenting: “Moderated comments” is an oxymoron. If your company is trying to be a hip, myth-busting, hypocrisy-outing joint, it should let anyone comment. Also, many times I’ve started to leave a comment on a blog but stopped when I realized I’d have to register.

Unreadable confirmation codes: A visual confirmation graphic system is a good thing, but many are too difficult to read. All you have to prove is that you’re not a robot. So if the code is “ghj1lK,” entering “ghj11K” should be good enough.

E-mails without signatures: Communication would be so much easier if everyone included a complete e-mail signature with their name, company, address, phone and e-mail address.

In honour of the opening of the new Stat Trek movie thought I’d post this great article I found by Ted Anthony of the Associated Press. It was on Pantagraph.com and outlines Captain Kirk and his leadership skills.

For three years of prime-time television and decades of syndication, Captain James T. Kirk was many things: womanizer, breaker of rules, defender of high ideals. But there’s one side of Kirk you don’t hear much about: management guru.

In the years that the Enterprise explored space, William Shatner’s gold-shirted commander faced some of the biggest decisions that his corner of the galaxy demanded. You just try defeating a planet-eating “doomsday machine” without getting yourself and your crew killed; kind of makes your 2:30 with marketing seem manageable.

With Chris Pine giving Captain Kirk a new look in J.J. Abrams’ new “Star Trek” movie and a recession machine threatening to eat our planet, it’s a good time to look at one of the USS Enterprise commander’s less examined skills.

Kirk delegated often, regularly putting his ship in the hands of subordinates. And when work bogged down, he rose to the occasion with a motivational speech that reminded the crew why their jobs mattered.

Here’s what you can learn from Kirk to help you tackle your own management challenges.

BEST FRIEND OR TOUGH GUY?

KIRK’S DILEMMA: A transporter accident beams back two Kirks — a gentle one and a dark-hearted counterpart. The gentler Kirk realizes that his doppelganger is actually his (very useful) dark side.

YOUR DILEMMA: If you’re too friendly, you can’t make the tough calls; if you’re too tyrannical, you lose loyalty.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Make an honest assessment — are you dictatorial or a pushover? If you don’t know, ask a trusted lieutenant.

“Leaders have to understand their own emotions,” says Jane Barnes, a former division manager at AT&T, where she supervised 400 people — roughly the size of the original Enterprise crew. If your tough side needs improvement, try a stern talk the next time a mediocre performer blows a deadline. If you need more empathy, work on muzzling anger when you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t deliver. Project that you’re supportive but not to be trifled with.

A bit of the dark side can be a good motivator, says Barnes, who now teaches MBA students at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. “Even though we want our leaders to have some emotional intelligence, they have to know how to say no.”

KNOW WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON

KIRK’S DILEMMA: A subterranean creature is killing workers on a mining planet. The miners want the creature dead, but Kirk learns that the “monster” is protecting her eggs, which the miners have been destroying. Enlightened, Kirk brokers a truce.

YOUR DILEMMA: Not being blinded by your own expectations or what you’re told by subordinates. Assembling an accurate picture of what’s going on.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Create room for dissent and never punish people for their candor. Praise your lieutenant in a performance review for the time she disagreed with you strongly in public. Reward contrarian comments in meetings; when you act on them, follow up publicly.

“Don’t become a prisoner of your preconceived notions,” says John Barnes, author of John F. Kennedy on Leadership and a “fanatic Trekkie in my misspent youth.” Barnes adds: “One of the things I liked about Kirk from a leadership perspective was that he was willing to look at things from different points of view.”

MANAGING CHANGE AND PREVENTING STAGNATION

KIRK’S DILEMMA: Two planets at war for five hundred years have made their battles virtual; victims of attacks obediently report to disintegration chambers. Kirk breaks the stagnation by destroying one planet’s computer, triggering a possible real conflict so peace can finally be negotiated.

YOUR DILEMMA: In the fiercest recession of their working lives, members of your team can’t grasp that they have to change to survive.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Gather your staff and talk straight. Tell them they must understand the company’s new goals to stay relevant. Reward innovation; reduce commissions for repeat business and use the money to create incentives for bringing in new business. Most of all, keep following through.

“In a business situation, what Kirk did would have been a first step,” says Paul Olk, professor of management at the University of Denver. “People have to be ready for those new responsibilities. “You have to give them not only the capabilities but the orientation: How do you think of things differently?”

MANAGING UP

KIRK’S DILEMMA: A superior officer who lost his starship and crew while trying to destroy a giant mechanical “planet eater” in space seizes command of the Enterprise and is about to make the same mistake. “Not with my ship, you don’t,” says Kirk, who promptly uses insubordination — a recurring implement in the James T. Kirk leadership toolkit — and orders Spock to relieve the interloper of command.

YOUR DILEMMA: Your boss has ordered up something you know will be bad for the company — and disastrous to your career. You have to figure out a way to get around the order without it being equally disastrous to your career.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Be overtly useful and take pains to make your boss’ job easier. That way, when you have to make it more difficult for him, you’ve banked some credit. Don’t make snaky end runs to higher-ups without realizing that, if you get caught, you’re going to suffer. And if you encounter a situation where you have to confront a superior, be prepared to articulate your reasons calmly without sounding defensive.

“Kirk always made the guy who was making the trouble realize the trouble he was making,” John Barnes says. “Explain: ‘We’ve always done it this way because …’ ‘And if we’re going to change it now, it’s going to have an effect on our credibility.”‘

That approach only works within limits, though. If you can’t resolve the philosophical differences, ultimately it may be you who needs to find the door. “If your boss is not doing what is in the best interests of your organization,” Barnes says, “you may have to find another organization to work for.”

PUTTING YOURSELF IN OTHERS’ SHOES

KIRK’S DILEMMA: Sigma Iotia II has modeled its entire culture on a history book accidentally left behind by an Earth ship — “Chicago Mobs of the Twenties.” It’s ruled by warring gangsters in pinstripes who “put the bag on” Kirk and his landing party and demand sophisticated weaponry. Kirk dresses up like a mobster, affecting an accent that’s equal parts Bogart and Tony Soprano. Then he takes over everyone’s turf to show the motley crew of squabbling mafiosi that could benefit more by working together.

YOUR DILEMMA: There’s the weird guy with the facial tic who can’t look at anyone when he talks. There’s the strutting former college jock. And there’s the utterly insensitive lout. You’re the boss, and you have to communicate with — and motivate — each of em.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Be gentle and encouraging with the awkward staffer, jocular with the jock and low key but firm with the lout. In other words, as Scotty the engineer once said, choose the right tool for the right job.

You can’t manage everyone the same way. So study these guys. Learn their language and what matters to them — be it money or job security, stature or job satisfaction. If you know what makes them tick, you can fix the broken gears.

“It breaks down the barriers of who you are and shows a sense that you are trying to connect with them,” Olk says. “You can’t always get into it to the level that Kirk did. But if you have time, that kind of connecting is huge.”

MANAGING ACROSS GENERATIONS

KIRK’S DILEMMA: Young space hippies in floral prints hijack the Enterprise. A prickly Kirk shows little interest in understanding people he views as undisciplined rabble-rousers — despite the fact that a little tolerance might help him get his ship back.

YOUR DILEMMA: Your team is brimming with younger employees who want praise for every assignment, ask for perks left and right and bristle whenever they have to work through dinner.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Show younger staffers you’re going out of your way to understand how their needs might differ from mid-career team members. Talk to them, not at them, and ask a lot of questions. This is the self-esteem generation, remember, so make them feel valued.

Understand that millennials sometimes prioritize quality of life over work, and realize that styles of communication differ — what you view as entitlement might simply be a different method of self-expression. Finally, recognize that company loyalty is on the wane.

“People are going to be coming in and out all the time,” says Jane Barnes. “Utilize the strengths they do bring in but recognize that you can engage them as much as you want but they’ll probably be leaving anyway.”

Have 100 people each contribute 1 page of content to create a 100 page book. Everyone chips in $30 to cover the cost of printing 100 copies of the book … and when it’s done … everyone meets at a bar to celebrate and get their copy. It’s a project on the Kickstarter site and is only open to New Yorkers (cause you have ot go to the party to get your copy of the book). But obviously this concept is very portable.

Love it!

Check it out here.

Here’s the site.

Here’s what they suggest:

THE MACRO SOCIETAL TRENDS
1. Re-act – Consumers are now focusing their ethics around the idea of ‘meaningful consumption’. They believe that any purchase occasion gives them an opportunity to make a clear statement about the values that are meaningful to them, and help re-build an environment, whether it is their own body, their family, their community or the world at large. ‘Green activism’, which represents a sub-set of this trend, has evolved to incorporate technological cues (e.g. new Method refills).

2. Me and My Ego – “Ego-spirituality” drives consumers to build mysterious personal rituals to help them
manage their fear of the unknown and accelerate their way out of an economic and moral crisis. They look for products and services that deliver multi-sensorial experiences, and avoid materialism. From a design perspective, this gets expressed through a combination of dark undertones and deep, mysterious imagery and color schemes.

3. Foundations -Fundamental societal values (restraint, heritage) and historic symbols and personalities (such as Abraham Lincoln) give consumers the means to counter greed, extreme individualism and perceived decadence, which are seen as the root causes of our current issues. That’s why many innovative products are now re-inventing history by combining modern and classical design cues.

4. Euphoria -Consumers increasingly resort to irreverence and respectful disobedience to carry their hope for abetter tomorrow. Their attitude towards life and consumption is tongue-in-cheek, and they look to bold colorful offerings to help them escape. For instance certain brands increasingly feature the root of the problem rather than the expected benefit on the front of their packaging, or use unexpected design cues to provoke a sense of irreverence.

5. Simply Better -Simplicity has become a new standard of perfection. Consumers are turning to offerings that help simplify their lives (functionally and emotionally) because simplicity helps them regain control in their lives.Simplicity has also become a guarantee of quality since it is perceived as a symbol of objectivity and transparency.

6. Schizophrenia -Virtual tools help people escape while they encourage them to experiment and reinvent themselves. This sense of freedom fuels a desire for personal recognition, customization and instant gratification. Successful innovation will therefore continue to invite consumers to experiment on their own terms their relationship vis a vis a given product.

7. Yes we can – Consumers perceive that societal turbulence is announcing a new world order that will
challenge uniform globalization. This new phase will be about co-existence, re-interpretation of local cultures, with transparency and accountability.

He also tried “why are americans so” with interesting results

Here’s some I tried.

Try it yourself. See what Google comes back with.

“The 100 “Fiesta agents,” chosen from 4,000 who applied online, will share their experiences behind the wheel, completing monthly, themed missions from travel to social activism; posting videos; and updating their friends and followers on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. The participants begin training with their Fiestas in late April, and they will begin receiving the cars in the first week of May.”

Ford realized that the message is increasingly out of our their control and that they have to roll with it. Talk about having faith in the product.

“Early signs indicate a ripple effect from simply signing agents to the Fiesta Movement. Mr. De La Garza said several of those selected have already gotten interviews with regional newspapers or TV stations based on their acceptance into the program.”

I love this concept and is a gusty move by Ford. Should be interesting to see how (or if) Ford reacts is there is negative feedback about the vehicle from the bloggers. The fact that they are doing this… I’m sure they will handle it the right way.

If they bring this concept to Canada – count me in.

Read more of the Adage article here

Visit fiesta movement

Patrick Doyle, President, Domino’s U.S.A., responds to video of (now former) Domino’s team members who did disgusting things to peoples food. Contrary to earlier statements from a Domino’s spokesperson, they are now addressing the issue head-on — in the medium it was created (YouTube). I think Mr. Doyle has struck the right tone and the message is exactly what it needs to be to address the issue. It might be overkill that they are totally sanitizing the offending store – but it certainly sends the message of how seriously they are taking this.

Well done.