“It doesn’t really make sense. If you were trying to make chicken the most profitable, efficient way, you wouldn’t go through all the trouble that Popeyes does,” Cude said. “[New Orleans] defies logic. It’s a town that was intentionally built below sea level, right?”
When conflicts of interest benefit clients
The new brand strategy follows several changes within the organization. Klein joined Popeyes last year after departing his former role as marketing lead at Little Caesar’s. The CMO brought a pre-existing relationship with McKinney along with him. The agency, which still services Little Caesar’s, became Popeyes’ interim partner for a six-month trial period before eventually winning the AOR role. When that change went into effect, Popeyes parted ways with its former agency Gut, which had handled its creative since March 2020.
While Klein admits he and McKinney had a successful prior working relationship, he maintains that the agency is the right fit for Popeyes specifically because of its deep retail and franchisee experience. Popeyes’ biggest opportunity as a brand, Klein believes, hinges on its expansion via successful franchises. And to succeed, franchisees must execute the overarching marketing strategy on a hyper-local level. Historically, franchisees worried that brand messaging felt disjointed, and according to Klein, are now excited to have more overarching direction.
“It’s very important that the advertising works really hard today…The best way for us to grow our business is for franchisees to make money,” the CMO added.
Spokes-pelicans and Easter eggs
The tagline “We Don’t Make Sense, We Make Chicken,” lends Popeyes some flexibility to experiment and get a little weird. By its own admission, it doesn’t make sense, and it doesn’t have to. Consumers might expect to see eclectic campaigns and a punchy social strategy. Klein is willing to experiment, even if some concepts are a little funny.
“What if we had a spokes-Pelican?” he wondered, adding, “that makes no sense. It does for New Orleans, but not for a chicken chain.”
The brand’s also building out a digital experience strategy. It has hidden 12 images of Popeyes’ chicken icon, Poppy, in an interactive commercial on the Popeyes website. You’d need to watch the commercial frame-by-frame to catch them all, Klein said. The ad asks viewers to navigate a digital version of “Where’s Waldo” to unlock more yet-to-be-disclosed brand experiences.