When it comes to brand recognition, the usual names that dominate the conversation are Apple, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Visa and …. Chick-fil-A?

Ok, Chick-fil-A may not be a household name of the same caliber as Starbucks, but I guaranty that the “second largest chicken restaurant chain in the US” has the most passionate fan base in the quick-serve sector.

I was a first-hand witness to a Chick-fil-A grand opening in Pompano, Florida this week and I was amazed by what I saw. It was the tent city that caught my eye and made me pull over on the road. But it was the “renegade” fans that made me hang around and be late for dinner.

About 5 years ago, Chick-fil-A started its “First 100″ promotion in conjunction with new store openings. Beginning at 6am the day before official opening, folks can line up and enter a lottery to win one “Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries and drink per week for a year”, a total of 52 meals.

In the midst of the crowd, I not only met the guy who was “No. 1″ in line, but also a rare pair of gents, one named John Veggieoilman, who told me they had participated in 34 openings over the past 4 years.

Chick-fil-A was founded by Truett Cathy in the early 1960’s and his faith based business philosophies have served him well. Mr. Cathy is credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and the chain has grown to more than 1,430 stores across 38 states – all without being open on Sundays.

More people might know Chick-fil-A for their renegade cows which urge people to “Eat Mor Chikin”. These iconic figures are on par with the Geico Gekko and the Aflac Duck, but it is truly the renegade fans who line up for 18 hours to be part of the First 100 that tell the story of a successful brand.

For all the viral and word-of-mouth marketing taking place online, here is an excellent example of how an offline brand can create a passionate following of customers all through an “underground” promotion like First 100.  The story has been often repeated around the country and  judging from the people I talked with at the Pompano store, the frenzy will continue.

Chick-fil-A surely benefits from the nearly-free media impressions from local coverage and I’ll bet those winners don’t eat alone during their year in the freebie line. First 100 is a winner all around just as is Chick-fil-A.

Mr. Cathy and his family have lots to proud of, and the rest of us can learn a bit about brand building from this humble southern gentleman.

Editor’s Note: I’ll be having lunch at Chick-fil-A tomorrow as part of my follow-up story!

When it comes to brand recognition, the usual names that dominate the conversation are Apple, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Visa and …. Chick-fil-A?

Ok, Chick-fil-A may not be a household name of the same caliber as Starbucks, but I guaranty that the “second largest chicken restaurant chain in the US” has the most passionate fan base in the quick-serve sector.

I was a first-hand witness to a Chick-fil-A grand opening in Pompano, Florida this week and I was amazed by what I saw. It was the tent city that caught my eye and made me pull over on the road. But it was the “renegade” fans that made me hang around and be late for dinner.

About 5 years ago, Chick-fil-A started its “First 100″ promotion in conjunction with new store openings. Beginning at 6am the day before official opening, folks can line up and enter a lottery to win one “Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries and drink per week for a year”, a total of 52 meals.

In the midst of the crowd, I not only met the guy who was “No. 1″ in line, but also a rare pair of gents, one named John Veggieoilman, who told me they had participated in 34 openings over the past 4 years.

Chick-fil-A was founded by Truett Cathy in the early 1960’s and his faith based business philosophies have served him well. Mr. Cathy is credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and the chain has grown to more than 1,430 stores across 38 states – all without being open on Sundays.

More people might know Chick-fil-A for their renegade cows which urge people to “Eat Mor Chikin”. These iconic figures are on par with the Geico Gekko and the Aflac Duck, but it is truly the renegade fans who line up for 18 hours to be part of the First 100 that tell the story of a successful brand.

For all the viral and word-of-mouth marketing taking place online, here is an excellent example of how an offline brand can create a passionate following of customers all through an “underground” promotion like First 100.  The story has been often repeated around the country and  judging from the people I talked with at the Pompano store, the frenzy will continue.

Chick-fil-A surely benefits from the nearly-free media impressions from local coverage and I’ll bet those winners don’t eat alone during their year in the freebie line. First 100 is a winner all around just as is Chick-fil-A.

Mr. Cathy and his family have lots to proud of, and the rest of us can learn a bit about brand building from this humble southern gentleman.

Editor’s Note: I’ll be having lunch at Chick-fil-A tomorrow as part of my follow-up story!

There’s a secret society that I wish to unmask. It’s not as menacing as the Knight’s Templars, but if you are tasked with selling consulting services, marketing technology or loyalty marketing solutions, you will immediately identify society members by their common behaviors.

It’s the “Society of Graduate Buyers“. These are the folks who, in the course of a sales or capabilities presentation, ask the tough questions and take “poker face” to a whole new level. Ask them for a detailed description of next steps at the end of the meeting, and they will immediately defer to the procurement officer sitting at the end of the table or indicate that the decision makers are going on vacation for the next week or two and “we’ll get back to you”.

Seasoned salespeople are used to the process and have developed thick hides, therefore you’ll understand that I’m just having some fun here. In fact, if you don’t get frustrated by the white collar version of a “stiff arm”, you can learn a thing or two.

In a recent meeting, one of the client group threw me a curve ball, asking if I had experience with both “Big L and Little L” loyalty programs. He went on to explain that, by his definition, Big L programs feature an explicit value proposition with a promotional currency (points, miles, stars, credits) while Little L programs score member behavior and use the data to trigger promotions, offers, and communications without full transparency to the consumer.

The answer of course was “yes” as I’ve worked to leverage behavioral and attitudinal data to create value propositions articulated in many forms besides points. I would include viral, word-of-mouth, and social media programs with a data backbone in this group. The client must have been a consultant somewhere in his past as giving something familiar a catchy name is part of the trade (ever hear of the Loyalty Asterisk™?).

The lesson I learned from this encounter was simple:  loyalty marketing is anything but business as usual these days and practioners need to constantly test themselves to stay abreast of how the market perceives our craft. We also need to expand our definition of how customer loyalty can be created, and embrace that we have the tools to achieve multiple goals across the business from acquisition to retention and cross-sell.

I’ve added the “LIttle L” to my loyalty glossary and have pledged to give the next set of Graduate Buyers the benefit of the doubt. Never know what I’ll learn next!

There’s a secret society that I wish to unmask. It’s not as menacing as the Knight’s Templars, but if you are tasked with selling consulting services, marketing technology or loyalty marketing solutions, you will immediately identify society members by their common behaviors.

It’s the “Society of Graduate Buyers“. These are the folks who, in the course of a sales or capabilities presentation, ask the tough questions and take “poker face” to a whole new level. Ask them for a detailed description of next steps at the end of the meeting, and they will immediately defer to the procurement officer sitting at the end of the table or indicate that the decision makers are going on vacation for the next week or two and “we’ll get back to you”.

Seasoned salespeople are used to the process and have developed thick hides, therefore you’ll understand that I’m just having some fun here. In fact, if you don’t get frustrated by the white collar version of a “stiff arm”, you can learn a thing or two.

In a recent meeting, one of the client group threw me a curve ball, asking if I had experience with both “Big L and Little L” loyalty programs. He went on to explain that, by his definition, Big L programs feature an explicit value proposition with a promotional currency (points, miles, stars, credits) while Little L programs score member behavior and use the data to trigger promotions, offers, and communications without full transparency to the consumer.

The answer of course was “yes” as I’ve worked to leverage behavioral and attitudinal data to create value propositions articulated in many forms besides points. I would include viral, word-of-mouth, and social media programs with a data backbone in this group. The client must have been a consultant somewhere in his past as giving something familiar a catchy name is part of the trade (ever hear of the Loyalty Asterisk™?).

The lesson I learned from this encounter was simple:  loyalty marketing is anything but business as usual these days and practioners need to constantly test themselves to stay abreast of how the market perceives our craft. We also need to expand our definition of how customer loyalty can be created, and embrace that we have the tools to achieve multiple goals across the business from acquisition to retention and cross-sell.

I’ve added the “LIttle L” to my loyalty glossary and have pledged to give the next set of Graduate Buyers the benefit of the doubt. Never know what I’ll learn next!

There have been a number of viral marketing campaigns that have created a vortex of attention online and, today being Mother’s Day, I have to add MomsRising to the list.

I innocently clicked through an invitation to celebrate Mother’s Day in a unique way and was surprised at what I found. The link landed me on the “Mother of the Year” video which I easily customized and sent to several of my favorite “Moms”. It was easy, funny, and I got positive feedback from several of the recipients.

At last look on the MomsRising web site, there have been over 7 million views of the video, making it officially a viral marketing success.

What’s behind the organization? According to the web site, “MomsRising is working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America. Started in May of 2006, MomsRising has gained over 150,000 citizen members and is rapidly growing”.

This is a great example of a group that knows what its about and consciously crafted a campaign that was compelling enough to drive engagement and subtle in its effort to raise awareness for its mission.

I can’t vouch in more detail for their intentions, but raising awareness for the importance of Motherhood can’t be all bad.  They’re on Twitter and can be followed @MomsRising.

I’m headed to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association event in South Beach this week and can’t wait to get more feedback on this, the latest, of viral marketing campaigns to solidly hit the bulls-eye.

Let me know what you think of this effort and send me suggestions for your favorite viral campaign from the past year.

Happy Mother’s Day!

There have been a number of viral marketing campaigns that have created a vortex of attention online and, today being Mother’s Day, I have to add MomsRising to the list.

I innocently clicked through an invitation to celebrate Mother’s Day in a unique way and was surprised at what I found. The link landed me on the “Mother of the Year” video which I easily customized and sent to several of my favorite “Moms”. It was easy, funny, and I got positive feedback from several of the recipients.

At last look on the MomsRising web site, there have been over 7 million views of the video, making it officially a viral marketing success.

What’s behind the organization? According to the web site, “MomsRising is working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America. Started in May of 2006, MomsRising has gained over 150,000 citizen members and is rapidly growing”.

This is a great example of a group that knows what its about and consciously crafted a campaign that was compelling enough to drive engagement and subtle in its effort to raise awareness for its mission.

I can’t vouch in more detail for their intentions, but raising awareness for the importance of Motherhood can’t be all bad.  They’re on Twitter and can be followed @MomsRising.

I’m headed to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association event in South Beach this week and can’t wait to get more feedback on this, the latest, of viral marketing campaigns to solidly hit the bulls-eye.

Let me know what you think of this effort and send me suggestions for your favorite viral campaign from the past year.

Happy Mother’s Day!