A sign hangs outside a Chick-fil-A restaurant on May 6, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, milkshakes—and now TV shows and podcasts?
Chick-fil-A plans to launch a new app on November 18 that will feature a series of original animated shows, scripted podcasts, games, recipes and e-books for families.
While it’s an unusual move for a restaurant company to tap into the crowded world of media, Chick-fil-A has been expanding beyond food for years — with the ultimate goal of directing more people to its more than 3,000 restaurants. Since 2019, Chick-fil-A has been the third-largest restaurant chain in the United States by sales, behind Starbucks and McDonald’s, but has far fewer locations. Revenue reached $7.89 billion last year, according to franchisee disclosure documents.
To boost restaurant sales, the company sold branded merchandise, such as sleeping bags that resemble chicken sandwich packaging, and created Derivative brand Pennycakeoffering family-friendly games and puzzles. Over the past five years, it has released Animated shorts on YouTube during the holidays as part of its “Stories from Evergreen Mountain” series.
“We’ve been following some research and conversations with our customers’ families and concluded that both content and games are aligned with mealtimes,” said Dustin Britt, executive director of Chick-fil-A.
“Our belief is that when we add value to their experience, we give them a reason to want to enjoy more Chick-fil-A with us,” he added.
CNBC watched a preview of the app, including a 22-minute first episode “The Legend of Evergreen Mountain” Continuing the adventures of protagonist Sam in the fantasy world of Evergreen Mountain; the first part of “Hidden Island,” a scripted podcast about a family shipwrecked on a deserted island; and using Chick-fil-A milkshake as a key ingredient Step by step cooking tutorial.
Customers can pre-download the free Chick-fil-A Play app for their iPhone, iPad and Android devices ahead of its release next month.
Why Chick-fil-A is betting on content
People walk past a Chick-fil-A restaurant on Eighth Avenue in New York City on December 30, 2023.
Gary Hershorn | Corbes News | Getty Images
Chick-fil-A decided to create the app after years of discussions with customers and as consumer behavior shifted away from frequent visits to its restaurants for extended periods of time.
Khalilah Cooper, vice president of brand strategy, advertising at Chick-fil-A, said that while many Chick-fil-A customers still enjoy the playgrounds inside its restaurants, more customers are now using its drive-thru lanes and ordering takeout. bring. and media. competitors McDonald’s Slowly, its PlayPlaces were withdrawn, a change likely due to fewer children using the playgrounds, concerns about health and safety and marketing campaigns no longer targeting children.
“We’re looking at this app as a way to provide a digital playground for the whole family, whether they’re in one of our restaurants, at the drive-thru, driving to soccer practice or even relaxing at home,” Cooper said. . “We want it to be an extension of our restaurant’s signature hospitality and generosity. “
Cooper said the app’s content focuses on themes of generosity, friendship, problem solving, creativity and entrepreneurship. Chick-fil-A designed the app’s content to appeal to children 12 and under and their parents.
After the premiere, new episodes of “Legends of Evergreen” will be released weekly during the holidays; “Hidden Island” will follow a similar release schedule. Next year, the Play app will launch “Ice Lions,” another scripted audio series based on the true story of Kenyan teenagers who wanted to form the country’s first ice hockey team.
Most of the content available on the app is created by external partners led by Chick-fil-A’s internal team, but some of the content is licensed. The company did not disclose the names of its external partners.
“We’re always thinking about what additional elements we can add to the app over time,” Cooper said.
In August, the media published Reporting deadline Chick-fil-A has been working with outside production companies to create content, including unscripted programming such as family-friendly game shows.
“I would say we’re exploring all different types of content and everything is a potential opportunity for us right now. We’re going to continue to learn and explore and figure out what works,” Britt said.
Restaurant as media brand
Chick-fil-A meals are displayed at a Chick-fil-A restaurant on June 1, 2023 in Novato, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Just like a traditional media player disney and Warner Bros. Discovery We found that it was expensive to produce content and difficult to attract an audience given the plethora of options available on streaming services.
For a brand like Chick-fil-A, the calculation is a little different. Rather than monetizing their content through subscriptions or advertising, they hope to sell more of their products. That’s it since then Procter & Gamble First sponsored daytime radio shows to sell soap operas – created the soap opera.
“Branded media companies create a lot of content, and I think brands want to capitalize on that content because it feels more authentic. It feels more like content than advertising,” chief media officer Stephani Estes said.
Recent entrants include Starbuckswhich announced this summer It will create original content through a partnership with Sugar23. And in January, chuck e cheese says It’s teaming up with “Top Chef” producer Magical Elves to create its own game show.
“I think the biggest question I face as a marketing professional is, what is the business problem you are trying to solve? Are the dollars invested in content creation or a specific initiative going to get more return than the dollars spent?” Marketing Elsewhere in the channel? Estes said.
For Chick-fil-A, branded content gives it a way to connect with kids — without the stink of advertising directly to them — and builds goodwill toward the brand among parents.
Unlike Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, Chick-fil-A has some flexibility in judging whether investments are effective. As a family business, it is not subject to the influence of shareholders who might object to expensive marketing campaigns.
Chick-fil-A also has cash to burn; Especially given its rapid growth over the past decade. Its systemwide sales nearly doubled from 2018 to 2023. Last year, the company’s net profit reached $1.07 billion. Chairman Dan Cathy, who served as CEO from 2013 to 2021 and is the father of current CEO Andrew Cathy, has a net worth of $10.6 billion, according to the data Forbes estimates.
Coincidentally, Dan Cathy owns Atlanta-based Trilith Studios, which was the stage for many Marvel movies and TV shows as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s 2024 flop The set of Megalopolis. Tax breaks and cheap labor helped Atlanta become the “Hollywood of the South” over the past decade. Cathy has previously been criticized for her comments opposing same-sex marriage in 2012 and for donations from her company’s foundation to anti-LGBTQ groups while he was CEO.
Cooper said Dancathy was not directly involved in Play app development or content-related decisions. Chick-fil-A has not yet partnered with his studio.
“To date, we haven’t done any collaboration directly with Trilith, but it’s something we continue to explore that makes the most sense for our business and our brand,” she said.
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