Getting lite right

Editor's note: David Robertson, APR, is director of public relations for Rollheiser, Holland, Kahler Associates, Inc. (RHK), Omaha. Following submisson of this article, RHK merged with Miller Friendt Ludemann of Lincoln, Nebraska to form Kahler Friendt & Partners, a full-service marketing communications firm.

Chick-fil-A is the nation's third largest chain of chicken restaurants, with nearly 450 units in 31 states. Its original sandwich has been rated number one for the past eight years against other major chicken sandwich restaurants in Chick-fil-A's nationwide tracking study. Its Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich received the top rating in 1990 against other broiled and grilled chicken sandwiches.

Planning for the spring, 1991 Chick-fil-A promotion began in April, 1990, when an account team from the Omaha-based advertising and public relations agency Rollheiser, Holland, Kahler Associates (RHK) traveled to Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta. According to Jeff Kahler, president of RHK, the purpose of the visit was to discuss Chick-fil-A's annual marketing objectives. "Once we had a clear understanding of the direction Chick-fil-A wanted to pursue, we could begin to prepare supporting campaigns. And that would include conducting periodic research to ensure we remained on the right track," he says.

One of the first research efforts involved a panel of Chick-fil-A store operators. "Every four months, Chick-fil-A gathers a panel of 10 to 12 operators from around the country and asks them what customers are looking for in terms of product and special offers," says Rebecca Finn, senior account executive, RHK.

The panel typically covers a broad spectrum. For example, it would include operators from units as diverse as Peachtree Center in Atlanta, where customer awareness of Chick-fil-A is very high, and units like Sioux City, Iowa, where the Chick-fil-A name is not quite as well known. Moreover, the Peachtree Center unit is patronized heavily by business people, who stop in for breakfast and lunch, while the Sioux City unit serves a more family-oriented clientele. The panel also included representatives from free-standing units along with those from malls. More than 400 of the chain's units are located in shopping malls.

Reflecting ideas developed at the most recent panel of operators, the April meeting decided on a campaign emphasizing menu variety. The sales promotion would feature the client's line of desserts through point-of-sale advertising and coupons and would include a special beverage offer (a free drink with the purchase of any Chick-fil-A sandwich).

In Omaha, RHK developed four promotional dessert themes for the client's consideration. Each idea was supported with copy and a rough graphic layout.

Operator experience considered

RHK presented these ideas to Chick-fil-A in June. By then, however, operator experience had shown that dessert sales over the spring were lackluster, indicating that a special promotion would not be particularly successful. "The operators told us that desserts just didn't attract much attention to a chicken sandwich based restaurant. They doubted that a coupon-based promotion would make a significant difference, and they reported that it took an excessive amount of time for their crews to make up the desserts," Finn says.

Operator input suggested that a free beverage would also be an inadequate incentive to draw infrequent patrons to their units. On the other hand, the operators strongly supported any promotion that would focus on the chain's highly rated chicken sandwiches and salads. Emphasis would also underscore the low-calorie nature of the chain's line, they suggested.

According to Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A's vice president of marketing, this direction was right in line with other research on what Americans eat. "Habits are changing-more and more people are nutrition-conscious and figure-conscious, so it seemed logical to focus on the low-calorie line."

Robinson also notes that women are typically more frequent mall shoppers during the spring than men. "With a customer base of women between 18 and 49, a springtime promotion pushing our good-tasting, low-calorie chicken sandwiches and salads made perfect sense."

RHK presented several new themes to Chick-fil-A in August. All highlighted the healthy nature of chicken sandwiches and chicken salads and included discounts and coupon incentives. After discussions with Chick-fil-A's marketing department, a combination of themes emerged.

Sensing that the client was comfortable with the direction but not entirely certain about the theme, RHK continued to develop fresh approaches. In late August, the agency faxed four new ideas to the client. Almost instantly the client responded that "Eat Lite! Save Right!" hit the proper note. A tag line was added- "Save on These Lite Menu Items, All Under 300 Calories"-bringing the first stage of research and development to a close. It was time to market-test the promotion.

Market testing begins

"We had two primary goals with the test: to increase awareness of Chick-fil-A and its products, end to make the cash registering. Based on those criteria, we would l know if we were moving in the right direction," says RHK's Rebecca Finn.

The test was conducted in October in three cities: Pittsburgh (four units), Columbia, South Carolina (five units), and Macon, Georgia (three units). Product promotion was primarily through coupons, banners, posters, table tents and continuity cards. Customer intercepts were conducted with 610 patrons, with varying results.

In all, 49 percent of those interviewed were aware of the promotion. The number climbed to 67 percent in Macon, where the campaign was more thoroughly promoted than in other cities: prominent lettering on an exterior sign and extensive in-store displays in one unit seemed to make a major difference.

Nearly 60 percent of all customers interviewed had purchased items included in the "Eat Lite! Save Right!" campaign, but only 14 percent said they had purchased these items because of the promotion. Not surprisingly, stronger response was seen in Macon, where the campaign was being most energetically pursued.

Coupons were distributed in a variety of ways: some were placed in bags, some were handed out, and some were left on the counter to be picked up. Among customers surveyed, about one-third had received coupons, with just 7 percent using them.

When asked if the campaign to "Eat Lite! Save Right!" left them with a more positive feeling about Chick-fil-A, 72 percent said yes and 28 percent said it had no effect on their opinion. Further, 95 percent viewed the "Eat Lite! Save Right! " menu items as more nutritious than other fast-food menu selections.

As for sales, while there was very little short term impact, there was significant long-term potential: thirteen percent responded that they now visited Chick-fil-A more frequently as a result of the promotion, but 53 percent indicated they would come back more often in the future as a result of the campaign.

Finn says that operators of the test units were interviewed during the promotion and completed a written survey. Those results were combined with the customer intercept study to gauge the success of the campaign.

"Did the cash register ring? Yes, but not as much as we'd hoped. Did we heighten awareness of the client and its products? No question about it. Our next step was to make some revisions to the campaign and examine it again," Finn says.

The decision was made to underscore the money-saving aspect of the promotion. "Buy 2, Get 1 Free"-which included a Super Savor Card-replaced "Save On These Lite Menu Items-All Under 300 Calories," as the primary tag line. "Lite Bite" was introduced to reinforce the nutrition theme, which had scored well in the intercepts.

Focus groups

With these alterations, the "Eat Lite! Save Right!" and "Buy 2, Get l Free" themes were bundled in among a number of others that were shown to focus groups in Dallas and Orlando in December. The findings were extremely encouraging.

"Eat Lite! Save Right!" was presented as a Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich with small salad and 20-ounce drink in Dallas and Orlando at two different price points. It produced very favorable responses with both focus groups, particularly in Orlando, where the lower price point prompted some respondents to say they'd "drive right by a KFC for a deal like that." General consensus was that the theme was effective in enticing light users or nonusers to give Chick-fil-A a try.

One suggestion that came out of the focus groups was to caption the specific calorie count for each of the three items (or provide a total count for the group). Another was to make the price stand out from a distance. Several felt the 20-ounce drink could be downplayed, echoing the opinion offered by the operator panel earlier in the year.

The groups also agreed that the "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" was effective, primarily because of the word "free." The offer was for a regular or deluxe Chargrilled sandwich and/or large salad with chicken strips. Some participants felt this theme would appeal more to regular customers, who knew they would be inclined to redeem the coupon, or to groups of two or more, since with two purchases the group could claim a free selection.

These results were very gratifying, leaving agency and client to simply fine-tune the promotion and prepare the collateral materials. However, they did make one final change, Finn says. "We decided to let the tag line (Buy 2, Get I Free) carry the savings message on its own, since the focus groups were so positive about the tag line's impact. That allowed us to revise the main theme to 'Eat Lite! Tastes Right!,' which adds a flavor element to the low-calorie, low-cost lines."

By mid-January of this year everything was on schedule. Two Chick-fil-A marketing executives flew to Omaha for a one-day review of the final collateral material. But shortly before 5 p.m. that day a legal advisor phoned to report that the phrases "eat lite" and "lite bite" were copyrighted by another company. This meant reworking the very theme that had been the core of the campaign. In a two-hour session the next morning, RHK's creative team, account executives and the Chick-fil-A executives crafted new copy and designs to replace every "lite bite" reference. Suzan Clogston, RHK's creative director, remembers the session vividly: "What normally happens over several weeks was telescoped into a wild, rapid- fire mad dash. But it worked! Of course, having the client participate in our creative scramble was a big plus."

It was agreed that operators would receive two promotion kits for the six-week campaign. The first was to target the three weeks before Easter, when traffic is high. It would concentrate on the main theme-"Buy 2, Get 1 Free With Your Super Savor Card"-in order to develop consumer interest. The second kit was to highlight "Only 305 Calories - Chargrilled Lite Meal." Consumers would still be able to redeem the Super Savor card.

After the operator panels, the intercepts, the focus groups and regular discussions with marketing department executives, Chick-fil-A and RHK had reason to believe they had designed a promotion that would appeal to their regular consumers while attracting new ones and building consumer loyalty.

"The final sales figures show that our spring campaign was very, very successful," says RHK's Rebecca Finn. "For March, Chick-fil-A's sales were up 13 percent. That's a gratifying sales increase in any economy, but at a time when retail sales are down nationwide, when mall traffic is down everywhere, and when competition from other fast feeders continues to grow, 13 percent is extraordinary." With real disposable income down three straight quarters and real income continuing to slide, that boost in sales becomes even more significant, she adds.

Sales were even for April, compared to a 22 percent jump in April the year before. "But 'even' is pretty remarkable, too, when you consider two factors in 1990 that affected that year's results: Chick-fil-A introduced a new product, and holiday shopping continued right into the middle of the month since Easter fell on April 15th," says RHK's Jeff Kahler. Easter was on March 31 in 1991.

Post-campaign research

With the campaign over, follow-up research has begun, Finn says. "As before, we are pursuing the same basic issues: did we increase awareness of the chain and its products, and did we increase sales? This regular analysis is important in helping us decide whether to repeat this campaign and in designing future promotions," she says.

A written survey was distributed to operators, asking them to rate the promotion on a one to five scale. The operators gave the campaign a four. "That's a great rating. A five is the highest you can get, and that's very rare," Finn says.

At the next operators panel, the campaign will be analyzed further, and Chick-fil-A operators will be asked if they would participate in it if it were brought out again. "When all is said and done, feedback from the ones who have to carry out a program is often more valuable than any other kind," Finn says.