BUSI 520 1
Marketing Management Individual Project (MMIP)
Charles Treadwell
Liberty University
BUSI 520 2
Marketing Management Individual Project (MMIP)
Chick-fil-A’s Promotional Mix and Public
Marshall describes a promotional mix strategy, otherwise known as promotional
strategies, as the “decisions about which combination of elements in the promotion mix is likely
to best communicate the offering to the marketplace and achieve an acceptable ROI for the
marketer” (2023). Chick-fil-A capitalizes on using digital and social media marketing, advertising,
and public relations. While Chick-fil-A’s advertising may not be as apparent as some of its
competitors, they utilize TV advertisements and their notorious billboards. In 1995, the words
“Eat Mor Chikin” first appeared on a billboard in Atlanta, Georgia (Chick-fil-A, 2018). This
became the start of their iconic advertising campaign. Chick-fil-A has been extremely crafty in
their public relations. In 2005, Chick-fil-A created and coined the term “cow appreciation day” in
which customers who dress up like a cow are able to get free food from the chicken chain
(Taylor, 2020). This event is celebrated the second Thursday of July each year. Many customers
show up to celebrate this event and it helps Chick-fil-A establish themselves in the community.
For a company to create an event that is celebrated annually and adopted by many other
industries is no easy feat. Many farmers and members of the dairy industry participate in this
event and have even added their own customs with it. However, Chick-fil-A is the source of its
foundation.
Push or Pull?
Chick-fil-A uses a hybridized push and pull strategy. The brand creates a demand through
their marketing strategy to consumers, thereby pulling them in. They also push the offering of
their products and services through each franchised restaurant location. The operators, also
known as the owners of a restaurant location, are highly encouraged to build strong
relationships with community members. Franchisees push the product in their communities
through the relationships they build. The hybridization of this strategy occurs in the company
BUSI 520 3
creating a demand for their service and food and the operators bringing that food and service to
consumers in an effort to make sales.
Social Media Marketing
Chick-fil-A, to better reach their consumers, has developed a pretty significant social
media presence. On Facebook they have over 7.5 million Facebook followers, on Instagram they
have over 970,000 followers, on twitter they have nearly 920,000 followers and have sent over
105,000 tweets. They utilize these various media platforms to connect with consumers, present
their products and services and build rapport with online communities. They also have a
YouTube channel where they create various kinds of content to reveal to their consumers not
just about their products, but who they are, what they care about, and how they serve their
communities. Chick-fil-A also demonstrates to the community how they treat their employees,
the origins of their notorious chicken sandwich and their desire to hold true to their convictions
(McGinty, 2020). In a world where social media has become thoroughly interwoven into our
daily lives, Chick-fil-A has carefully crafted it presence to take advantage of consumer presence
on these platforms.
Advertising Execution
Chick-fil-A’s approach to advertising execution lies in humor and animals. Chick-fil-A,
while having a chicken in their logo, is better known for their utilization of the cow. To be
humorous in the eyes of consumers, Chick-fil-A developed the image of two cows painting a sign
on billboards to eat chicken. The common American sandwich is the hamburger which is made
of beef which comes from cows. The cows paint this sign to encourage people to eat chickens
and spare the cows. It’s humorous in its execution because you have two cows who shouldn’t be
painting, painting incorrectly spelt words to emphasize the need to eat chicken. Typically display
high up on a billboard it demonstrates the effort these cows are willing to through in order to
get this message to consumers.
BUSI 520 4
References Chick-fil-A.
(2018). This is how it started. Chick-fil-A.
https://www.chick-fil-a.com/stories/news/this-is-how-it-started
Marshall, G. (2023). Marketing management. McGraw-Hill Education.
McGinty, J. (2020). Innovation Meets demand: Introducing Chick-fil-A Supply. Chick-fil-A.
https://www.chick-fil-a.com/stories/inside-chick-fil-a/innovation-meets-
demandintroducing-chick-fil-a-supply
Taylor, K. (2020). Chick-fil-A postpones its free food-filled Cow Appreciation Day due to the
coronavirus pandemic. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/chick-fil-
apostpones-free-food-cow-appreciation-day-covid-2020-7
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