The "Chicken Sandwich War" began in August 2019 when national fast-food chain Popeyes introduced its New Orleans-style fried chicken on a bun. One week into the launch, Popeyes challenged Chick-fil-A on Twitter over which restaurant had the best chicken sandwich. Thousands of Twitter followers quickly weighed in with their opinions. The new menu item quickly grabbed the public's attention, prompting a rush on the sandwiches and doubling store traffic.

Popeyes' employees worked overtime as they frantically scrambled to churn out the meals, and many quit on the spot. The chain ran out of the sandwiches in just a couple of weeks and received negative publicity about locations being mobbed with angry crowds seeking the sold-out sandwiches.

Read the following articles to learn more:

• "Chick-Fil-A's Sandwich War vs. Popeyes: A Mistake or a Strategy?"  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/popeyes-chick-fil-a-chicken-sandwich_l_5d652d8ee4b0641b25537080
• "The Fast-Food Menu Item of the Year is the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich" https://www.businessinsider.com/popeyes-chicken-sandwich-fast-food-menu-item-of-2019-2019-12

Questions

a. Describe how Popeyes successfully leveraged public relations to launch its new chicken sandwich.

 

b. Provide at least two examples of challenges and two examples of opportunities related to the sandwich debut that affected the fast-food chain's brand image. include example from the articles

 

c. Based on what you have learned so far in the course, what might Popeyes have done differently to better manage this marketing opportunity? Explain your answer.