Mediaboss Marketing

Campaign: ThighstopCompany: WingstopAgency partners: Publicis Groupe (marketing), Leo Burnett (creative), MSL (PR)Duration: June 21 - September 8, 2021

Restaurant chain Wingstop launched its virtual restaurant, Thighstop, which offered a nationwide, delivery-only menu featuring crispy thighs in 11 flavors.

Strategy

Wingstop has been looking to move beyond the wing for a while, part of its whole bird strategy, which isnt just more economically viable but better for the environment.

Thighs were the perfect place to start, according to Megan Sprague, Wingstops senior director of PR. After testing the concept last year, we found that guests loved the juicy crispy flavor of thighs, and that you eat them like a wing, she said. Overall, they were a hit.

So when the pandemic radically altered consumer restaurant behavior, shifting revenue to online ordering, Wingstop decided to launch a digital brand focused on chicken thighs. The rewardintroducing chicken-lovers to the tastiness of thighswas swift, and the risks and costs were relatively low.

Tactics

To make the Thighstop menu, the company used its Wingstop locations as ghost kitchens for the brand.

Thighstops marketing never tried to hide that the brand was associated with Wingstop. Orders were delivered in Wingstop bags with a Thighstop sticker over the logo. The company wanted to show consumers that just like wings, chicken thighs were delicious and easy to eat.

Thighstop launched on June 21 and was announced through an exclusive interview with Bloomberg.

To launch the virtual restaurant, Wingstop partnered with rapper, record producer and Wingstop franchisee Rick Ross. In addition to being featured in digital, TV and social marketing, Ross was available for interviews with reporters.

Press releases, which were sent to journalists in advance of the launch, were tailored to each outlet. For business and trade publications, messaging centred on the companys whole bird strategy as well as the ongoing chicken wing shortage.

Meanwhile, entertainment reporters received an announcement that focused on Ross involvement, while releases to tech journalists highlighted Thighstops all-digital brand launch.

Thighstop orders were available through Doordash and Thighstop.com. The Thighstop items are still available, but on September 8, they were rolled into Wingstops menu.

Results

The campaign generated more than 1,700 media placements, including coverage in CNN, CNBC, Food and Wine, Forbes and Bloomberg. Two of my favorites were Thighstop being included in The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Late Night With Seth Meyers, Sprague said.

Wingstops central campaign points were covered in 84% of earned media placements, while 99% of earned stories had a positive sentiment.

See the rest here:
Amid a chicken wing shortage, Wingstop turns to thighs - PR Week