Wendy's: Wendy's Bacon Portabella Melt On Brioche [video]

Credits & Description:

Agency: VML
Client: Wendy's
Brand: Wendy's
Company: VML, Kansas City
Target: USA · North America
Chief Creative Officer: Debbi Vandeven, VML
Executive Creative Director: Aaron Evanson, VML
Group Creative Director: Chris Corley, VML
Copywriter: David Brandorff, VML
Art Director: Justin Bell, VML
Producer: Gary Granger, VML
Social Channel Manager: Laura Brand, VML
Associate Channel Manager: Christina Miller, VML
Senior Account Manager: Hillary Carter, VML
Community Manager: Amy Rose Brown, Wendy's
Director: David Wilde, Original Films
Executive Producer: Sally Schaffer, Original Films
Editor: Ryan Lewis, Liquid 9
Sound Design/Composition: Patrick Megher, Liquid 9
Contributing Companies, Original Films ; Liquid 9
Features: Ads and Sponsored Stories, Pages
Language: English (US)
Objectives: Awareness, Intent, Online Traffic, Sales, Product Launch
Tags: Quick-Service Restaurants (QSR), North America, English (US), Ads and Sponsored Stories, Facebook Platform, Awareness, Intent, Online Traffic, Sales, Product Launch, Pages  
When Wendy’s launched its new Bacon Portabella Melt on Brioche, we were tasked with driving online awareness and restaurant sales. Easy enough.
There was just one problem: people were intimidated to order the sandwich because many didn’t know for sure how to pronounce the name of its fancy new bun. So how were we going to get customers to talk about something that they couldn’t even pronounce…let alone order it?
Well, the challenge itself inspired an idea: we could spark social media chatter and make ordering the sandwich less intimidating by having a Wendy’s spokesman butcher the word “brioche” first.
And since people love being the smartest one in the comment box by pointing out a mistake, this was a campaign made for Facebook. The comments and shares flooded in. We made a mistake on purpose and played it straight the entire time.
Campaign Performance
Not only were people enthusiastically pointing out the mistake, and sharing it with their Facebook friends, but they were also educating other Wendy’s fans (and Wendy’s) on the proper pronunciation at the same time.
That’s when our “stupid like a fox” community management tactic took over to coyly stoke the fire and tease that there would be a second video. A retraction video, of sorts, which was posted the next week to clear everything up. Kind of.
OK, it didn’t clear up anything. Our spokesperson just mispronounced “brioche” a different way. But even more engagement followed. Now sensing the gag, many praised Wendy’s for successfully sabotaging its own campaign and trolling its own Facebook fans—while others were still on our case for the new mispronunciation.
But either way, people were talking, with over 1.7 million total post engagements. And not only that, but during the five weeks of the campaign in November-December 2013, Wendy’s earned over 50,000 new Facebook fans.
In the end, “brioche” was demystified, and more importantly, people were ordering it in droves. In fact, national sales of the limited-time-only sandwich exceeded goals each week. And that’s how you get people talking about and ordering.