Brand Comparison PaperHannah SlocumSpring 2017

VS.

TableofcontentsExecutiveSummary......................................................................3CompanyBackground……………………………………………………………….4CommunityInvolvementonSocialMedia………………………………….5-6SocialMediaPresence………………………………………………………………7BreakdownofSocialMentionStats……………………………………………8Facebook…………………………………………………………………………………..9-11Instagram………………………………………………………………………………….12-14Twitter………………………………………………………………………………………15-17YouTube…………………………………………………………………………………….18-20MobileAccessibility…………………………………………………………………..21-23FinalScore…………………………………………………………………………………24Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………25

ExecutivesummaryManypeoplemayviewChick-fil-aandZaxby’sasequals;whenoneisnotaccessible,

theywilljustgototheother-nobigdeal.ItisnotasecretthatChick-fil-aandZaxby’sarebothknownfortheirchicken.However,thetwocompaniesactuallyhavemanykeydifferences.Forinstance,Chick-fil-aservesduringallthreemeals,whileZaxby’sfocusesmoreonlunchanddinner.Also,thereisthefactthatChick-fil-aisclosedonSundays,butZaxby’skeepstheirdoorsopenallsevendaysoftheweek.However,asidefromthesesurface-level,wellknowndifferences,thereareactuallymanyunder-the-surfacedifferencesthatbecomethroughanalyzingtheirSocialMediastrategies.Throughoutthispaper,thetwocompanieswillbecomparedsidebysideacrosstheirmostsuccessfulsocialplatforms.

Itisnottypicalforonetoassociatechickenwithsocialmedia,butafteranalyzingthetwocompaniesacrosstheirvarioussocialmediachannels,onewillfindthatChick-fil-adoesthebestjobofintegratingthetwo.Chick-fil-adoesanexcellentjobofcommunicatingtheirmissionacrosssocialmediaplatforms.Theyalsoworkhardtoemphasizecommunityandothervaluestheyfindimportantthroughouttheirchannels,suchastheirextremefocusonprovidingexcellencecustomerservice.Chick-fil-aengagestheiraudienceacrossalloftheirsocialmediachannels,andthebenefitsofdoingsoareobviousintheirperformance.AlthoughtheircontentonYouTubeisslightlyunderwhelming,theycaneasilyovercomethisshortfall.Overall,Chick-fil-adefinitelyoutperformsZaxby’swhenitcomestoSocialMediaMarketing.

Established:1946inHapeville,GA;originallynamed”TheDwarfGrill”

Founders:Truett CathyandbrotherBen

CurrentCEO:DanT.Cathy

Slogan:“EatMoreChikin”

NumberofEmployees:Hasacorporatestaffofmorethan1,000employees

Sales:Upwardsof$3millionperstore($6billiontotalin2015)

NumberofRestaurants:over2100in46states

Established:1990inStatesboro,GA;originallynamed“Zax”

Founders:ZachMcLeroy andTonyTownley

CurrentCEO:ZachMcLeroy

Slogan:“Indescribablygood”

NumberofEmployees:Notavailable

Sales:$1.3billionin2015

NumberofRestaurants:over800in18states(primarilyfoundinsouthernstates)

History:

SpecialPromotionstoEncourageCommunityInvolvement

OnewayChick-fil-aencourageslocalcommunityinvolvementisthroughtheir”CowAppreciationDay”inwhichanyonewhocomestotheirlocalChick-fil-adressedupasacowreceivesafreemeal.Thousandstakepartinthisfun,creativepromotion,anditisestimatedthatthispromotionalonegenerates$8millioninfoottraffic.Chick-fil-aencouragesthoseinvolvedtotaketotheirsocialmediaaccountstosharetheirphotosfromtheexcitingdaywiththehashtag#CowAppreciationDay.

SpecialPromotionstoEncourageCommunityInvolvement:Zaxby’scallsitselfthe“officialchickenofcollegefootball”,andseekstoinvolvelocalcommunitiesbyhostingtailgatesforfootballgamesinvariouscollegetowns.CollegesfeaturedonZaxby’ssocialmediaaccountsincludeAuburn,TCU,FSU,andArizona.Zaxby’ssharesphotosofthetailgatestheyhostontheirownsocialmediaaccounts,andtheyencouragethoseinvolvedtotagthemintheirpostsoftheevents.

Strength:

88%Sentiment:

6:1Passion:

26%Reach:

70%

Strength:

66%Sentiment:

5:1Passion:

20%Reach:

60%

SocialMediaPresence

Datawascollectedover5variousdayschosenatrandom.

4minutesavg.permentionLastMention4minutesago107uniqueauthors47retweets

1minuteavg.permentionLastmention1minuteago131uniqueauthors55retweets

Positive:18Neutral:111Negative: 4

Positive: 30Neutral:78Negative:3

BreakdownofSocialMentionStatistics

• Strength: Chick-fil-a’saveragestrengthis88%,whileZaxby’sis66%.Fromthis,onecantellthatChick-fil-aismentionedmoreonsocialmediathanZaxby’s,andthereforemorelikelytobementionedinthefuture.• Sentiment: Chick-fil-aandZaxby’ssentimentratiosarerelativelyclose,butChick-fil-a’sisjustslightlyhigher.ThisratiomeansthatChick-fil-aonaveragereceives1negativecommentforevery6positivecommentsonsocialmedia.Zaxby’sontheotherhandreceives1negativecommentforevery5positivecommentsaboutthemonsocialmedia.• Passion: Chick-fil-a’spassionis26%onaverage,whileZaxby’sis20%.Thismeansthat26%ofpeoplewhotalkaboutChick-fil-aonsocialmediawilldosocontinuously,and20%ofpeoplewhotalkaboutZaxby’sonsocialmediawilldosocontinuously.• Reach: Chick-fil-a’saveragereachis70%,whileZaxby’sisslightlylowerat60%.Fromthisnumber,onecanconcludethatChick-fil-aismoreeasilyabletoconnectwiththosethathavementionedthemonvarioussocialnetworks.

on

on

FacebookComparison

Chick-fil-a Zaxby’sLikes 7,658,229 1,314,300Avg.ResponseTime

Withinafewhours

Within onehour

Check-ins 5,531,481 1,093,269PeopleTalkingAboutThem

70,120 46,906

AlthoughbothrestaurantsareefficientindifferentwaysontheirFacebookpage,Chick-fil-aoutdoesZaxby’sonthissocialmediachannel.Chick-fil-areachesamuchlargeraudience,andtheyhavemanymore(almost5timesasmany)peopleengagingwiththemthroughtheplatformthanZaxby’sdoes.Chick-fil-a,despitetheirslightlyslowerresponsetime,usesFacebookefficientlywhenitcomestoengagingwiththeircustomers.Whetheritisasimplereplybacktoacomment,oravideoforQ&A,Chick-fil-a’shighregardforcustomerserviceisextremelyapparentthroughtheirFacebookpage.Theyprovidefun,interactivevideosandarticlesontheirtimelinetoencourageengagement,alongwiththeexpectedpicturesofmenuitems.Zaxby’sfocusestheirpageonsharingpicturesoftheirfood,butnotasmuchaboutengagingtheirfollowerswiththeirbrand.ThisisanareathattheycouldimproveinordertobemoreeffectiveonFacebook.

onChick-fil-a’sInstagramAccountisnotonlymadeupoffood,asonewouldsuspectfromarestaurant.Ofcourse,theydoincludepicturesoftheirfoodlookingasdeliciousasever,buttheyalsodosomethingveryunique.Chick-fil-adoesagoodjobofcreatingvarietyamongtheirposts.Forinstance,everysooften,Chick-fil-awillpostavideoofsomesortofrecipeintowhichyoucanincorporatetheirmenuitems.Forinstance,aroundNewYear’sEve,Chick-fil-apostedarecipethatincorporatedtheirfamouslemonade,anditincludedacharmingpresentationthatindividualscouldusefortheircelebrations.Also,Chick-fil-aattemptstoaddhumorintotheirpostswithgoofycaptionssuchas“Seizetheday,orasausageeggandcheesebiscuit.Samething.”Thisnotonlygrabstheviewers’attention,butitalsorepresentstheirbrand’slight-hearted,nottooseriousimage.ThereisalsoagreatfocusonChick-fil-a’scateringoptionsthatarefeaturedontheirInstagramaccounttoencourageviewerstokeeptheminmindwhenhostinglargegettogethers.Finally,Chick-fil-aisalsoveryefficientwhenitcomestoannouncingvariouspromotionsininterestingways.Theytreatpromotions,suchasfreebreakfastonaSaturdaylastSeptember,asamonumentalevent.Thisbuildstheanticipationandexcitement,andmakesthepromotionmoresuccessful.However,Chick-fil-acouldreallyuseanincreaseinthefrequencyofpostsonInstagram.Currently,theyarepostingbetween4-6timespermonth,anditwouldbemoreefficientiftheywouldimplementaslightincrease.

onZaxby’sutilizesInstagraminaveryuniquemanner.Theyobviouslyfocusonthepresentationoftheirfood,buttheyalsotrytoincorporatetheirfoodintodifferentsettings,suchaspicnics,birthday“cakes”madeoftheirfamousfriedpickles,summeratthepool,etc.Theonlycommonthemethroughouttheirpostsisthefocusontheirfood.Althoughtheydon’thaveauniquetheme,theyusepicturesoftheirfoodthatphysicallymaketheirfollowers’mouthswater.Thepresentationisimpeccable.Theyincorporatebright,vibrantcolorsthatareaestheticallypleasingtotheirviewers.Mostphotosincludesomesortofuniquebackgroundorlandscape,whichevokesviewers’interest.Zaxby’salsodoesagoodjobofaccompanyingtheirInstagrampostswithsomesortofwittyorhumorouscaption.Forexample,onapictureoftheirfamousFrenchfries,theaccompanyingcaptionis“Crinklefriesareafoodgrouptoo,right?”Also,onapictureofoneoftheirmorerecentlyreleasedmenuitems,thebuffalochickendip,thecaptionjokesastheycompareeatingthediptoaworkoutthroughusingaplayonwords:“gettingbuff:eat,dip,repeat.”Next,Zaxby’sregularlyincorporatestheircustomersintotheirInstagramposts,andtheytrytoincorporateholidays/seasonswiththeirpoststobemorerelevant.OnethingZaxby’scouldimprove,however,ittheirfrequencyinposting.Theirpostsarerathersparserightnow,withanaverageofonly6postsamonth.

InstagramComparison

BothofthesecompaniesusetheirInstagramaccountscreatively,soitwasrelativelydifficulttochooseawinner.However,overall,Chick-fil-awinstheInstagramcompetition.Althoughtheyarelackinginfrequencyofposts,theyengagetheirfollowersmoreefficientlythanZaxby’sdoes.Notonlydotheyhavemorefollowers,theyalsoreceivemorelikes(almost10timesasmany)andcommentsthanZaxby’s.Chick-fil-aalsodoesanincrediblejobofgettingfollowersexcitedandinvolvedwithnewpromotionsandproducts,whichisanareaZaxby’sneedstoimprovein.Chick-fil-adoesagreatjobwithcreatingfreshcontenttokeeptheirfollowersentertainedandengaged,soChick-fil-awinsthischannel.

Chick-fil-a Zaxby’sPosts 695 470Followers 644k 34.6kFollowing 50 194Numberofpostsusing#chickfila/#zaxbys

677,940 90,911

on

on

TwitterComparison

Chick-fil-a Zaxby’s

Tweets 77.7k 16kFollowers 797k 91.7kFollowing 7,997 1,231Likes 7,072 12.9kLists 2 1

Chick-fil-aalsostridesaheadofZaxby’sthroughouttheuseoftheirTwitterAccount.Chick-fil-atries,successfully,torelatetotheirfollowersbypostinghumoroustweetsconsistently.Zaxby’s,ontheotherhand,includessomewittytweets,butalargeportionoftheirtwitteraccountispostingnewrestaurantopenings.Althoughitisgoodtoinformcustomersofnewthingshappening,unlessthefollowerreadingthattweetisfromthespecificareaofthenewstore,thetweetisessentiallyirrelevant.AlthoughZaxby’sdoesagoodjobreplyingtounsatisfiedcustomers,theycoulddefinitelybecomemorefrequentwiththeirposts,andtheycouldaddcontentthatwouldbemoreenjoyabletofollowers.Chick-fil-ahasanastoundingnumberoffollowersbecauseoftheirlight-heartedtwittercontent,alongwiththeirfrequencyinposts.ThisissomethingZaxby’sshouldtakeintoconsiderationtobecomemoresuccessfulonTwitter.Thus,Chick-fil-awinsagain.

on

on

YouTubeComparison

AlthoughChick-fil-ahasnearly16timesthenumberofsubscribersthatZaxby’sdoes,Zaxby’sdoesabetterjobofpostingcontentthatwillappealtoandentertaintheirsubscribers.Zaxby’screatedashortvideoseries,the“FriedPicklePatch”,whichishumorous,andithighlightstheirlimited-timemenuitem.Chick-fil-a,ontheotherhand,focusesonnewpromotions(suchasCowsVRandtheirmobileapp),thatarenotquiteasentertaining,more-sothananythingelse.Someoftheirbestcontentisuploadedbyfans,ratherthanChick-fil-athemselves,whileZaxby’screatestheirowncontentallaround.WithChick-fil-a’smassiveaudience,theyshouldbeproducingcontenttokeeptheirsubscribersentertainedandwantingmore.Forthischannel,Zaxby’stakestheprize.

Chick-fil-a Zaxby’s

Subscribers 21,447 1,341

Videos 175 112

Bypasstheline

Customizeyourorder

OrderintheApp

PayintheApp

Trackyourprogressandreceivefree

treats

Saveyourfavoritemeals

tomakeorderingeasier

MobileAccessibility

Mobileaccessibility

Placeorders

Findvariouslocations

PayinApp

Saveordersonaccount

MobileAccessibilitycomparisonOverall,Chick-fil-a’smobileapphasmuchmoretoofferthanZaxby’s.Chick-fil-a’smobileappisdefinitelyoneofthebrand’smainfocuses,astheyadvertiseitbothinstore(ontablepiecesandatregisters)andontheirsocialmediachannels.Zaxby’smobileapp,ontheotherhand,isnotmentionedatallontheirsocialmediachannels,norinstore(theydomentiononlineordering,butnottheappspecifically).Chick-fil-a’sappismuchmoredevelopedandefficient,anditoffersspecialrewardsandprizesforcustomerloyalty.Zaxby’sappissimplyawaytopre-orderyourfoodbeforeyougettotherestaurant.Chick-fil-adefinitelytakestheprizewhenitcomestoMobileAccessibilityduetotheextrafeaturesitprovidestousers.

Sowhohasabettersocialmediapresence?

Mobile

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Conclusions

Overall,Chick-fil-adoesabetterjobinregardstodigitalmarketing,andtheyseamlesslyintegrateanunlikelycombinationofchickenandsocialmedia.AlthoughtheyfellbehindZaxby’sinregardstotheirYouTubechannels,refocusingtheireffortscouldeasilyimprovetheirpresenceonthissite.Forinstance,theycouldcomeupwithmorecreativecontentthatisfunnyandentertaininginordertofollowthetrendsoftheirvariousothersocialmediaaccounts.Theyalsocouldincreasetheirfrequencyofpostingvideosinordertoattractmoreviewers,andtheyshouldusemoreoftheirowncontent.Becausealloftheirothersocialmediachannelsaredoingsowell,theycanputextraeffortintoimprovingtheirYouTubechannel.ThesubtlewayChick-fil-ashowcasestheirvalueofprovidingthebestpossiblecustomerexperiencethroughtheirsocialmediachannelspushesthemaheadofZaxby’swithoutadoubt.Zaxby’sshouldlearntofollowChick-fil-ainthisregard,andtheywouldnoticeahugedifferenceinthesuccessoftheirchannels.