Wendy's shares a syrupy holiday tale on Twitter

Brief:

Wendy's is promoting its new Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich for Maple Syrup Day today (Dec. 17) with a Twitter tie-in, according to an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
Last night, the fast-food chain tweeted a series of verses from a poem titled "'Twas the Night Before Maple Syrup Day," a send-up of the classic holiday tale. Each tweet is accompanied by an illustration by Twitter artist @SWatercolour.
Wendy's tale will be brought to life with a video and audio reading to drum up hype for the burger chain's limited-edition sandwich, which includes a chicken fillet with bacon slices, Swiss cheese, a drizzle of maple glaze and a croissant bun.

Insight:

Wendy's Twitter account has gained fame for its sassy attitude and quick-witted sense of humor, and the promotion for its Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich continues that theme. The tie-in for Maple Syrup Day piggybacks on other publicity for the occasion while parodying a classic holiday poem that will likely resonate with consumers around the holidays. The Wendy's account has 2.89 million Twitter followers, compared with 3.52 million for McDonald's USA and 1.69 million for Burger King, and the illustrated tweetstorm could help boost engagement with the brand on the platform that's not typically associated with visual elements.

Wendy's illustration for Maple Syrup Day.

Overall, Wendy's works to get the most out of its marketing budget with its social media presence to take on bigger rivals like McDonald's and Burger King. The Wendy's Twitter account has run viral campaigns like #NuggsForCarter that challenged a customer to get 18 million retweets for a year's worth of free chicken, a rap battle with rival Wingstop and a mixtape of diss tracks that scored 758 million earned media impressions. The strategy boosted its Twitter following by 1 million this year, and spurred a 113% jump in social media mentions, signaling how nurturing a loyal social media fan base can drive tangible results through clever campaigns.

Wendy's is among the burger chains that uses social media and other mobile strategies as the foundation for recent marketing promotions. McDonald's this month celebrated the inventor of the "hamburger menu" with a brand takeover of Reddit. Not to be outdone in the burger wars, Burger King this month also introduced its updated BK App with a stunt campaign that steered McDonald's customers toward a Burger King location for a 1-cent Whopper. Customers downloaded the app more than 1 million times in the first days of the campaign, pointing to the growing importance of mobile marketing efforts as on-the-go consumers grow increasingly blind to traditional advertisements.