The Popeyes chicken sandwich, temporarily unavailable, shows what can happen when marketing, social media, and customer demand collide.
Is it possible Popeyes intended for this to happen? Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business professor Ashley Nelson says it's more likely that the fast food company caught lightning in a bottle.
"It just kind of snowballed because I don't think anyone realized just how big this was going to be," said Nelson. "I think they didn't anticipate the level of hype it was going to have."
Nelson said Popeyes' roll-out of the sandwich was a mostly normal process, typical of fast food -- a few select test markets first, then introduce the product nationwide. But a few good reviews, some online buzz, and then the corporate Twitter accounts for rivals Chick-Fil-A and Wendy's seemed to fan the flames that broke the Popeyes supply chain.
"And of course, you get mentions on Twitter, you're trending, and it just exposes you to many more people."
No one makes a lot of money by not selling a product, so Nelson says she doesn't think Popeyes meant to cause a shortage just to drive up hype over it's chicken sandwich. It just found itself in a perfect storm of product and viral marketing.
