In the world of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), the numbers don’t get much better than they are right now for Golden Chick.
With double-digit same-store sales increases and a big boost in average unit volume pushing system growth past 200 units, the Golden Chick brand has found its way to the top half of Restaurant Business’s Top 500 list and was named a Next Gen brand by Nation’s Restaurant News.
Golden Chick CMO Howard Terry credits the strength and efficiency of the company’s operational response to the pandemic, along with marketing and advertising efforts, as key drivers of the brand’s growth in 2020, 2021, and the first half of 2022. Terry notes that the brand’s surge in sales began with the launch of its award-winning man-on-the-street-style campaign called “One Taste and You’re Golden.”
Since 2018, the campaign had focused on capturing authentic experiences of first-timers as they discovered Golden Chick’s taste and quality, something research showed overwhelmingly created instant Golden Chick fans and repeat customers. “Our campaign has been highly effective at differentiating Golden Chick from our larger competition,” said Terry, “but coming out of the pandemic, we knew it was time to dial it up.”
Health guidelines during 2020 and 2021 forced a shift in production, but now it was time to refocus on taking Golden Chick back out to the people. Research confirmed the consumer appeal of the campaign’s interviewer, Marty. Originally cast for his personable, friendly approach and improvisational abilities, Marty continues to riff off the customers’ comments but is now accompanied by brand ambassador sidekicks. “Marty is known for his crowd work. We wanted to give him an even greater chance to bring the funny in this new round of spots,” said Group Creative Director Kim Smith. “Putting him back out on the street and pairing him with the sidekicks changed things up, giving him more opportunity to do just that. He knew we wanted to breathe new life into this already strong concept, and he delivered.”
