Chick-Fil-A Dives into Entertainment: Will Their New App Win Over Families?
In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI and Ocampo Capital Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and guest hosts from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group Lakshman Lakshmanan and Chris Creyts discuss: Chick-fil-A is set to launch its own entertainment app on November 18th, featuring original animated shows, scripted podcasts, games, recipes, and cooking tutorials aimed at families. The hosts discuss the implications of this move, exploring whether Chick-fil-A can successfully engage the next generation of consumers through digital content. While some express enthusiasm for the brand's innovative approach, others raise concerns about competing in a crowded digital landscape against platforms like TikTok and YouTube. The conversation delves into the potential benefits of increased customer engagement and restaurant traffic, highlighting how this strategy might enhance the brand's connection with younger audiences. Ultimately, the hosts debate the merits of this initiative and whether it could position Chick-fil-A ahead of its competitors in a rapidly evolving retail environment.
Chick-fil-A is set to launch its own family-friendly entertainment app, a significant pivot for the fast-food giant that is traditionally known for its chicken sandwiches rather than content creation. The new app, scheduled for release on November 18th, will feature original animated shows, scripted podcasts, games, recipes, and ebooks, all tailored for families. Key highlights of this initiative include the debut of the animated series "Legends of Evergreen Hills," which follows the adventures of protagonist Sam in a fantasy realm, as well as a scripted podcast titled "Hidden Island," centered around a family marooned on a deserted island. This move is seen as a strategy to adapt to changing consumer behavior, particularly as families increasingly seek entertainment options that can be accessed during dining experiences or at home. The discussion among the podcast hosts delves into the implications of this venture, questioning whether Chick-fil-A can effectively engage its audience in a highly competitive digital landscape dominated by platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
A critical aspect of the conversation examines the potential impact of the app on customer engagement. The hosts speculate that by integrating entertainment into the dining experience, Chick-fil-A could enhance customer retention and increase the time families spend in their restaurants. This strategy is particularly relevant as many fast-food chains are moving away from play areas and traditional family dining experiences. The hosts draw parallels with Procter & Gamble's historical foray into branded content, pondering whether Chick-fil-A can emulate this success by connecting with younger generations through digital media. The podcast suggests that while the concept is intriguing, its success will largely depend on the execution and the ability to create compelling content that resonates with the target audience without feeling overly commercial.
The episode also raises questions about the sustainability of such ventures in the long run. As the conversation unfolds, the hosts express skepticism about the effectiveness of launching a standalone app, emphasizing the challenge of attracting users who are already inundated with entertainment options. They argue that integrating content within the existing Chick-fil-A app might be a more strategic move, allowing the brand to leverage its already loyal customer base while seamlessly introducing entertainment. Overall, the podcast provides a nuanced exploration of Chick-fil-A's innovative approach to customer engagement through digital content, weighing the potential benefits against the challenges of a crowded media landscape and shifting consumer expectations.
Takeaways:
- Chick Fil A is launching an entertainment app focused on family-friendly programming and content.
- The app will feature original animated shows, podcasts, games, and cooking tutorials for kids.
- Experts debate whether Chick Fil A can successfully compete against existing entertainment platforms like TikTok.
- The initiative reflects a shift in family dining experiences, moving to digital engagement.
- There are concerns about the heavy investment required to produce content for the new app.
- Some believe Chick Fil A should integrate this content into their existing app instead.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Chick Fil A
- Procter and Gamble
- McDonald's
- Walmart
For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/k5dEe64NBUE
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcript
Chick Fil?
Speaker A:A is releasing its own entertainment app, you guys with family friendly shows and podcasts.
Speaker A:According to cnbc, Chick Fil?
Speaker A:A plans to launch a new app on November 18th with a slate of original animated shows, scripted podcasts, games, recipes and ebooks aimed at families.
Speaker A:A preview of the app viewed by CNBC included the first 22 minute episode of Legends of Evergreen Hills, which continues or protagonist Sam's adventures in the fantasy world of Evergreen Hills.
Speaker A:The first installment of Hidden Island, a scripted podcast about a family that shipwrecks on a deserted island.
Speaker A:And a step by step cooking tutorial that uses a Chick Fil?
Speaker A:A milkshake as a key ingredient.
Speaker A:Customers can pre download the free Chick Fil A play app for their phones, iPads and Android devices ahead of the launch next month.
Speaker A:Chris, I'm going to have you wrap this up.
Speaker A:This is in your wheelhouse, as you said.
Speaker A:Are you buying or selling the idea of Chick Fil?
Speaker A:A producing and distributing its own content via a standalone app?
Speaker B:I love it, like, you know, disclosure biased here.
Speaker B:You know, major Chick Fil A fan, avid customer, as are many of our.
Speaker C:Omnitalk listeners after last week's show.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, they, you know, I love it.
Speaker B:I think it's, it's a good idea for them, right?
Speaker B:It's a brand that people already love.
Speaker B:And, and I think like the, on the surface level, right, people are doing less dining at the restaurant.
Speaker B:You know, there are places like McDonald's starting to close their playpens, et cetera.
Speaker B:I think it's a fun way to have some sort of replacement engagement in the restaurant.
Speaker B:And I thought you brought up a really good point at the beginning of the show of brands doing a good job listening to customers.
Speaker B:And I don't think any customers like actually said, oh my God, I want Chick Fil?
Speaker B:A streaming.
Speaker B:But, but when you look at the release here, they talked about understanding the adjacencies and how the adjacencies to mealtime are shifting.
Speaker B:And instead of having like the play centers, they were looking for activities and games that could be adjacent to meal time that customers are doing now.
Speaker B:Parents with iPads and things at restaurants, I think it's a great idea to have a slightly different engagement in the restaurant, but then outside the restaurant you just extend your connection to that customer into totally new environments when you Chick Fil A was never being discussed.
Speaker B:So like, is it gonna be a massive win?
Speaker B:Probably not.
Speaker B:Is there gonna be a lot of halo effect from deepening connection with the brand and you know, can you market to kids without blatantly marketing to kids with this.
Speaker B:Yeah, probably.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, that's the question that they bring up in this article too, that I thought was interesting.
Speaker A:Like Procter and Gamble did this soap opera early on.
Speaker A:Like, is this the next is, is Chick Fil A the next png?
Speaker A:And do they have the ability to drive traffic to another, you know, destination?
Speaker A:We'll see.
Speaker A:Lakshman, where do you come down on this?
Speaker D:Well, if they, if they, if they figure out the licensing fees and all the royalties and everything with others in terms of, you know, how they're going to product go to production services on this one.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:So if it is a low overhead and they not invested a ton into that and have a lot more AI driven content generation going on here, this is a real use case for, you know, asset like model for them to develop and deliver content quite significantly.
Speaker D:And kids are always, you know, stuck to their iPads so we can have greater engagement.
Speaker D:I think it just increases two things.
Speaker D:One is traffic, where kids have a reason to go to Chick Fil A now and number two, duration for which they can stay in the store.
Speaker D:So you at least have to stay for the duration of the video.
Speaker D:Likely.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker D:And they likely, you know, give free wi fi and whatnot for this.
Speaker D:And 8 to 10 minutes will likely get extended to 15 to 20 minutes.
Speaker D:The longer you stay, the more you buy.
Speaker D:Which in case drives the basket size and the aoe.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I mean, Chris, what are your thoughts here?
Speaker A:Walton?
Speaker A:Chris Walton.
Speaker A:Because it's not in the Chick Fil A app.
Speaker A:You use the Chick Fil A app like no one's business.
Speaker A:So I mean, do you think that they'd be better positioned putting this inside of that app experience or, or can they drive traffic to an entirely new app?
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:I'm starting to feel like this is a glass half empty podcast for me because I, I, I hate this idea too.
Speaker C:I mean, and for the reasons you're saying, I think, you know, the, the P and G analogy is a false analogy because PNG was, was producing that content but distributing it through an existing content network, which is the problem here.
Speaker C:So whether you create your own app or whether you put it in the existing Chick Fil A app, when people are in the entertainment seeking mood, we talk about it all the time on the show.
Speaker C:Like you're competing against TikTok, Instagram, YouTube.
Speaker C:That's a hard hurdle to get over.
Speaker C: member, like the app craze in: Speaker C:He'd be like, do you know that Lysol built an app?
Speaker C:Like, why in the hell would Lysol build an app?
Speaker C:But that's what they did, and I think that's what we're seeing here as well, is that a lot of companies are trying to get into this media thing, but they're not thinking about the right way to do it and they're almost over engineering a new wheel too much.
Speaker C:Instead of just saying, okay, yeah, we want to put content in there, we want to create attachment to our brand.
Speaker C:What's the right distribution channels for us to do that?
Speaker C:And that's how you should be thinking of it.
Speaker C:This is, this is way too souped up for my tastes.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, and, and I think it actually goes a little bit against what Lakshman was saying because they.
Speaker A:It does involve a heavy amount of capital to invest to make this content and to really.
Speaker A:And to drive traffic to it early on.
Speaker A:Yes, you have AI that can help make this a little bit simpler.
Speaker A:But my only question here is, you know, something that really started to resonate with me when we were at Chop Talk Fall last week, and that is just really rethinking about Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
Speaker A:They are the first digital first generation that has been.
Speaker A:Has started on iPads from the moment that they were coming out of Bye bye baby.
Speaker A:And now they are.
Speaker A:Are looking at content.
Speaker A:They're exploring brands and experiencing brands in a digital way like they never have before.
Speaker A:So is this.
Speaker A:Is.
Speaker A:Is Chick Fil a really, like, doubling down and saying this is how we're going to try to invest with the next generation of consumer.
Speaker A:We know we have them.
Speaker A:We know that they want to come to our stores.
Speaker A:We know that the content that we're generating on the social platforms is working with them.
Speaker A:How do we get them further embedded with us?
Speaker A:And that's the only question that I have here is like, will they actually be able to pull this off?
Speaker A:Because they're really putting all of their investment in doing that in a way that a lot of other retailers aren't doing anymore.
Speaker A:Especially like Walmart last year was doing, trying to do this too, with their Add to Heart series that we haven't heard anything about yet this year.
Speaker A:But could this be.
Speaker A:Could this be them being kind of, you know, ahead of their time?
Speaker C:Yeah, but, and, and to that point, like Walmart, we haven't heard word one about that from Walmart this year.
Speaker C:And they were doing that through YouTube too.
Speaker C:So like.
Speaker C:But no, no.
Speaker C:What do you do you like this idea?
Speaker C:And though like would.
Speaker C:Is this how you would advise them trying to approach Gen Z?
Speaker A:And I wouldn't do it in this way.
Speaker A:I think I try to keep it within the Chick Fil A app.
Speaker A:I think that makes more sense as a starting point.
Speaker A:And then using clips or content to put on the social platforms on YouTube, on TikTok where the generation is exposing themselves or discovering content and then I drive them into the app for long form content if that's what they want.
