Similar to the iconic GameStop short squeeze that took the financial industry by storm and further cemented the power of social media in an old school industry, the new trend showing CEOs of top restaurant chains trying their own food went viral but maybe for the wrong reasons though produced positive results in the end. This post touches on that.
What really kicked off this trend, which has been widely reported on, is when the CEO of McDonald’s tried their new “Arch Burger” and took a small bite versus digging in like a hungry beast searching for a delicious meal and those behavioral characteristics sparked a flurry (or McFlurry) of conversations that led to hundreds of restaurant executives as well as small owners/operators eating their own food on camera then sharing via social media.
And before we go any further it’s important to highlight one thing: I grew up eating at McDonald’s, having no money playing the Monopoly game to hopefully win a free hashbrown, and this wasn’t a mistake on their part; only a PR hiccup along with a learning lesson for the future. It also taught the food/restaurant industry a lot as a whole.
Shortly after this went viral, it was cool to see everyone else jump aboard ranging from executives at Burger King, Freddy’s Frozen Custard, Wendy’s and a wide variety of other fast food restaurants we have been tracking since this news broke.
Additionally, we’ve seen a trend where this has (which we predicted) led to CEOs/execs at all sorts of companies being pushed to use their own products and share experiences whether in the financial space (Quickbooks) or renting cars, booking hotel rooms, and the list goes on.
From a marketing perspective this unlocks a lot of opportunities though you also want to be a leader not the follower that’s late to the party, which is why having your finger on the pulse of everything is absolutely essential, and that’s what we have been guiding clients on for the past 20 years.
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