Southern Illinois University CarbondaleOpenSIUC

Research Papers Graduate School

Spring 4-5-2017

New Media's Impact on the Fast Food Industry: AComparative Study of Taco Bell and Chick-fil-ADrew D. HoffmanSouthern Illinois University Carbondale, drew13hoffman@siu.edu

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Recommended CitationHoffman, Drew D. "New Media's Impact on the Fast Food Industry: A Comparative Study of Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A." (Spring2017).

NEWMEDIA’SIMPACTONTHEFASTFOODINDUSTRY:

ACOMPARATIVESTUDYOFTACOBELLANDCHICK-FIL-A

by

DrewHoffman

B.A.,WesternIllinoisUniversity,2015

AResearchPaperSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsforthe

MasterofScience.

DepartmentofMassCommunicationsintheGraduateSchool

SouthernIllinoisUniversityCarbondaleMay2017

RESEARCHAPPROVAL

NEWMEDIA’SIMPACTONTHEFASTFOODINDUSTRY:

ACOMPARATIVESTUDYOFTACOBELLANDCHICK-FIL-A

By

DrewHoffman

AResearchPaperSubmittedinPartial

FulfillmentoftheRequirements

fortheDegreeof

MasterofScience

inthefieldofProfessionalMedia&MediaManagement

Approvedby:

Dr.KavitaKaran,Chair

GraduateSchoolSouthernIllinoisUniversityCarbondale

April4,2017

TABLEOFCONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

LISTOFTABLES........................................................................................................................................................ii

LISTOFFIGURES.....................................................................................................................................................iii

MAJORHEADINGS

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1

OverviewofPaper.....................................................................................................................................4

HowSocialMediaisBeingUsedinAdvertisingStrategies......................................................5

ResearchQuestionsandMethodology..............................................................................................9

HowBusinessesUseSocialMedia...................................................................................................11

HistoryandOverviewofTacoBellandChick-fil-A..................................................................15

ResultsandConclusion.........................................................................................................................21

REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................................................33

VITA .........................................................................................................................................................................35

i

LISTOFTABLES

TABLE PAGE

Table1........................................................................................................................................................................25Table2........................................................................................................................................................................28Table3........................................................................................................................................................................28Table4........................................................................................................................................................................29

ii

LISTOFFIGURES

FIGURE PAGE

Figure1......................................................................................................................................................................26Figure2......................................................................................................................................................................30Figure3......................................................................................................................................................................30

iii

1

INTRODUCTION

Thepasttenyearshasconsistedofconstantchangeintheadvertisingbusiness,and

itcontinuestochangebecauseofmoderntechnology.Mobiledeviceslikesmartphonesand

tabletsnowaccountfornearly44%ofpeople’scomputingtime,nearlytwicetheamount

thanin2008.(Duncan,Hazan,&Roche,2014)Becauseofchangeslikethesecompaniesand

brandsarepresentedwithnewopportunitiesalmostdailybecauseofourmedialandscape.

Developingmedia,likesocialmedia,allowpeopletoexpresstheirthoughtsandemotions

towardsproductsandservicesfromthecontenttheyproduceontheirownpersonalsocial

mediapages.Agencieshavelearnedtousethiscontenttotheiradvantagewhenitcomesto

gaininghowtheconsumeractsandwhattheythinkaboutcertainproductsorservices,and

theyusethecontenttohelptheirclient’sbrandimage.Charminbathroomtissueisa

companythathastakenadvantageoftheconsumer’spowerfulvoiceonline.(Allen,O’Guinn,

&Semenik,2012)Charmincreatedandsponsoredanapp,SitOrSquat,tohelppeoplefind

qualitybathroomsawayfromhome.Peoplesimplyratelocalrestroomstohelpother

peoplelookingforaqualityplaceto‘go’.Anotherexampleofacompanyharnessingthe

poweroftheconsumerthroughnewmediaisthecompanyThreadless.OwnersJakeNickell

andJacobDeHarthadasimplebusinessmodel,letthepeopledecidewhatclothingthe

companymade.Byusinga‘likeordon’tlike’systemonlineconsumerspickedtheshirts

theywantedThreadlesstomakeandinreturnThreadlessgotconsumerapproved

products.(Allen,O’Guinn,&Semenik,2012)

Takingadvantageofnewmedialikethishasgivennewoptionstocompaniesto

reachtheirconsumers,makingthebuyingexperiencealotdifferentthaninyearspast,and

themorecompaniesthatexperimentandtrynewavenuesthemoreagencieshavefound

2

thebenefitstousingthesenewoutlets.Companieslikethetwomentionedaboveare

engagingtheirconsumersandcreatingavirtualbrandcommunity.Thefunctionofan

onlinebrandcommunityhasbeendescribedasaspacethatallowspeopletoget

information,interactwithbrandowners,andtalktootherconsumersthatusethebrandall

overtheworld.(Gabisch&Gwebu,2011)Themoretheonlineworldgrowsthemorethe

valueofhavingastrongvirtualbrandcommunitybecomes.In2010itwasreportedby

Boa-VenturaandZagalothatparticipationfromconsumersintheseonlinecommunities

increaseupto15%everymonth.

Newmediahasfoundsuccesspartiallybecauseofthegobsofcontentcreatedevery

singleday.Businesseshavealsotakenadvantageofthiscontentaswellasaddingtoitby

creatingtheirowncontentonlineandonsocialmedia.Theadvertisingdollarsusedto

createcontentonlineandonsocialmediaaresubstantiallysmallerthanifyouwereto

createaT.V.spot.Becauseofthis,businessesarefindingnewwaystocreateentertaining

content,withoutbreakingthebanktodoso.Overthepastfouryearssocialmediaspending

hasincreasedbyatleast2billiondollarsannually.Spendingfor2017isexpectedtoexceed

15billiondollarsinNorthAmericaalone.(eMarketer,2015)Thissteadyincreasein

spendingcomesatacostthough,asthereisalackofmeasuringtoolstofindimpactof

advertisingonsocialmedia.Agenciescantrackthesuccessofadswithtraditionalmedia

andgiveanaccurateRIOreport,thatcan’tbesaidaboutsocialmedia.

Aservicethathasdefinitelybroadenedtheirscopeandtakenmorerisksofwhere

theyspendtheirmoneyisthefastfoodindustry.YumBrand,TacoBell,increasedtheir

online/socialmediaadvertisingspendingtoover20%in2013.Adominant70%wasstill

spentontraditionaladvertising,buttheremaining10%isspentonmediawherethe

3

company‘cangoexplore’.(AdAge,2013)DecisionsliketheseledtoTacoBellbeingnamed

‘MarketeroftheYear’byadage(2013),an8%increaseinU.S.storesales,andbeinginthe

forefrontofconsumer’sminds.Theythoughtoutsidetheboxwiththeiradvertising,andit’s

paidoff.

4

OVERVIEWOFTHISRESEARCHPAPER

Thisstudybeginswithananalysisofthepasttenyearsoftheadvertisingbusiness,

lookingforthetrendsandthedevelopmentsthathavegottenustowherewearenow.We

willthentakethatknowledgeandanalyzenewandupandcomingmediabeingusedinthe

fastfoodindustryincommunitiesbigandsmall.

Thebackgroundinformationwascollectedfromsecondarysourcesfrombooks,

journals,magazinesandonlinesourcestoplanthefinalportionofthispaper,thecase

studyontwofoodchains.TacoBellandChick-fil-Aaretwoverywellknownfoodchains

thatarespreadacrosstheUnitedStates.Botharesuccessfulintheareaoffoodthatthey

sell.So,howaretheyspendingtheiraddollarstogetthenamerecognition?Arethey

experimentingwithnewmediatogetmoreexposure?Whateffortsaretheymakingtostay

uptodatewithcurrenttrends?Howthesetwofoodchainsareusingnewmedia,andlook

intoothernewmediatheymightwanttostartusinginthefuture.

Alongwithbackgroundresearch,surveysandinterviewswillbeconductedinthe

twoCarbondale,Illinoislocationsofeachbusiness.Finally,wewillassesstheoutcomeof

thesurveytofindtheuseandimpactofsocialmedia.

5

HOWISSOCIALMEDIABEINGUSEDINADVERTISINGSTRATEGIES?

Howissocialmediabeingused?Andhoweffectiveisit?Marketershavestruggledin

theearlyyearsofthisformofmediabecauseit’simmeasurable.Withtraditionalmedia,

agenciescangivetheirclientsreturnoninvestmentreportsthatshowhowmanypeople

sawtheiradvertising.Youcouldplaceanadontelevisionatcertaintimeandgettheresults

youwantedbecauseyouhadagoodideaoftheoutcome.Thelackofknowledgeonthe

successofsocialmediaadvertisinghasmadebusinessesmoreafraidtospendtheirad

dollars.In2005,below5%ofadvertisingbudgetswasbeingspentondigitalmarketing

becauseofthisuncertainty(Lambert&Stephen,2016).Astheyearspassedsodidthis

uncertainty,butby2010,70%ofNorthAmericamarketerswereusingdigitalmarketing,

whichwasa14%increasesince2008(Beer,2010).Therewasareported56.2%increase

insocialmediaadvertisingspendingbetween2013and2014.Theincreaseinspendinghas

paidoffformarketers,asthesocialmediaengagementhasdrivensales(eMarketer2015;

Ogilvy&Mather2011).

Eventhoughdatacan’tbecalculatedbyhowsuccessfulsocialmediaadvertisingis,

thatdoesn’tstopmarketersfromfindingbenefitsinthemedium.Intheearly2000sthe

Internetshowedmarketersthattherewasalotofpotentialtofindoutconsumerbehaviors

throughhowtheyexpressedthemselvesonline(Lambert&Stephen,2016).Thenewonline

platformswereplacesanyonefromanywherecouldexpresstheirthoughtsandsell

anything.Whatwasbeingpostedwasafreelookintotheconsumer’smindandmarketers

quicklyrealizedtheycoulduseittotheiradvantage.Theonlinecommunitycouldbe

understoodbyhowtheycommunicatedwithothersonline.Wordofmouthcommunication

6

onlinewasaffectingallmediaplatforms,includingtelevisionconsumption(Godes&Myzlin,

2004).

Wordofmouthadvertising/marketingwasn’tallsocialmediaandtheInternetwas

abletoproduce.Findingoutthecustomersbehaviorsthroughavailablemarketdataalso

helpedmarketersunderstandthebuyinghabits.Shoppingdecisionsbecamebetterwhen

consumersbeganusingtheInternetasatoolforaccessinginformationaboutproductsand

service.HaublandTrifts(2013)researchfoundthatconsumersthatusedtheInternet

madelowersearchcostsandbetterchoicesthanthosethatdidnotuseittoshop.Inreturn

companieswereabletotrackconsumersastheyonlineshoppedonline.Onceasizable

amountofdatawascollectedmarketerswereabletohelpconsumersmakechoicesbased

onpastbuyingandinterests.Thepredictabilityofconsumerpreferenceshelpedpair

consumerswithproductsthatmatchedwhattheywerelookingfor,andhelpedcompanies

generatehigherlevelofcustomersatisfactionandloyalty.Searchenginesplayedakeyrole

withthedevelopmentofmarketingintelligenceaslongastheyprogressedastheInternet

usebehaviorsdid(Bradlow&Schmittlein,2000).Decisionaidsintheonline/social

marketingworldhaveremainedessentialastechnologyprogressed(Lambert&Stephen,

2016).

Astimepassedtheonlineworldalsobecameanessentialtoolforconsumerstoshop.

Itwasn’tthatuncommonforpeopletohaveInternetintheirhomesandacellphonebythe

mid2000s.Peoplebeganincreasingtheiractivityonlineanditshowedtheamountof

moneywasbeingspentononlinepurchases.Internetpenetrationin2005wasat50%and

hasincreasedeachyearsincethen(PewResearchCenter2014)andwasbecominga

normalpartofpeople’slives.Thisjumpmadetheonlineconsumerrecommendationsmore

7

prominentwhenitcametothebuyingexperience,andbrandsexpandedtheirconsumer

bases.Theincreasedonlineactivityalsomadestartupcompaniesintomorestable

businesses.Companieslikeyelp,twitter,andFacebook,wentfromnichemarketstobeing

mainstream(Lambert&Stephen,2016).Reasonbeingwasthiswastheera(2005-2010)

whereeveryonebeganusingtheseplatformsasmarketingcontentchannels.Marketers

andbuyerswereshapingtheseplatformsandlayingthegroundworkforfuturemarketing

andadvertisingstrategies.

Asmarketerslaidthegroundworkforsocialandonlineadvertising,agradualshift

wastakingplaceinwherepeoplebeganviewingonlinecontent.Thesmartphoneand

tabletschangedsocietyintermsofonlineshopping.Peoplewerespending44%oftheir

computingtimeontheirmobiledevices.(Duncan,Hazan,&Roche,2014).Thatnumberhas

doubledsince2008.Theconvenienceofhavingaportabledevicethatyoucanaccessat

anytimeanywhereisslowlybecomingthenormforonlineactivity.Thisshifthascaused

marketerstofocusonhowpeopleareviewingthecontentfromamobiledevice.Mobile

marketinghasopenednewdoorsfortargetingconsumersgeographicallyandbehaviorally.

Italsohelpedbusinessesbuildrelationshipswiththeirconsumers,alwaysgivingtheman

opportunitytocommunicatewiththem.Thelastdoorthatmobileopenedistheabilityto

makefuntimelycontent.Beingabletomanagewhenandevenwhereconsumerswouldsee

contentallowedmarketerstotrulygetcertainmessagesacrosstopeople.

ADeliottestudyfoundthat$600billionofin-storepurchaseswereinfluencedin

somewaybysmartphonedevices(Haims,2015).Threeyearsagothesmartphonewas

attributedto$159billionofconsumerspending.Theincreaseof$441billioninconsumer

spendinginathree-yearperioddirectlyshowswherepeoplearegoingforhelpwithbuying

8

decisions.Thissuccessisbafflingwhenmarketersandbusinessownerslookatit.These

numbersarestrongenoughforanybusinesstostartpushingfundsintomobilemarketing.

But,areweusingthisnewmediumtoitsfullestpotential?In2013astudyshowedthat

43%of745businessleaderspolledsaidtheyhadnotyetdeterminedthecorrectstrategy

formobilemarketing(StrongMail,2013).

Theproblemfacingmarketershasnowbecomethattheyknowthatsocialmedia

canwork,butthereisnoplaybookorformulatocorrectlyconnecttotheconsumerlikein

otherformsofmedia.Socialmediasiteshavenoticedthisandarebeginningtohelpthem

out.Facebookchangedtheirpoliciesbackin2014tofilteroutunpaidpromotionalmaterial.

Users’newsfeedswerenolongershowingbusinessesposts,andmorepaidcontentcould

beseen(Loten,Janofsky,&Albergotti2014).Thischangedthingsforadvertisers.Itnot

onlygavepayingcustomersthatwishtoadvertiseonthesocialmediasite,butalsogave

Facebookabetteradvantageamongothersocialsites.

Someareasthatbusinessesarelookingforimprovementinareasfollows:bounce

rate(lookingatonlyonepageonawebsitethenleaving),add-to-cartrates,shoppingcart

abandonment,completionrates,andaverageordervaluefromamobiledevicecompared

toalaptopordesktop(Berman,2016).InBerman’sarticlehealsodiscussesthethree

thingsanybusinessmustdotobesuccessfulinsocialmarketing.

1. Takeadvantagethatmobiledevicesarealwaysconnectedtotheconsumer.

2. MobileMarketinghastheabilitytocreatelocationorientatedoffers.

3. Personalizeyourmarketingmessages.Youaremarketingtoanarea,ormaybe

evenaparticulartypeofpersonlivinginthearea,takeadvantageofthe

knowledgeyouknowandapplyittoyourcontent.

9

RESEARCHQUESTIONSANDMETHODOLOGY

Afterresearchinghowcompaniesareexpandingtheirpresencethroughonline

applications,I’veformulatedthesequestions.

1.HowareFoodbusinessesusingsocialmediaforadvertising? 2.Whatkindofchangeshavehappenedtocompaniessinceonlineorderinghasbecome

morecommon?

3.Whatarethevariouswaysthatconsumersareusingonlinemediaforbuyingfood?

4.Whataretheproductsandparticularlyfoodproductsthataremostlyboughtonline?

5.WhatistheimpactoftheuseofSocialMediabyChick-fil-AandTacoBell?

6.Doconsumerspreferusingapplicationsoverinstoreordering?

7.Howmuchinfluencedocompany’ssocialmediaapplications,alongwiththeirown

personalmobileapps,haveonconsumerswhentheyaremakingmealdecisions?

8.AresocialmediaapplicationslikeTwitterandFacebookmorebeneficialtocompaniesor

acompany’spersonalmobileapp?

9.IsTacoBellorChick-fil-Amorepopularamongconsumers?Doestheirpopularity

transitionovertotheirsocialmediaaccounts?

10.HowareTacoBellandChick-fil-Aviewedonsocialmedia?Asabrandorjustasanother

advertisement?

Answeringmyresearchquestionswasdonethroughasurveyandtwointerviews

withTacoBellandChick-fil-Amarketingdepartments.Thetworesearchmethodswere

chosentogetasizeableresponsesampletoevaluatetheproductivenessofTacoBelland

Chick-fil-A’seffortsthroughsocialmediamarketing,aswellasknowledgeofthoseexact

effortsbeingmadebythetwobusinesses.

10

TheinterviewsconductedwerewithmanagersofTacoBellandChick-fil-Athat

wereknowledgeableofthefastfood’slocalandnationalmarketing/advertisingefforts.

Theywereconductedseparately,andwereaskedquestionstogatherinformationontheir

localandnationalmarketingstrategies.Thequestionschosenhelpedobtainasenseofhow

thetworestaurantchainswereusingthesocialmediaapplicationswhenmarketingto

consumers.Theinformationwasthenimplementedinthesurveyquestionsandwas

comparedtotheresultsofthesurvey’sanswers.

Thesurveywas19questionsanddistributedonFacebookandwassharedbymy

friendsandfamilyontheweekofMarch19th.Thequestionswereprimarilyinamultiple-

choiceformat,withsomeshortanswerand‘checkallboxesthatapply’questionsin

between.Facebookfriendsandfamilyhadthreedaystoanswerthequestionsandsubmit

theiranswersbeforethesurveywasshutoff.Uponcompletion,allanswerswerecompiled

inGoogleformsthatcouldonlybeenseenbyme.Differenttypesofresponseswere

receivedduetotheformatofthequestions,resultinginpercentagesforeachanswerin

eachquestion.Thisfeatureallowedmetogetamorepreciseideaastohowpeoplewere

usingtheirsocialmedia.Thesurveycoveredeverythingfromeatinghabits,tosocialmedia

use,toattitudestowardTacoBellandChick-fil-Aspecifically.Thegoalofthesurveywasto

obtainaconsumersviewofhowcompaniesareusingsocialmediatomarkettheir

businessesandtoseehowwellit’sworking.

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HOWBUSINESSESUSESOCIALMEDIA

Thedifferentwaysthatsocialcanbeusedcompanies;manyhavebeenableto

createanimagethatbestsuitsthebrandimagetheywanttoachieve.Oldspice(OS)uses

humorandfeedsofftheemotionofpotentialviewers(Patel,2016).Thecolognecompany

usesshortquickvideosthatcanbesharedonsocialmediaandtorespondtopeoplethat

tweetatthem(Bullas,2011).Thevideosarepartoftheiradvertisingscheme,butthe

videosthemselvesaremorelikepersonalmessages.Anexampleofthisiswhen“TheEllen

Show”tweetedatOldSpice.OSrespondedwithavideomessageoftheirspokesman

comingoutoftheshowerwearingacrown.Anothercompanythatusessocialmediawell,

butinadifferentway,isStarbucks.Thecoffeecompanyisn’tknownforacomedicvoiceor

brandimagelikeOldSpiceandthatisevenapparentintheirsocialadvertising.Starbucks

usesthemediumtoassisttheircustomerswiththeirpersonalaccountswiththecompany,

helpthemfindnearbycoffeeshops(Starbucksonly),andapplyforjobsattheirshops

(Patel,2016).

Probablyoneofthemoreinterestingbusinessesthatusesocialmediawellandvery

differentlyfromthetwobusinessesaboveisDenny’s.WhenyouthinkofDenny’syou

immediatelythinkoffood,maybebreakfastinparticular,thatyoucangetaroundtheclock

andisquitegood.Thatimageisimmediatelyshatteredwhenyoulookattheirsocialmedia

advertising.WhatDenny’shasdoneisgiventhemselvesauniqueidentityfromtheir

competition.Aneasyoutinthefoodbusinesswouldbetoposttheirmenuitemsandtoask

theircustomershowtheylikecertaintypesoffoodtogetengagetheiraudience.But,that’s

anotwhatDenny’sdoe.Becauseoftheirtargetaudience(teensandyoungadults)the

restauranttweetsandpostsinaweirdmanner(Patel,2016).Agoodexamplethatcanbe

12

foundontheirtwitterpageread,“sure,treescan’teatlikeus,butiftheydid?Boywould

saladfreakthemout.”Anothertweetthatgivesyouanideaofthebrandimagetheyare

afterread,“funfact:atleastoneboothineveryDenny’sispossessedbyspirits.It’spretty

easytotellthoughcauseit’susuallyglowing.”Thisisaclassicexampleofabusinessthat

tooktheopportunitythatsocialmediapresentsandismakingthemostofit.Theirtwitter

pagecurrentlyhasover354thousandfollowers.

InanarticlebyBusinesstoCommunity,JakeCamachoanalyzesfivesocialmedia

practicesthatthefastfoodindustryiscurrentlyusing.ThefirstexampleisofTacoBelland

howtheyusethepollfeatureonTwitter.Withthepollfeatureyouareallowedtoaskthe

followersaquestionandgivethemoptions,justlikeamultiplechoicequestionyouwould

seeonatest.TacoBellwillaskquestionsregardinglikewhatDoritosLocosTacowould

youchooseifyoucouldonlychooseone?Thisspecificexamplereceivednearly17,000

responsesandTacoBellwasabletogetasmallsamplesizeofwhatspecialtytacowaswell

likedamongtheirconsumers(Camacho,2016).

OneofTacoBell’scompetitors,McDonalds,hasfoundsuccessonadifferent

application.ThefastfoodgianthastakentheInstagramworldbystormwiththeirclever

useoftheirmenuitemsandbackdrops.McDonaldsisn’tpostingclassicpicturesofburgers

andfriesontheirpage;theyaregettingcreativeandhavingfun.Agoodexampleofthisis

oneoftheirpostsduringthesummer.Inthepictureyouseeoneoftheirapplepiesontop

ofwhatlookslikeapoolraftwearingsunglasses,enjoyingadayatthepool.Thepost

generatedover25,000likesandnearly1,000comments(Camacho,2016).

Westcoastchain,In-N-Outburgerusesthetwosocialmediaabove,buttheytruly

takeadvantageofFacebook.OtherfastfoodcompaniestypicallyuseFacebooktoannounce

13

newlocationsandaddingtheoccasionalphoto,causingverylittleactivity(Camacho,2016).

WhatIn-N-Outdoessowellishowtheyrespondtotheirfans.Theburgerrestaurantuses

theapplicationasawaytocreatedialoguewiththeirfansansweringasmanyquestions

postedtotheirpageandinformingthemonwhatevertheywanttoknow.Notonlyarethey

answering,buttheyalsotailoreachresponsetoeachindividual(Camacho,2016).

KentuckyFriedChickentakesadifferentapproachontheirsocialmediaaccounts,

usingcustomizedvideosforcertaintimesoftheyearandevencertainregionsoftheworld.

DuringthelastholidayseasonKFCPhilippinescraftedavideothatcenteredonfamilyand

giving.Thevideodemonstratedhowthechainvaluesitsemployeesandhowtheyknowthe

importanceoffamily.Theshortvideowaspostedacrosstheirsocialmediaandtotaled

morethan900.000viewsandmorethan15thousandengagements(likes,comments)

(Camacho,2016).

In2017itwasreportedthat81%oftheUnitedStatepopulation(318.9million)had

asocialmediaprofileofsomekind(U.S. population, 2017). Not only do they have social

media accounts, but the average American spend more than two hours a day on them (Haselmayr,

2014). Businesses view this high social media traffic as opportunity to create more

individualized content and loyalty with their own mobile application. Businesses as big as

Walmart to small local businesses are creating mobile apps for their brand. This is to not be

confused with a mobile friendly website. The applications that being created are downloaded

from app stores like Apple and Google play. Businesses’ mobile apps are creates more visibility

to the consumers and a more direct marketing channel. Also, like social media, the mobile apps

are another channel for companies to improve customer engagement, getting feedback on

products and services as well as informing them on new offerings (Haselmayr, 2014).

14

The fast food industry is also inserting their brand on other online ordering applications.

Yahoo Finance (2017) says the global online food delivery and takeout market is forecasted to

grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.25% during the next four years (“Global Online

Food Delivery”, 2017). The growth in the industry has sprouted new companies that offer online

food ordering. Foodjunky and Grubhub are two companies that are emerging, being the first two

to advertise on television. Both online food-ordering companies offer similar services. When you

first arrive on their site or mobile application, you are asked to type in your address to help locate

businesses in your area. A list of restaurants will pull up on your screen that you can order from.

Most restaurants that pull up on both sites for the Carbondale area are seated establishments.

However, Grubhub and foodjunky both say that fast food restaurants (Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A) are

‘Coming Soon!’ when you search for them.

15

HISTORYANDOVERVIEWOFTACOBELLANDCHICK-FIL-A

ANDTACOBELL

TacoBellfirststartedoutin1954,butitwasn’tknownasTacobell.Creator,Glen

Bellopeneda‘Bell’sDrive-InandTacoTia’inSanBernardino.Itwouldn’tbetillthe1960s

untilTacoBellwasputontheoutsideoftheirrestaurants.Thechaincaughttractionamong

peoplequickly,havingover100differentlocationsby1967.Inthe1970sBellmadeahuge

move,joiningforceswithPepsiCoInc.Bellbecameashareholderinexchangefor868Taco

BellRestaurants(Welcome,2017)

AstimewentonTacoBelltriednewmarketingtechniquestogainmorebrand

recognition.In1989,thechaindidpromotionswithmajormovieblockbusters,most

notablywiththemovie‘Batman’.Theinnovativenessinpromotiondidn’tstopthere.The

verynextyearTacoBellbeganofferingavalueinitiativethatincludedmenuitemsat59,79,

and99cents.TheylaterpartneredthisinitiativewithTacoBellExpress.Expresswas

designedforpeoplethatwereconstantlyonthegoanddidn’thavethetimetowaitforfood.

Thistrulychangedthe‘fast’foodgame,bringingconveniencefasttotheirconsumers

(Welcome,2017).

The1990swereanactivetimeforTacoBell,astheycontinuedtogettheirnameout

thereinwaysthebusinesshadnotdonebefore.Sponsorshipsareoneexampleofthat.In

1995,TacoBellsponsoredtheESPNXGames,whichisasportingeventthatfeatures

extremeoutdoorsports.Sincethentheyhaveupgradedtobeingoneoftwosponsorsfor

theNCAACollegeFootballPlayoff(Welcome,2017).Again,TacoBellusedcreativetactics

toreachtheiraudience,collegestudents.Theywantedtoconnecttothisaudiencebecause

therewereover20millionstudentsenrolledincollege,andthosemillionshavepurchasing

16

powerof417billion.So,inordertogetnoticedbythiscrowdthechaingotcreative.Taco

Bellgaveaway1,000ticketstostudentswhoattendedthecollegesanduniversitiesthat

werecompetingintheplayoff(fourtotalteams/schools).Studentsthatreceivedtheticket

satintheTacoBellstudentsection,andalsoreceivedotherperkssuchasticketsforonsite

concerts.Inthefirstyearoftheplayoff,studentsreceivedadmissiontothegameandtoa

ZacBrownBandconcert,andaroadtripkit(Welcome,2017)

InrecentyearsTBhasalsobegunrunningpromotionsforothersportingevents,even

thoughitwerenotamajorsponsor.TheSuperBowlinthemosttelevisedeventoftheyear,

averagingover115millioneachyear.TacoBellpositioneditselfasago-toplaceforfoodto

eatwhileyouwatchthebiggame.Onthedayofthebiggametheyofferedtacosforthe

priceofwhatevernumberSuperBowlitwas.ThispastyearwasSuperBowlLI(51)sothey

weresellingtacosfor51cents.Thepromotionwasonlyofferedatselectlocations

(Welcome,2017).

Bythe2000speopleweremoreconnectedbecauseoftheInternetandsmartphones.

TacoBellusedthisshiftincommunicationtotheiradvantage.WhentheMIRspacestation

wasfallingtoearth,TBofferedupafreetacotoeveryoneintheUnitedStatesifthestation

landedonthegiantfloatingTacoBelltarget(Welcome,2017).Probablyamorepopular

promotionthatTBstartedofferinginthistimeperiod(andstilldotoday)isMountainDew

BajaBlast.Thesodaisexclusivelyofferedatthefastfoodchain,givingcustomersmoreofa

reasontoeatattheirestablishments.Therehavebeentimesovertheyearssincethey

introducedthespecialDewin2004thatconsumerscouldpurchaseBajaBlastatgrocery

stores,butithasbeenlimited.Neverhasitbeenofferedatanotherfoodchain.

17

OneofthemorerecentadditionstoTacoBell’soperationisthecreationoftheTaco

Bellapplication.TheappcanbedownloadedthroughtheAppleAppStoreorthrough

Googleplay.LikeTacoBell’ssocialmediaaccounts,theirapplicationhasthemostupdated

contentandpromotions.Notonlythat,butontheapp,newpromotionsarebrokendown

whatisineachoftheirnewproducts.Forexample,TacoBellhasanewburritoontheir

menu.Theapptellsyou(withpictures)thatthereisbeef,cheese,andlettuceandsointhe

burrito.Asaconsumer,Ifindthisvaluablebecausewhenyouseea30secondcommercial

ontelevisionyouaren’tgivenafullexplanationofwhat’sintheirnewmenuitems,justa

couplequickshotsofthefood.Theapplicationalsoshowsthefullmenu,brokendownby

typeoffood(tacos,burritos,specialties).Alongwiththefood,youcanfindthenearestTaco

Bell’stoyourlocationandevenaspecializedtabcalled‘MyBell’thatsuggestsmenuitems

foryoubasedonyourfoodinterests.Themostimportantfunctionoftheapplication(that

youareremindedaboutineverytab)isthatyoucanorderfood.Allyouhavetodoisselect

thefoodthatyou’dliketoorder,hitsubmit,andit’ssenttotheTacoBellyouselectedto

pickupyourorderat.Youcanevenpayfortheorderthroughtheapp,so,whenyougetto

thelocationthathasmadeyourorderallyouhavetodoispickitup.

CHICK-FIL-A

Chick-fil-Afirstopenedbackin1946underthenameDwarfGrill.Founder,Truett

Cathy,wantedherrestauranttobeafullserviceeatery.Theysoldtypicalitemsthatyou

canstillfindontheirmenustodaylikechickensandwichesandchickenstrips.Today,there

are12locationsintheAtlantaareathatstilloperatethesamewaythefirstDwarfGrill

operatedbackinthe1940s.Thosetwelvelocationsalsosellspecialtyitemslikehamand

cheese“MidnightSandwiches”andcoconuticeboxpie(Taylor,2016).

18

TruettCathy’sclaimtofame,andabigreasonwhyChick-fil-Amadeanameforitself,

isthebonelesschickensandwich.CathyandCFAarecreditedformakingtheboneless

sandwichinthe1960s.Theideaforthesandwichoriginatedbecausetheprocesstomake

friedchickenwastootimeconsumingandtheircustomershadtowaittoolongfortheir

orders.So,Cathydecidedtouseapressurecookeronedayandtherestishistory(Taylor,

2016).Fast-forwardtotodayandyoucanfindabonelesschickensandwichonmenusat

McDonalds,Wendy’s,Sonic,Hardees,andBurgerKingtojustnameafew.

The1960swerebusydecadesforCathy.Afterhavingsuccessandbreakingthrough

inthechickenmarket,shedecidedtoopenthefirsteverChick-fil-A.Shefeltthatshehad

perfectedherchickenrecipeby1967anddecidedtoopenarestaurantbasedaroundher

chickensandwich.Thefirstrestaurantwasa384squarefootestablishmentatGreenbriar

MallinsuburbanAtlanta.Ithadlittleseatingforcustomersandwasdesignedasmoreofa

‘to-go’eatery(Taylor,2016).CathydecidedtocallthespotChick-fil-Aasaplayonwords

for‘chickenfillet’andthe‘A’ontheendsymbolizesthehighqualitytheyproduce.Thefirst

freestanding,notinsideamall,Chick-fil-Acame19yearslateronNorthDruidHillsRoadin

Atlanta(History,2017).

SincethefirstDwarfGrillbackin1946thecompanyhasalwaysbeenclosedon

Sundays.Cathybeganthetraditionofbeingopensixdaysaweektoletheremployees

spendtimewiththeirfamilyorgotochurch.Asthecompanyevolvedintheconglomerate

thatitistodaytheykepttotheirrootsandremainclosedonSundays(Taylor,2016).No

otherfastfoodchainusesthispractice.

Intoday’smediarunsocietyyouwilloccasionallyseecowstalkingaboutchicken.

19

Chick-fil-Afirstlaunchedtheir‘EatMorChikin’campaignin1995.Theadsfeatured

Holsteincowstellingpeopletoeatmorechickenusingsigns(History,2017).Thecompany

stillusesthiscampaign22yearslater,usingrealcowsintheircommercials.In2007,

AdvertisingWeekrecognizedthecampaignasoneofAmerica’smostpopularadvertising

icons.ThesuccessandiconicadsplacedChick-fil-AandtheircowsontheAdvertisingWalk

ofFame(History,2017).

Chick-fil-Ahasbranchedoutintosportsadvertisingayearafterstartingtheir‘Eat

MorChikin’campaignbysponsoringanannualcollegefootballbowlgame.Thecompany

becamethenamesponsorofoneofthelongeststandingbowlgames,thePeachBowl

(History,2017).Tillthisdaytwocollegiatefootballballteamsplayinthe‘Chick-fil-APeach

Bowl’.

Thefastfoodcompanyiscurrentlyoperatingin46statesandcontinuestogrow.It

wasreportedin2006thatChick-fil-Asurpassedtwobilliondollarsinsystemwidesales,

makingthemabillon-dollarbrand(Chick-fil-A).McDonald’sistheNo.1fastfoodbillion-

dollarbrand,followedbySubway.Othercompaniesthatareinthetop-tenareKentucky

FriedChicken,PizzaHut,andTacoBell(Said,2013).

Asprofitscontinuetogrow,sodoesChick-fil-A’sonlinepresence.In2016,Chick-fil-

AlaunchedanapplicationthatcanbedownloadedinboththeAppleandGooglestoreson

yourtabletandsmartphone.Thehomescreenshowsthechickenheadlogothecompany

usesalongwiththeword‘one’.Thewordplaysymbolizesthepersonalizationand

individualizationyoureceivewhenusingtheapplication.Ontheappyoucanorderyour

foodaheadoftimeandpickitupwhenyouarrive.LikeTacoBell,youcanviewtheentire

Chick-fil-Amenuandyoucanviewyourrecentorderhistory.Theonethingthatdiffersthe

20

twoappsisthefocusChick-fil-Aputsontherewardsyouearnwhenyouusetheapp.After

acertainamountofspendingyouearn‘Treats’orfreefoodthatiscreditedtoyouraccount.

21

RESULTSFROMINTERVIEWS,SURVEY,ANDCONCLUSION

Iwasabletoanswerthefirstfewresearchquestionsthroughthebackground

researchandcameawaywithtwomainpointsonquestion.Thereisn’tonewaythat

businessesusesocialmediaandonlineapplications,andthereisanaudienceforeveryone

nomatterwhatkindofcontentyouproduce.Companiesareusingthisformofmediato

helpstrengthentheirbrandimage.Whetheritisthroughhumor,howtheyappreciatetheir

employees,orbyjustbeingpromptwithansweringquestionssenttheirway.Companies

aredevelopinganonlineimageforconsumers,andsocialmediausers,thattheywanttobe

seenbythepublic.Thatbeingsaid,theyarealsoreachingouttoconsumersthatclickor

canidentifywiththesamebrandimage.Noteveryonefollowsthesameaccountsandis

friendswiththesamepeopleonsocialmedia,andeveryoneusesadifferentcollectionof

onlineapplications.Peoplehavedifferentinterests,so,asabusinessusingsocialmedia,

thereisanicheaudienceouttherethatwantstohearyou.

Questiontwowastrickierthanthefirst,astheonlineorderingsystemsarenotas

establishedassocialmedia.In2013Fortunereported2.8billiondollarswasinvestedinto

food-relatedstartupcompanies(Denning,2013).AstudydonebyMorganStanleyanalysts

(2016)valuedthefooddeliveryslashonlineorderingmarketat30billionandhasthe

potentialtoworthover200billion(Chamlee,2016).Thisisamarketthatisgrowing

rapidly.ExamplesfromabovelikeFoodJunkyandGrubhubaregainingclientsdailythat

wanttoputtheirbusinessontheironlinesiteandmobileapplication.Thereasonbeingis

whodrivesthemarketnow,millennials.Adweekreportedthatthismarketis‘anuntapped

marketforlifestylecontent’(Moses,2014).Withthatbeingsaid,theanswertomyquestion

isthatthefoodindustryischangingtobecomemoremobileandonlinefriendly,and

22

businesseseverydayareexploringnewroutesthroughnewmediatogetthere.However,

theyareexploringtheseoptionswithcreatingthingsontheirownanderasingthe

middleman.

Thenextsetofresearchquestionswereansweredthroughtheinterviews

conducted.Theanswersreceivedintheinterviewsalsohelpedshapethesurveyconducted

lateron.

InterviewonewaswithChick-fil-A.AftercontactingtheirmainofficeIwas

redirectedtoamarketingdirectorinSpringfield,Illinois.Themarketingdirectordiscussed

theircurrenteffortsatthelocalandregionalarea.Mostofthenationaladcampaigns,

primarilyusethethirty-secondcommercials,weredoneoutoftheirheadquartersin

Atlanta,Georgia.Sheinformedmethatthelocalmarketsusedtheseadswhenpossiblein

theirsocialmediastrategyintheirarea.ThecompanycurrentlycanbefoundonFacebook

andInstagram.ShestressedthattheywerecurrentlyworkingongettingaTwitteraccount

andthatitwasapriorityforthem,astheywantedtostartreachingthatsocialmedia

audience.

Themarketingdirectorlaterwentontodiscusshowtheyareusingthesocialmedia

platformstheyarecurrentlyon.Theirmainfocuswastopushacurrenteventthatweek,

promotingthecurrentoffers.Sheexplainedthatthebasicfunctiontheyusetheirsocial

mediaaccountsistotalkabouttherestaurant’scurrentpromotionsanddeals.Anexample

shegavemewasacampaignthattheyhavebeenrunningsincethebeginningoftheyear

andaregoingtorunthroughtherestof2017.Chick-fil-AinSpringfieldiscurrentlyoffering

freebreakfastonFridays.Whattheydoishighlightoneoftheirbreakfastitemseveryweek

onsocialmediatoencouragepeopletoeattheirfirstmealofthedayattheirrestaurantor

23

getittogo.Thedirectorlaterwentontotellmethatsheproducesthesepromotionsand

ideasandthentranslatesthemtotheirsocialmediacoordinator.

TheSpringfieldlocationalsotalksaboutgiveawaysthroughtheirsocialaccounts.

Themarketingdirectorsaysthattheirsocialmediacoordinatorwillcreatelittleblurbs

aboutthegiveawaysandthenblastitoutonalltheironlinemedia,excludingtheChick-fil-A

mobileapplication.Noneofthecontentthatherlocationproducescanbefoundonthe

mobileapp.Theappiscompletelymanagedbytheirheadquartersandiskeptprimarily

‘plain’sotheusercancreatetheirownfavoritesandlikes.Also,theofferingsinonearea

maynotbethesameinanother,sotheytrytokeeptheinformationsimpletonotconfuse

theirconsumersthatusetheapp.

TacoBell’sstrategywasverydifferentfromChick-fil-A’s.InaconversationIhad

withoneofTacoBell’smarketingpeople,Ifoundoutthatthefastfoodchaintakesamore

‘brandimage’approachtosocialmedia.BythisImeanthattheydon’tpushproductsas

muchandfocusmoreontheirimageontheironlineaccounts.Thecontenttheyproduceon

theirsocialmediaplatformsisfunnyandtrendy.Themarketingdepartmentstressedthat

theytrytoproducemediathatappealstotheiraudience,whichismillennials.Theystayup

todateontrendsandconstantlymonitoronlineactivitytocreatefuncurrentpostsand

tweets.Whentheyarepostingmoreadvertisementbasedcontenttheydon’tgive

everythingawayatonce.Theyteasenewproductsanddealsinawittywaytoengagetheir

audienceandtostartaconversation.

Outsideofthewitandteasingofnewdeals,TacoBellalsopromotesontheironline

platformsabouttheirsocialresponsibility.Thefastfoodchainspreadsthewordontheir

scholarshipprogramsandoncontestsforstudentstoentertohelpfurthertheireducation.

24

Whenitcomestohowthemarketingishandled,thecorporateheadquartersdoes

everything.Allcampaignsarefromthenationallevelandnoneisdonelocally.Everyonline

platformisdoneinhousetomaintainaconsistentimageTacoBellhasworkedyearsto

create,themarketertoldme.Theyalsodothistoconstantlymonitorallaccounts,thatway

theycanrespondquicklyforanyonethatissuesacomplaintorisjustlookingtochat.

Thismentalityalsotransferredovertohowtheymanagetheirmobileapplication.I

askedifTacoBellwasexploringnewmediathatwascomingintothepicture,likeGrubhub,

andthemarketertoldmeno.Sheexplainedthattheyarebypassingotherapplications

becausetheybelievethattheyalreadyoffereverythingyouwouldneedontheirown

mobileapp.Shewentontosaythatindoingthisstrategytheybuildmorebrandloyalty

andareabletopromotethemselvesbetter.Theybelievethatbuildingastrongfanbase

throughtheirownappwasmorevaluablemovingahead,thangettingextraexposure

elsewhere.Tofurtherherpointevenfurther,sheexplainedthatTacoBell’scurrent

strategywasshiftingintoamoredigitalformat.Iftheypushtheirownmedianow,theywill

bebetteroffasourmedialandscapeadvancesinthefuture.

SURVEYRESULTS

Amajorityofmyresearchquestionswereansweredthroughmysurvey.Thesurvey

waslivefromSaturdayafternoonuntiltheendofMonday.Thetotalamountofresponses

receivedinthatwindowwas224.

Therewasasplitdownthemiddleofpeople18to35andpeople36andolderthat

answeredthesurvey,givingmeperspectivesofbotholdergenerationsandthemillennial

generation.FirstIidentifiedwhattypesofsocialmediathatpeoplewerecurrentlyusingto

getasenseofwheretheywereexposedtoonlineadvertising.Thenumberoneresponse

25

wasFacebookat224,whichwaseveryonewhoansweredthesurvey.Followingright

behindwasTwitter,whichwasfourvotesshyof100at96,andthenInstagram,whichwas

justover100at101.Therewere16peoplethatfilledinother,andthemainanswer

receivedwasSnapchat.

Table1

WiththisinformationnowinmindItransitionedtohowpeoplewereusingonline

mediatobuyfood.Thisquestionwasmadeasashortanswerquestion,allowingthesurvey

takertobeasdescriptiveandthoroughaspossible.Itwasimportanttonotnarrowtheir

optionsdowntoamultiplechoicetypequestion.Thereasonbeingisthedifferenttypesof

mediathatyoucanusetoorderfoodonlinewith.Popularanswersreceivedwerethe

restaurant’sonlinemenu,restaurantapps,andapplicationsingeneral,andhealthierfood

thatwasnotavailablelocally.

Whenitcametohowoftenpeopleusedtheirmethodsofonlineorderinganswers

varied.Onlyeightpeopleansweredwithmultipletimesaweek,whichwasthesecond

smallestamount.Thethreemostansweredtimetableswereacoupletimesamonth,few

timesayear,andI’veneverorderedonline.Thelargestquantityofpeople(34%)answered

26

acoupletimesamonth,followedby26.5%afewtimesayear.Thetimeframesaskedin

thisquestionsetupthenextquestion,whichwashowlonghavetheybeenusingtheonline

orderingsystems.Thenumberoneresponse,with79people,answeredthattheyhadbeen

usingonlineorderingformorethanthreeyears.Atotalof144respondents(65%)had

beenusingonlineorderingofsomekindformorethanayear.

Figure1

Thesurveythennarroweddownwhatfoodpeoplewereprimarilyorderingonline.

ThenumberoneanswerwaspizzaplaceswithDominos,PapaJohns,andCasey’sPizza

beingamongthemostpopular.Thenexttwoanswerswerebothmorevague,notbeingas

narrowofafoodproductlikepizza.Fastfoodandsitdownrestaurantsbothpulledaround

20%,getting40and41answers,respectively.

Morethanhalfofthepeoplethathadusedsocialmediaoronlinemediaalsogave

theapplicationsusedahighlevelofsatisfactory.Therewere167peoplethatratedtheir

27

onlinefoodorderingexperienceatasevenorhigher,tenbeingextremelysatisfied.The

levelofsatisfactiontranslatedovertowhetherornottheyhadrecommendedusinganapp

tosomeoneelse.Alittlemorethan50%ofthepeoplesaidthattheyhad.Amere44%of

peoplealsosaidtheypreferredorderingaheadwiththemediaoptionsopposedtoordering

inpersonattherestaurant.

Aftergainingalittlebackgroundinformationonthesurveytakerseatinghabitsand

howoftentheyusedmediatohelpthemwiththosehabits,Iaskedmorequestionsrelated

toTacoBellandChick-fil-A.ForstartersIaskedhowoftentheyateattheserestaurants.

TacoBellreceivedthepopularvote,as51.4%ofthepeopleansweredthattheyeatthereat

leastfivetimeseveryfewmonths.Chick-fil-Acameinat44.5%,having97peoplesaying

theyatetherearoundfivetimeseveryfewmonths.Theamountofpeoplethatateateach

restauranttransferredovertofollowingthebusinessesonsocialmedia.Forty-ninepeople

saidtheyfollowedChick-fil-Aonsocialmedia,withthemostbeingonFacebookat26

people.RightbehindinsecondplacewastheChick-fil-Amobileappat18people.Taco

Bell’sfollowingwasmorespreadout.Facebookagaingrabbedthetopspotwith17people,

withTwitterandtheTacoBellmobileappcominginatsecondandthird.Atotalof37

peoplefollowedthetacochainonaformofsocialmedia,whichwas33%ofthepeoplethat

atetheirfoodatleastfivetimeseveryfewmonths.

28

Table2

Chick-fil-Acameinatamuchhigherpercentageof55%,having54of97people

followthemonasocial/onlinemediaandeatattheirestablishmentatleastfivetimeevery

fewmonths.

Table3

ForthenextportionofthesurveyI’dliketobringupaquestionansweredearlierin

thesurveythatbecomesrelevantinthissection.Oneofthefirstquestionsaskedabout

online/appswaswhydidtheyuseitformakingmealdecisions.Thetwomostpopular

answerswereconvenience(149people)andpromotions(98).

29

Table4

MovingdowntotheTacoBellandChick-fil-Aportionofthesurvey,Iaskedthesame

questionagain,butmorespecificallywhytheyfollowedthetwofastfoodchainsonsocial

media.Ireceivedmanydifferentanswers,mostofthemalongthelinesofdeals,tofree

rewardswhenused,tosomethingassimpleas‘itpoppeduponmytimelinesoIdecidedto

likeit’.But,afewpeopleanswereddifferently.Tenpeopleansweredfromapointofview,

notjustofwhattheythoughtofthefood,buthowtheythoughtofthecompany.Afew

peoplewrotethattheylikedwhateachcompanystoodfororthattheywerefunny.Some

evensaidtheyfollowedTacoBellandChick-fil-Abecausetheylovedthem.Ifoundthese

typesofanswersveryinterestingwhenitcametohowthebusinesseswereviewedon

socialmedia.

Whencametonewermedia,likeeachcompany’smobileapplication,notmany

peopleusedit.Chick-fil-AbeatTacoBellinthisdepartment,having26peoplecomparedto

TacoBell’s19people.Whenitcametohowmanytimestheapphadbeenused,Chick-fil-A

outweighedTacoBellby,having20peopleusingtheappmorethantwotimes.

30

Figure2

Figure3

Thefinalquestionofmysurveywas,“whatimpactdoesChick-fil-AandTacoBell’s

socialmediahaveonyoureatingdecisions?”Amajorityofthepeople(morethan100)said

thatneithercompanyswaysthemonsocialmedia.Theotherhalfofpeoplerespondedwith

answersthatrevolvedaroundjustseeingthempostsomethingthatsparksthemtoget

theirfood,andthedealsandofferings.

31

CONCLUSION

TacoBellandChick-fil-Aserveverydifferentfood.Onesellschickenbasedproducts

andtheotherservesMexicanbasedproducts.Bothofthemareonsocialmediaandhave

mobileapplications,andbothofthemhavefollowersonallofthem.Consumersview

businessesonnewmedialiketheyviewthemonoldmedia,asadvertisements.Morethan

halfofthepeopleinthesurveyclaimedtheydidn’twanttoseetheiradsoralltheyonly

lookedatthemfordeals.So,despitebothrestaurant’seffortsofcreatingdifferentnon-

corporateimagesonnewmedia,mostpeoplecan’tlookpastofwhomtheyareoutsideof

themedium.

TheotherhalfofthepeoplethatclaimedtheyfollowedTacoBellandChick-fil-Aon

socialmediaviewedthecompaniesentirelydifferent.AsImentionedbeforeafew

respondentssaidtheyfollowedthemonlinebecausetheylikedwhatthecompanystoodfor.

Answerslikethisprovethatpeopleareviewingthemmorethanjustafastfoodbusiness.

Theyareseeingabrandthatshowsemotionandhasbeliefs.So,eventhoughamajorityof

thepeopledidstillviewthetwocompaniesasadvertisementsonsocialmedia,therestillis

aportionofpeopleouttherethatareseeingadifferentmessage,amessagethatTacoBell

andChick-fil-Aaretryingtopromote.

TheconclusionsgatheredwhencomparingTacoBellandChick-fil-Afromthe

answersinthesurveywereverysimilar.TheoneplatformthatChick-fil-Awasnotin,

Twitter,wastheoneplacethatTacoBellhadanadvantage.Whenitcametothefollowing,

Chick-fil-Ahadmoresuccessbecauseofthedealsandofferingthatwereoffered,whichis

somethingthatTacoBelldoesnotdoasmuchontheirsocialmediaaccounts.Lookingat

theonlinefoodindustryaswhole,Ifoundthatamajorityofthepeoplesurveyedare

32

currentlyinvolvedinsomesortonlinefoodshoppingandhavebeenformorethanayear.

Theproductsthattheyareorderingaremostlypizzaandfoodyouwouldorderfromasit

downtypeofrestaurant.Atthesametimenewmediathataremakingfoodoptionsmore

convenientandpersonalizedwillcontinuetopopup,resultinginpossibilitiesforalltypes

ofrestaurants,includingfastfood.However,theprogressionofthenewmediawillalso

advancethecompaniesownapplications,helpingthemcompeteintheonlinefood

orderingmarket.

Allinall,Ibelievethatnewmediawillcontinuetogrowandprovidemore

opportunitiesforallrestaurants.Itwilltakemoretimeforthesecompaniestocreatemore

loyaltyontheirsocialmediaandnotjustbejudgedsolelyonthetasteoftheirfoodorwhat

theyhaveontheirmenu.Newmediawillcontinuetopushmorepersonalizedoptionsfor

consumersthatwillinreturnmakeitmoreconvenientfortheuser.

33

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35

VITAGraduateSchool

SouthernIllinoisUniversity

DrewD.Hoffman drewhoffman333@gmail.comSouthernIllinoisUniversityCarbondaleBachelorofArts,Broadcasting,May2015ResearchPaperTitle: Newmedia’simpactonthefastfoodindustry:AcomparativestudyofTacoBellandChick-fil-AMajorProfessor:KavitaKaran