BurgerFi announced it would change its name to ChickenFi to promote its new sandwich. | Photo courtesy of BurgerFi.
I'll be back soon. I'm going to change my name to Oprah and become a millionaire.
What? Are you saying that's stupid and stupid?
You should tell BurgerFi that.
The fast-casual burger chain announced this week that it would be “changing” its name to “ChickenFi” as it launches antibiotic-free fried and grilled chicken sandwiches.
CEO Karl Bachmann said: “Poultry is a huge opportunity for business growth. We have expanded our chicken selection by 50%, expanded our menu choices and improved our existing products.”
However, a BurgerFi spokesperson told my colleague Lisa Jennings that the restaurant's permanent signage will not be changed and that the “marketing materials” are currently temporary signage for a chicken promotion scheduled to run throughout the summer. It was acknowledged that it was used as
If this BurgerFi/ChickenFi marketing promotion sounds extremely familiar, you’re certainly experiencing déjà vu.
Perhaps you remember when IHOP similarly changed its name to IHOb in 2018 to promote its better burger menu?
At the time, this was a pretty novel stunt. As I reported at the time, IHOb garnered about 15,000 news articles, 1.2 million tweets, and significantly increased traffic to its new website during the initial campaign. This marketing strategy helped IHOP sell four times as many burgers as it did before the temporary name change.
But the copycat efforts have been less impressive.
Fast-growing Dave's Hot Chicken briefly rebranded some stores as “Dave's Not Chicken” earlier this year to promote the launch of a fried cauliflower alternative.
And last September, The Habit Burger Grill temporarily named one of its Glendale, Calif., restaurants “The Habit Sandwich” in honor of the Santa Barbara Char sandwich, which is served on a bun rather than a hamburger bun. No one (probably most people) has forgotten that it was renamed “Grill.”
Back to BurgerFi. The fast-casual restaurant, which closed 14 stores last year, announced earlier this month that it was closing eight more stores as it continues to “rightsize” its portfolio. The chain's same-store sales fell 13% in the first quarter.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based brand said it hopes to grow the upgraded chicken sandwich to 10% to 12% of its menu mix.
And maybe changing the name will serve just that purpose.
If so, I would like everyone to call me “Oprah” from now on.
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