Fast Company – May 2019

(backadmin) #1
in the Social Media category. Wendy’s tweets are engaging, clever, and at times,
laugh-out-loud funny.
A s it t u r ns out, li kes, laughs, a nd ret weets tra nslate to ta ng ible resu lts. Wendy ’s
reports six consecutive years of same-store sales growth, which Kane says is a rar-
ity in the QSR space. Based on brand equity metrics, Wendy’s is healthier than it
has been in a long time. Its Twitter reputation also helps employee morale.
It takes a special culture to pull off social media stardom. That culture under-
pins every aspect of the business. Wendy’s manages 24/7 engagement with a core
team of five social media staffers empowered to make quick decisions. Kane sees
f lat decision-making as essential to Wendy’s ability to outpace competitors and
continue to innovate, particularly in the delivery space. Here, Wendy’s part-
ners with DoorDash because of its focus on quality. The company also recently
announced a partnership with Accenture to turbocharge its work in the mobile
and digital ordering space. Kane says the brand’s success in social gives the team
confidence they will excel in all digital initiatives.
But don’t let the roasting fool you: Wendy’s fame hasn’t gone to her head. The
team knows it is no small feat to build a big brand that people root for. It takes con-
fidence, culture, and deep roots. The company abides by the same guiding
principles it honored 50 years ago. While Dave Thomas couldn’t tweet about it
then, innovation has always been at the heart of Wendy’s business. Twitter just
gave her a megaphone.

Wendy’s isn’t afraid to drop
the mic. Three million plus
people follow the brand for its
saucy tweets and good-natured
burns. The brand represented by a
sweet-faced, red-haired girl roasts fans,
cracks jokes, and calls out competitors.
She also promotes her menu, gives
away free food, and even dabbles in the
occasional rap battle.
Kurt Kane, Wendy’s executive
vice president and chief concept and
marketing officer (CMO), calls the
brand voice “sassy.” And the com-
pany’s Twitter persona is a natural
extension of the Wendy’s brand Dave
Thomas founded in 1969. From day
one, the hamburger franchise posi-
tioned itself as different from the
competitors—an alternative to fast-
food options Thomas saw as less than
satisfactory. But you can’t just pound
your chest and declare you’re bet-
ter, Kane cautions. Wendy’s playful
approach a llows it to ma ke its points
in a likeable way, like trolling McDon-
ald’s on National Frozen Food Day
with tweets poking fun at the use of
frozen beef.
The brand doesn’t beef just because.
“We believe there is a right and wrong
way to run a QSR [quick service restau-
rant] business, and we do things the
right way,” Kane explains. “We are very
confident in who we are and what we
do, and when we focus on this, yes, we
can get competitive.”

THE SECRET SAUCE IS CULTURE
Wendy’s recognized Twitter as the
ideal platform for bringing its brand
voice to life, but no one could have pre-
dicted the amount of attention their
account would garner, Kane explains.
Its playful persona helped Wendy’s
snag the No. 1 spot on Fast Company’s
2019 Most Innovative Companies list

Behind Wendy’s


Epic Social Strategy


THE SECRET TO WENDY’S SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS IS CONFIDENCE AND CULTURE.


A COLLECTION
of images from
Wendy’s, which
serves up
sassy tweets
every day.

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