Popeyes may have started the chicken wars back in the summer of 2019, but now it means to end them. Sort of. The QSR brand, whose chicken sandwich became a massive sensation when it launched two years ago, dropped a new product last month—chicken nuggets—as a declaration of peace and an “end” to the chicken wars.

The campaign’s cheeky tagline, “We come in piece. 8 piece,” accompanied by the image of a white flag of surrender (with a nugget in the middle), leverages the chicken wars to insert itself into the conversation once again.

We spoke with Popeyes CMO Bruno Cardinali about the multifaceted marketing campaign, how the brand drives engagement with gamification, its new loyalty marketing program and the importance of creating authentic brand experiences for consumers. Plus, he dishes on what skills marketers should hone if they have ambitions to join the C-suite.

Speaking of Popeyes, the brand clinched a Chief Marketer PRO Award this week for its “Love That Game Giveaway” campaign with Dr Pepper. At a virtual gala on Wednesday, we unveiled the winners of the 2021 PRO Awards, which honor excellence in promotional marketing.

Among this year’s stellar, gold-winning programs: Advance Auto Parts’ “DieHard is Back” for Best Brand Awareness; Petmate’s “National Fetch Day" for Best Campaign on a Budget; NAACP’s 111th Convention in the Best Diversity program category; and Amazon Web Services’ DeepRacer League for Best B2B Campaign. Read about all the fantastic programs that took home gold, silver or bronze this year.

We also look at how fresh fruit company Driscoll’s has transitioned to online ordering services, its approach to data collection and how ecommerce has altered the company’s marketing mix.

Lastly, check out FX’s latest activation promoting the 10^th season of its “American Horror Story” series, a creepy, nighttime pop-up bakery in New York City’s Meatpacking District.  

Until next week,  

Kaylee Hultgren
Group Content Manager
Chief Marketer

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