Study examines how X banter with competitors boosted a product launch

However, a new study has established how engaging in a little banter with rival brands over social media platform X helped drive in-store visits, particularly in the context of launching a new product. 

The first caveat say the authors of the study, led by Ashutosh Bhave, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Alabama in the US, is that ‘banter’ does not mean ‘disparaging attacks’. Banter, they suggest, is spontaneous and not part of a planned marketing strategy. 

A series of online interactions in 2019 between three US fast-food chains – Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken, Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A – was the example studied for the research. It followed the release of a new spicy chicken sandwich by Popeye’s. 

Chick-fil-A took a playful jab at Popeye’s, Wendy’s joined in, and Popeye’s answered back – with all of them making the case for their own product. The tone of the exchange was playful and light, leaning into informal language like “Y’all good?” 

The upshot was this largely genial banter playing out in real time greatly increased the volume of tweets associated with Popeye’s, Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s (by 2,111%, 1,036% and 920%, respectively).  

More importantly, it also drove offline sales for Popeye’s, which saw a 54% increase in visits per store. Alas, Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s did not see a similar spike for in-store traffic. This suggests that engaging in banter may help a rival, but not you. 

Bigger brand made a tactical mistake 

Arguably, Chick-fil-A likely made a tactical mistake in engaging with Popeye’s, a much smaller company.  

The one thing that Popeye’s and Chick-fil-A have in common is that their customers like chicken sandwiches. So, Chick-fil-A was unintentionally letting their customers know about Popeye’s new sandwich. Therefore, the banter didn’t so much hurt Chick-fil-A as help Popeye’s. 

“Popeye’s is a much smaller player in the industry,” Bhave comments. “Chick-fil-A kind of handed the ball to Popeye’s, which suddenly put them in the same league.” 

Bhave says his research focused not so much on social media, but on how external events can impact sales – by which he means events that create a clear ‘before’ and ‘after’.  

In this case, the event was Chick-fil-A’s decision to engage with Popeye’s on social media a week after the rival had launched a new product. Prior to that engagement, Popeye’s had not seen a big uptick in in-store visits as a result of the new meal launch. 

The authors note that if companies want to engage in banter with competing brands, they should follow two rules. One: Find ways to infuse humour rather than using disparaging tones. Two: Refrain from interacting with rivals about their newly launched products. 

The study, titled ‘Clashing on Social Media: Exploring the Impact of Twitter Banter Among Competing Fast-Food Brands’ is published in the Journal of Social Media in Society. You can find out more about it here.