A Twitter (almost) love story: Wendy’s and me

When I was a kid, many of my Halloween costumes revolved around doing something crazy with my long red hair. My favorite costume was Pippi Longstocking. That Halloween, I took extra delight in sewing patches on a dress my mom bought me that I despised.

My husband had never seen any of these amazing hairstyles in person, so I decided to go back to my roots this Halloween and dressed up as Wendy from the fast food joint. See my doppelganger here. (Note: I had never bought anything from Wendy’s and had only tried a Frosty a couple times.)

On Halloween, as we passed out candy, I was trolling Twitter and saw a RT from fellow bacon lover @dlayphoto about Wendy’s giving out $50 for twitpics of bacon-themed Halloween costumes. I sent in this twitpic of myself to @UrBaconMeCrazy, a Twitter account manned by Wendy’s, and heard back that I was a winner! I told EVERYONE I know that I couldn’t wait to chow down a gazillion Baconators with my gift card. And then I waited…

And waited. And waited. I rushed to the mail every day because I was obsessed to get this gift card. I started “seeing” Wendy’s commercials all the time on TV and noticed a ton of drive thrus near my house for the first time.

After three weeks, I sent a DM mentioning how I’ve been drooling every day when I open the mail waiting for the card. I got a message back that my gift card would be sent out after Thanksgiving. I waited… And waited. And waited.

I have to admit, at this point, I was a little irritated (patience is not one of my virtues). And, when friends asked when I was going to treat them to a Baconator buffet, I let them know I hadn’t received the card. What had started out as an amazing ambassador case study, was falling flat.

A few days before Christmas (almost two months later), I DMed to say that all I wanted for Christmas was my Wendy’s gift card. I got a certified letter a few days later, and was pumped to try a Baconator!

After work, I hit the Wendy’s near my house (that I previously had never noticed was there) and ordered up two Baconator combos. I proudly handed over my gift card at the window and was immediately told they don’t accept gift cards. WHAT?

The next day, I went to work and rounded up a few co-workers who were stuck working in between the holidays, and we made a Baconator run (after calling in advance to make sure the store accepted gift cards). We crushed my gift card, and we had a great time. And, I now am a BIG fan of the Baconator. The burger tastes delicious and fresh. The bacon is delightful, and the bun is soft and yummy. Thanks Wendy’s!

So, what are the lessons here for folks executing social media campaigns?

1) If you offer a promotion, follow through in a timely matter. Otherwise, you risk alienating the very people you’re trying to recruit as brand ambassadors.

2) Recognize the power of word of mouth for both positive and negative experiences. This scenario unnecessarily involved both.

3) Twitter promotions can be powerful ways to connect with customers and potential customers. But, once you make the investment, you need to stay committed or you risk backlash.

4) I was tickled to get the gift card, but it made six other people bigger Wendy’s fans because they benefitted from the company’s generosity.

5) I have amazing Halloween costumes that bring in the dolla dolla bills y’all.

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