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One would think a major fast-food chain with millions of customers and more than 150,000 Twitter followers would know how to manage its own Twitter campaign. However, the burger giant Wendy’s latest campaign proves that one employee in charge, well, does not.
Here is exhibit A (via Consumerist):
Take a good look at the handle mentioned in on this flyer that was released in the last week: @Wendy’s
Hmmm that’s odd, because their real account doesn’t have an apostrophe. Twitter can teach you the world when it comes to your personal brand, but in this case, a company brand missed a very important thing. The devil is in the details, in life and yes, in social media. If you click on the Twitter handle mentioned, @Wendy’s, you’ll be introduced to a nice, Canadian woman who is also (you guessed it), named Wendy.
And today, the Canadian Wendy was nice enough to loan her Twitter real estate to the campaign-challenged company. Or was she offered a some Benjamin’s or a lifetime supply of burgers to help the company correct their minor, yet major mistake? We aren’t sure at this point, but we applaud Wendy’s (the company) for taking quick action and finding a solution to their over-sized oversight.
BUT WAIT, there’s more… this campaign has yet another flaw. People are tweeting to the #TwEATfor1K hashtag (as seen below) as you are reading this. Yet, this so-called ‘campaign for cash’ hasn’t even started yet. In fact, you can’t compete until April 1, 2013 at 12:01 A.M.
In the past, Wendy’s has been praised for its social media achievements on Twitter. In November 2011, Mashable and several other outlets were in awe when the company gained 33,000 followers in a month thanks to a stealth campaign.
We’re pretty sure this latest promotion won’t be earning Wendy’s PR folks any awards.
Generally speaking, the person in charge of social media wouldn’t also be in charge of creating a flyer like this. Sounds like it’s someone else’s oversight.
Very good point, marketer. Perhaps the two departments should start talking!
Hey, Tara. Was a goof that slipped through the cracks at a vendor– their job of coordinating 6500+ locations isn’t easy. Working through it and have made adjustments to make it work. We’re actually giving away gift cards until 4/1, so let the twEATing continue! Feel free to reach out directly with questions.
–Brandon at Wendy’s
Touche! That wasn’t Tara’s fault, you can blame me (Josh) for the quick edit job. But it’s good to hear from you guys and I commend you on a creative approach to getting it corrected. Now I have a hankerin’ for a Frosty! Thanks again, Brandon.