You couldn’t watch a television news program or scour Twitter or Facebook the past week without spotting some mention of Popeyes fried chickensandwich. But how did that translate to marketing value?Awfully well, as it turns out.Apex Marketing Group estimated Wednesday that Popeyes reaped $65 million in equivalent media value as a result of the Chicken Sandwich Wars. Thefirm, based outside Detroit, defines that as the price a company would have to pay to purchase the attention it received for free.Apex takes into account television, radio, online and print news reports, as well as social media mentions. The evaluation was conducted from Aug. 12,when the sandwich went on sale nationally, through Tuesday evening, yielding 15 days’ worth of data.The $65 million figure is nearly triple the $23 million in media value that the sandwich generated in its first few days on sale, according to an earlierApex estimate.On Tuesday, Popeyes announced that the chicken sandwich would be sold out by the end of the week at its U.S. restaurants.But it says it is scurrying to bring back the chicken sandwich as a feature of its regular menu, not simply a limited-time offer.”It is a permanent menu item,” Dana Schopp, a Popeyes spokesperson, said Wednesday.Eric Smallwood, the president of Apex Marketing, says the chicken sandwich’s media value built relatively slowly in the days right after it went on sale.The big jump in media value came when news outlets began running taste tests comparing the sandwich with other fast food companies’ chickenofferings.POPgayleking . We are SO psyched todaynephew @cameronharrison6 readtaste THEEE CHICKEN [email protected] swipe leftfor our reax .. whomp whomp .. .we.BE BACK SOON!also called FIFTEEN locations how doLOUISIANAyou run out of that sandwich onSUNDAY???! May need therapy torecoverNew$1 DOUBLEDINEChickenSandwichWe apologize that this locationis out of Chicken Sandwiches.SinceTHANK YOU FORYOUR PATRONAGEpopeyes
