---
title: "Wendy's Daring New Marketing Campaign Is Drumming Up Social Media Buzz"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/d672add8-04e7-43b6-9e39-8a6fc354890e
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/wendys-daring-new-marketing-campaign-is-drumming-up-social-media-buzz-2712444
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Marketing"]
published: 2020-03-04T18:13:26.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:28:09.150Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/88f226357b3535628cb060a2cf7c1e0a8143.jpg
---

# Wendy's Daring New Marketing Campaign Is Drumming Up Social Media Buzz

**TL;DR:** Wendy's launched a marketing campaign by locking its Twitter account and offering a free Breakfast Baconator sandwich to followers, resulting in over 10,000 new follower requests. The campaign aimed to promote Wendy's breakfast menu launch and engage with audiences through social media.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-03-04. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/wendys-daring-new-marketing-campaign-is-drumming-up-social-media-buzz-2712444).*

## Story

**This week,** **Wendy's took a daring approach to promote its breakfast menu launch by locking its Twitter account****, giving followers an exclusive online coupon for a free Breakfast Baconator sandwich. The offer was a way to reward loyal followers of Wendy's Twitter account, which has become notorious for its** **sassy, meme-friendly tweets that regularly insult rival QSR brands****.**

**Although it's rare for major franchise brands to lock down their official accounts, it's a proven growth-hacking strategy for popular meme accounts and some influencers.** **Wendy's received more than 10,000 follower requests** **in a 36-hour period after locking its Twitter account in the run-up to this week's campaign.**

**While the account was locked, Wendy's asked its 3.6 million Twitter followers to roast competitors in posts with the** **#WendysBreakfastBattle hashtag****. The company posted the most popular tweets on a video billboard in New York City's Times Square.** **Since one of four consumers said they've posted an image of an outdoor ad to Instagram****, social media sharing is a powerful way to extend real-world advertising into the digital world and extend its reach.**

**Wendy's has a history of innovative digital marketing strategies meant to cut through ad clutter and connect with audiences. The burger chain last fall was the first company** **to create branded video games in a digital arcade launched by Giphy****, the platform of shareable GIF clips. Last year, Wendy’s prioritized interactive content aimed at engaging younger, mobile audiences with a branded experience.

The burger chain** **engaged with fans on the hit online game, "Fortnite,"** **creating a Wendy's avatar and** **returned to Twitch** **last summer to play the game while live-streaming the action.

**Social media is proving to be one of the most** **powerful marketing tools available to franchisors****. With online promotional stunts leading to** **overwhelming demands** **and** **record sales****, brands like Wendy’s are smart to continue pushing the boundaries.**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Wendy's (company)
- Twitter (company)
- Instagram (company)
- digital marketing (topic)
- qsr marketing (topic)
- social media marketing (topic)
- twitter campaign (topic)
- breakfast menu launch (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/wendys-daring-new-marketing-campaign-is-drumming-up-social-media-buzz-2712444). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/d672add8-04e7-43b6-9e39-8a6fc354890e).