Posted on 07/26/2012 5:22:32 AM PDT by Prov1322
A week after Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s comments on marriage created a firestorm, the Atlanta company finds itself grappling with a public relations snarl that some experts say could affect its bottom line.
Restaurant and branding experts say the Southern-fried chain could lose millions if customers begin associating the company with polarizing political issues instead of food.
At the same time, fallout continues to be mixed, with online petitions both for and against Cathy’s stand on traditional marriage — widely interpreted as a slap at supporters of gay marriage — drawing thousands of signatures. Gay and lesbian groups have called for protests at a store opening next week in California and want same-sex couples to kiss at Chick-fil-A locations on National Same-Sex Kiss Day next week.
Former Arkansas governor-turned-TV host Mike Huckabee has declared next Wednesday National Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, in support of Cathy.
Marketing experts said they are surprised a company so adept at honing its brand could stumble into the political thicket.
“Most brands try to steer away from political stands because they are so polarizing,” said Tim Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Said Rupert Barkoff, a partner and food industry expert for Kilpatrick Townsend: “When you bring politics into business, the worlds collide and the consequences can be unpredictable.”
Privately held Chick-fil-A, which rakes in about $4 billion a year, could see as much as a 1 percent to 2 percent drop in sales if the controversy lasts a month or two, said Peter Saleh, director and senior restaurant analyst for the Telsey Advisory Group.
But Saleh added, “We’ve seen other PR nightmares or PR issues with companies and they will bounce back. It will just take some time. Maybe a couple of quarters.”
Chick-fil-A declined to comment for this article. The chain has stood by its initial statement that its goal is “to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. ... Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
The comment sparking the uproar came when Cathy told an interviewer from a religious publication that he supports “the biblical definition of the family unit,” which many, especially those in the gay community, regard as opposing gay marriage. Harder-edged remarks he made on a radio show in June also have circulated.
Greg Sanders, publisher of North Carolina-based Food News Media group, said the debate could stunt the company’s growth in areas outside of the Southeast.
“Chick-fil-A is part of the South. It’s part of the Southern culture, and they’ve done an outstanding job of expanding over the years,” Sanders said. “But let’s be frank, if they’re new in California, not only are social attitudes possibly different in that part of the country, but there’s also not a bank of good will with that brand being built for up years [as it is] in the South.”
Since Cathy’s remarks surfaced, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Proco “Joe” Moreno, a Chicago alderman, have promised to block the chain’s efforts to build more stores in their cities.
Muppets creator Jim Henson’s company last week severed a toy deal it recently launched with Chick-fil-A, although reports on Wednesday said Chick-fil-A told customers the toys were being dropped because of unspecified “defects.”
Mark Pettit, president & chief executive officer of Creaxion, an Atlanta marketing firm that has a specialty in crisis management, said Cathy’s candor was bad business.
“Mr. Cathy needs to understand that while his company is privately held, his brand is publicly owned,” Pettit said. “Thousands of gay people work and eat at Chick-fil-A every day — many of them with a bit of shame knowing they love the company but don’t like what senior executives apparently stand for. Mr. Cathy needs to address the situation head-on and let all customers know they are welcome at Chick-fil-A.”
The scope of the controversy is somewhat uncharted territory for Chick-fil-A.
The company has long said it operated on biblical principles and is well-known for staying closed on Sundays, a stance that has won admiration from some. But experts said it never hit diners over the head with beliefs.
Still, this is not the first time the chain has butted heads with gay rights organizations. They have complained about donations the company and franchisees have made to Pennsylvania Family Institute, Focus on the Family and the National Organization for Marriage, all groups that oppose gay marriage.
At that time, Cathy told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he felt discussion of the issue was a “really great thing” for the company.
Sanders said controversies can yield surprising results. He pointed to a Texas-based pizza chain, Pizza Patron, that launched a “pizza for pesos” promotion in the late 2000s, igniting a media storm during a time that illegal immigration was, and remains, a hot issue.
“There was quite a bit of fallout. They took heavy criticism,” Sanders said. “But here’s the thing: Their sales increased.”
Love this restaurant. Will eat there more now.
“Their Sales Increased” but will the “tolerant” left go a step further in their hatred of CFA? Making trouble for employees perhaps? I wouldn’t put ANYTHING past them.
Apparently, that's not GOOD enough for the "men of Sodom."
I don’t like either chicken or fast food, but I went and had breakfast there today. (I had something w/o chicken.) I’ll have to make this a habit!
We’re in quite a fight here and we’d better fight back.
The outline of the tyranny is clear. You work and buy from government motors, only businesses that support the democrat party agenda will now be allowed to survive, the liberals control your healthcare. Do you think they will save a conservative as soon as a liberal? The bank holding your mortgage is a government bail out.
What freedom will we have?
Talk about tolerance...
How is it the citizens of Atlanta and outer environs tolerate the damn Atlanta Journal Constipation?
A truly biased article...
The oh so tolerant Left is a bigoted bunch of hypocrites.
Since only 1.7% of the population is homosexual, the company will come out way ahead on this. When their sales come out strong, the msm will not report it. It only prints items favorable to their agenda.
“A week after Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s comments on marriage created a firestorm, the Atlanta company finds itself grappling with a public relations snarl...”
####
...driven almost exclusively by the bitchy drama queens in the QueerMedia. As with most “news” stories, this is the Communist media reporting on itself.
“..that some experts say could affect its bottom line.”
Or it may have no effect, or as anecdotal evidence is suggesting actually INCREASE their business.
Propped up “Experts”. What would the propagandists, who like to call themselves journalists, do without them?
“Still, this is not the first time the chain has butted heads with gay rights organizations. They have complained about donations the company and franchisees have made to Pennsylvania Family Institute, Focus on the Family and the National Organization for Marriage, all groups that oppose gay marriage.”
The Pink Mafia not only does not want companies to criticize their perversions, it wants to dictate to whom the companies contribute.
The only way to stop this is to oppose the Pink Mafia at every front—don’t back down.
I don’t care what consenting adults do in private—that’s between them and God. But I am not going to call depravity and perversion just an alternative lifestyle as acceptable as a Judeo-Christian lifestyle.
http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Locations/Browse/
Checking their locations page it looks like many of their restaurants are on University Campuses - that’s not good.
I liked it better in the old days. No gays or lesbians.
they were queers, fagots, and homos.
they had to destroy the word “gay” and “marriage”.
2% dictating to the majority what we ought to think. Orwellian, to say the least.
of course, while they are marching we have the left bringing up the rear. hehe
Blessings, Bobo
The Chick-Fil-A’s here in Texas always have a line around the building. You have to always wait in line!!!!
It has always been that way as long as I can remember.
Guess I’ll have to take a long lunch and suffer through the wait!
Some firestorm, I wish more companies took note of this.
Funny coming from a Paper who demoted Cynthia Tucker as they were losing readership and ad money
The post Obama economic recovery will be mostly positive for the anti-gay stance some companies have adopted, in other words, the pro-gay companies are screwed in other ways, and will perversely probably enjoy it.
Nice things about Chick-fil-A — most of the meals are very light on fat, they are quite tasty, the quality and cut of the chicken meat is superior to many competitors, the price is fair, the service is great... I have never encountered a sloppy, snarkey employee at Chick-fil-A... and the stores are always clean and shiny ... and no I do not own any stock in Chick-fil-A... just a satisfied customer. Plus we can endorse their 1st. Amendment Stand...
My wife and I patronized them last night, and will continue to do so on a more regular basis. I love it when liberals shoot themselves in the foot! When we lived in south Jersey years ago, our mechanics were two Christian brothers. They originally sold Shell gas and had a repair bay. They always had Scripture posted in their front window, and an open Bible on the table. Shell told them to cease and desist. They refused. They wound up buying the property, had Shell remove their pumps, and became a full scale repair shop. They told us that their profits quadrupled after they did this.
So these wizards of “smart” think CFA is going to run into trouble in the South?
Geeze, what about all those Black Clergy (and their congregations) that are hopping mad with BeeHOe stabbing them in the back by endorsing this evil perversion?
Let’s see if CFA gets a new crowd of black church goers in their customer mix.
“”How does someone write an article like this without mentioning the curious case of General Mills,””
The AJC isn’t known for having the brightest writers....
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