TGI Fridays’ “Fan Woody” Campaign Offers Free Burgers if Page Hits a Half Million Fans
T.G.I. Fridays is taking an interesting approach to attracting Facebook fans to its brand, launching an ad campaign with an original character named Woody. Woody is an “average guy” looking to pick up 500,000 fans before the end of September, and if he’s successful, those fans will receive a free Jack Daniels burger.
Woody has a few commercials running on television and posted in the Videos tab on his Fan page, in which he promotes his the page and the free burger offer. So far the page has a little over 100,000 Fans, and should he reach the half million mark by the end of the month, the first 500,000 Fans will receive a coupon for a free T.G.I. Fridays burger.
Most of the other restaurants in the 500,000+ Fan category have accumulated their backing a little more organically, or through promotions and campaigns involving established offers or characters already associated with their brands. This is the first time we’re aware of that an ad campaign to garner Facebook Fans has centered around an entirely new, unknown character.
Most of the restaurants enjoying Facebook success are of the quick-serve variety, with McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut hitting the one million Fan mark recently. It will be interesting to see if T.G.I. Fridays can grab half a million fans in less than a month, especially since they’ve obviously spent the money to develop the page and buy television ad time. But the enticement of free food is a powerful one, and this seems to be the driving motivator based on the posts on the page’s wall.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Many companies are now using Facebook as the basis for promotions and campaigns, however, these companies cannot just rely on social media. They need to be aware of and managing their internet presence to ensure they are seen in a positive light. For more – domusinc.blogspot.com
September 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Hey what gives i cant log in ?????
September 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
hey dude cant sign in gotta getcher ok?
September 10th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
tryin’ 2 log in wazzzzzzz up?
September 11th, 2009 at 9:25 am
[...] TGI Friday’s new “Fan Woody” Campaign. They want followers, for obvious reasons. So what do they do? They give something [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 11:45 am
I love free food from T.G.I.Fridays
September 11th, 2009 at 11:47 am
hi woody
glad to become afan thank you
September 11th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
[...] TGI Fridays’ “Fan Woody” Campaign Offers Free Burgers if Page Hits a Half Million … (insidefacebook.com) [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I can’t wait for my free hamburger
September 11th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Go for it!!!!!
September 12th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I can’t add myself either
September 12th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Thanks Woody for the free food. Glad to be a fan.
September 12th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
how do we get to be his fan? Im confused………
September 12th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
how do you vote anyways?? well I’m in your fan club anyways I’m just 8 so yyyaaaaaaa
September 12th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
I can’t add myself as a fan, whats up with that?
September 12th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
OH YUM, Can’t wait!!!!
September 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I can’t access above ad w/Woody to submit that I’m a US citizen and @ least 21 yrs old.
September 12th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOODY!!!!!!!!!!
September 13th, 2009 at 8:01 am
hey,whats up!!!!! cant wait to eat a free burger. they sure are good……
September 13th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Count me among one of your fans Woody. Good luck!!!
September 13th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Go burgers
September 13th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Go Woody!!!
September 13th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Go Woody!
September 13th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
burger heaven time
September 14th, 2009 at 9:40 am
good luck.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Free death for all!
September 14th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Can’t sign up but I want to be included as your fan.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Oh Yeah !! I’ll be your biggest fan for a Jack Daniels burger !!!
September 17th, 2009 at 12:42 am
[...] approach is very similar to the Fan Woody campaign which just netted TGI Fridays a half-million Fans and counting (currently close to 640K) after the [...]
September 17th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Can’t log in??????????
September 20th, 2009 at 5:35 am
[...] if “Woody” collects half-a-million friends on Facebook, everyone gets a free burger. (InsideFacebook has an article on the campaign.) I’m not a burger person but I am responsible for feeding [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I had a problem registering for the TGI Fridays Woody Burger/Facebook site.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:01 am
[...] out there somewhere. This approach to dispersing free goods is certainly different from some of the other promotions we’ve seen recently, but it seems like a great interactive slant that should get people involved. Add Comment [...]
October 16th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
[...] out there somewhere. This approach to dispersing free goods is certainly different from some of the other promotions we’ve seen recently, but it seems like a great interactive slant that should get people [...]
October 29th, 2009 at 9:42 am
[...] Friday’s missed the point big time with their “Fan Woody” campaign. Rick Liebling has a pretty thoughtful compare and contrast of how TGI [...]
January 25th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
[...] helped it surpass Coca-Cola (KO) to become the most popular page on Facebook. T.G.I. Friday’s gave away free burgers last year, and it gained close to a million [...]
March 17th, 2010 at 8:34 am
[...] here, except as it illustrates my point and typifies an industry-wide failing. That is to say, TGI Friday’s created a fictional character (also an adversative notion when dealing with social media – which generally serves to augment [...]
April 18th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
[...] video about something, write a 100-word post on potential areas of improvement for the business. It could even encourage a member to set up their own Facebook group about a related subject and chal…. Prizes are regularly offered in magazines, now is the time to offer them [...]