Yes, the title of this post is “The Smart Marketing Of Fish Sandwiches.” You may have just read that and decided that I was off my rocker.
Before you stop reading, hear me out.
On Tuesday, January 29, I received 3 flyers in the mail – from Arby’s, Wendy’s, and McDonald’s, all talking about fish. The Arby’s and Wendy’s flyers both featured fish sandwiches, and the McDonald’s flyer featured their new Fish McBites.
This is an example of smart marketing! (and hopefully, it’s a light bulb moment for many of you)
Like I said, I received these flyers on January 29. Two weeks from that date is February 12, the day that Fat Tuesday falls on this year. The next day is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday, or any Friday during Lent, but they can eat fish.
Now do you see why it was such a good idea for the fast food chains to send out flyers about fish sandwiches at the end of January?
Hamburgers are much more of a staple in the American diet than fish sandwiches. Most of the people who received the flyers probably looked at the pictures and thought “Hey, I haven’t had a fish sandwich in a while… That looks good.”
The Catholics are thinking “Hey, Lent is coming up. I”m going to get one of those fish sandwiches!” Trust me, they’re ordering one faster than you can say “Fish Friday.”
So… how do you apply this lesson to your business? Always be thinking ahead. Don’t be thinking about this week, start thinking about next month. Start making your marketing plans now for the things you want to promote in March and April!
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Interesting to me is that we did NOT get the same kinds of flyers here in Canada though we have all three food chains. I think it’s because are a nation our religious beliefs are not nearly as public as they seem to be in the US, though obviously I don’t know but I can only assume the companies made a conscious decision not to do that in Canada. So I guess another marketing lesson is to know what your market responds to.
So what you gonna have, the fish sandwiches or fish bites? 😉
Good point, Angela. It’s always a good idea to know what your market is going to respond to before you spend money on advertising. And I can’t say that everyone in the US got these flyers.
There are a lot of Catholics in my town, so I am very sure that is why I got those flyers in the mail.
And since you asked, I have never had a fish sandwich from Arby’s or Wendy’s, because I’m a little partial to the Filet-O-Fish at McDonald’s. I am kind of interested in trying their little fish bites. There is a really good restaurant in my town, Whitey’s, that serves up the best fish and chips, though. If I really get a craving, I’ll probably go there. haha