Context
Tools
Team
Live Client Winner // Brand Center Sprint
Procreate, Photoshop, Whiteboards, Many Many Google Docs
AD: Caitlin Kreinheder CBM: Sarah Hardin / Ora-on Watanatham / Max Warren CW: Jack Franco
Role
Skills
Timeline
Experience Designer
Strategy, Social Media + Content Creation, Illustration
5 Days
The Ask
Disrupt March Madness through a TikTok campaign that encourages Gen-Z to try Popeyes five new chicken wing sauces.
The Challenge
Popeyes had to break through a saturated market full of typical story lines while not being an official sponsor of the tournament.
The Opportunity
Position Popeye's as the wings for the other 63 - Because March Madness isn't just the story of one champion, it's the story of 63 losers.
March Madness isn't only a sporting event - It's also an intense emotional journey for it's fans.
Sports fans have notoriously big emotions. Over 63% of global sports fans report feeling a strong emotional connection to their favorite team.
When their teams lose,the emotional turmoil that march madness fans go through is similar to the five stages of grief.
And there's no better pairing for the five stages of grief than Five Sauces.
Introducing…
To help visualize each of the five sauces of grief I created custom illustrations of Poppy, the current Popeyes' brand character. By personifying them, Poppy becomes a fellow fan - guiding viewers through their sauces of grief.
To kick off the campaign and introduce fans to the Sauces of grief, Popeyes' will post a series of posts highlighting the wing sauces with their corresponding sauce of grief. To create a consistent visual language each wing/stage was consistently paired with the same color story that was inspired by the existing Popeyes brand colors. We also expanded Popeyes illustrative style to include March Madness related elements.
After introducing the campaign to fans, during each major upset of March Madness Popeyes will create native Tik Tok content that corresponds with each stage of grief. Starting with:
Denial - Ghost Pepper
Denial can be spicy - just like Popeyes' Ghost pepper wing sauce. To channel this energy, Popeyes' spokesperson Ryan will duet Tiktoks showcasing fans Fiery Reactions to their teams losses and rating them on a scale of one to six.
Anger - Signature Hot
After a loss fans tend to run hot - just like Popeyes' signature hot wings. In order to give them a space to vent their frustrations, (and to get around Popeye's not being able to directly comment on events within the games) , Popeyes' will turn their comment section into a place for fans to post their NCAA hot takes.
Bargaining - Honey BBQ
After major losses, fans cam be a little deranged. We want to lean into that - and sweeten the deal with their Honey BBQ wings. Popeyes' will post man on the street style interviews - where they ask fans what they would give up for their team to win. The Best replies will be rewarded with an order of 6 piece Honey BBQ wings.
Depression - Garlic Parmesan
Fans are sad and grieve the loss of their team long after it happens. Garlic Parmesan will be right by their side - as the warm depression sweatpants they need. Popeyes will post a tutorial of how to eat wings through your tears, and a crying wing filter- so fans can share their March Sadness on Tik Tok.
Acceptance - Sweet and Spicy
Finally at the end of our long journey we have acceptance. Their team has lost, and Popeyes Sweet and spicy wings are there to sweeten that spicy realization. Popeyes will send out sympathy wing bouquets to specific sporting influencers who are associated with losing teams.
Evergreen Content
A custom filter where fans are able to see what stage of grief (and corresponding sauce) that they are.
As the Tournament progresses, Popeyes will comment on major upsets that are posted to TikTok and drive engagement back to their page.
And Finally… A Tiktok Dance :)
In Conclusion…
Reflections
Ah, the epic highs and lows of college basketball!
This project was a whirlwind! Everything that could have gone wrong with our presentation did, but our team persevered through and in doing so - we won! This project truly taught me how powerful perseverance, teamwork and the power to improvise are.
Go Chicken winners!