P.F. Chang’s has a special connection to the “Freaky Friday” franchise. | Photo courtesy of P.F. Chang’s
For the first time in its history, P.F. Chang’s is partnering with a film franchise for a limited-time menu promotion.
The Freakier Flavors menu, available through Sept. 2, is a tie-in with Disney’s “Freakier Friday,” the sequel to “Freaky Friday,” starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who switch bodies.
The menu includes three entrees that nod to the film, such as the customizable Make Good Choices dinner special and the You’re Not My Mother Mongolian Beef. It also features a pair of non-alcoholic “refreshers”—the Switcheroo and Crystal Ball—that change color with the addition of a mixer. For dessert, there is a Pink Slip Ube Cheesecake, which gets its pink-purple color from purple sweet potato and edible pink glitter.
Movie and TV tie-ins have proven to be a successful marketing strategy at other brands recently. Burger King scored a hit with its How to Train Your Dragon Meal, and McDonald’s Minecraft Meal drove sales in an otherwise sluggish period for the burger giant.
But it is not the sort of thing customers might expect from P.F. Chang’s, which skews more upscale than the average casual-dining chain. But when Disney approached Chang’s with the idea, the company thought it was a uniquely good fit, said CMO Sonika Patel.
That’s because, in the original Curtis-Lohan “Freaky Friday,” the two characters make the switch at a fictional Asian restaurant called House of Chiang’s.
“We thought that this new ‘Freakier Friday’ movie is actually the perfect opportunity for us to make somewhat of that unofficial nod a little more official,” Patel said in an interview.
Chang’s also felt that the colorful movie menu would help it break through the noise in what has become a fiercely competitive promotional environment.
“Everyone’s dying for consumers’ attention,” Patel said “We felt like the nostalgia and that joy that the movie brings is going to give consumers a fresh reason to come to P.F. Chang’s and drive traffic for the business.”
Patel, who previously worked in marketing for PepsiCo, Danone, DoorDash and TicketMaster, is coming up on one year at P.F. Chang’s. She has been working to reconnect with customers and reignite their love for the brand, which saw its systemwide sales shrink by 3% last year, according to Technomic data.
Part of that effort has involved doing more on social media. P.F. Chang’s hired a team of social specialists including a creator, who goes into its restaurants and creates content. It has also partnered with influencers to promote the brand on their accounts.
It scored a win on TikTok in June after a user named @badvina created a profile for a fake cake business and began receiving actual orders. P.F. Chang’s commented on a viral post of @badvina furiously mixing cake batter. It then took the engagement a step further, sending a few of its Great Wall of Chocolate Cakes and New York Cheesecakes to @badvina’s door. The accompanying video became P.F. Chang’s strongest TikTok post of the year.
“The internet is loving us,” Patel said.
The question is, does internet love translate to sales?
Patel said part of her job is to put P.F. Chang’s in consumers’ consideration set, and that social media has become the best way to do that.
“When I started my marketing career, all the attention was on traditional TV,” she said. “Now, social is where brands are being built, and that’s how people are making their choices for who they want to spend their money on.”
It’s far from the only restaurant chain to take this approach as social media trends continue to sway consumers’ dining behavior. Chili’s investment in social media paid off in a big way last year after its Triple Dipper appetizer went viral on TikTok.
P.F. Chang’s is still investing in traditional marketing channels, such as email and text messaging and digital advertising. It also has a loyalty program that gives customers 10% back in Chang’s Cash on every purchase, a free dessert or app on their birthday, and other perks.
And it is embracing pop culture with promotions like the Freakier Flavors menu, which garnered more than a billion media impressions on the day it launched in July.
Patel said the menu is a great start for the new strategy, and she didn’t rule out doing more tie-ins in the future. But they have to be a “no-brainer” like Freakier Flavors was.
“There’s something nostalgic about that classic dinner and a movie,” Patel said. “The next partnership, whenever we come up with one, will be in a similar way where we think about, ‘How does this partnership enhance the guest experience?’”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.
