The latest McRib “Farewell Tour” is the latest proof of scarcity-based marketing. /Image courtesy of McDonald’s.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempzynski had an interesting reaction on Thursday when asked if this would really be McRib’s “farewell tour.”
“McRib is the GOAT of sandwiches on our menu,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re fully retired, in the same way as GOAT’s Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and others.”
For starters, GOAT stands for “greatest of all time” and is often used to describe basketball Hall of Famer Jordan and seven-time Super Bowl winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady. Both retired and then retired.
Comparisons aside, Kempczinski’s comment is intentionally vague and very intentional.
First added to the menu in 1981, Mystery was part of McRib’s equation and has had more retirements and revivals than both Jordan and Brady combined. (Many more, actually.)
But in this case, we think it’s not a question of if (or if) McRib will return, but when (who knows).
The scarcity principle works very well. When consumers think a product is in short supply or won’t last long, they rush to get it. And how many people rushed for toilet paper the moment they thought it might run out?
Marketers use this principle so well that it’s why we’re seeing very limited-time offers, such as KFC’s plant-based fried chicken one restaurant a day test in 2019.
McRib generated strong sales after being revived in 2005 as a limited-time offer on the company’s first “Farewell Tour.”
At the same time, if you bring back the product around the same time each year, customers will come to expect it and the mystery will disappear.
By hinting that it might disappear, McDonald’s can capitalize on the scarcity principle. , as a result, McRib’s apparent legions of ardent supporters continue to speculate.
NIL, NFT, Catering, Dad Jokes: Few companies have used NIL deals, or “name, picture, and likeness” deals with college-athletes. Outback Steakhouse currently has more than 80 deals with the college athlete.
A steakhouse chain owned by Bloomin’ Brands is using some of its footballers to promote its new catering program. The campaign is called “Steak it to the House,” a very dad joke. This is a play with the words “take it to the house” meaning that the player scores a touchdown.
The campaign involves NFTs from the University of Wisconsin Running Back Braylon Allen and the University of Georgia Running Back Kendall Milton. It also features partnerships with Elon defensive lineman John Seaton and University of Michigan wide receiver AJ Hennig, both of whom clearly have a strong presence on TikTok.
The idea is to convince customers to let Outback cater for their soccer party. Outback first started offering catering in his April.
Another sandwich chain sells passes: Cheap food passes are all the rage these days. The latest is from Quiznos, which sells Q Pass, where customers can buy a 12-inch subwoofer for $3 off for a month. Passes are available for purchase from November 3rd to November 17th.
The pass costs $12 in the US and $15 in Canada.
The Q Pass followed Subway’s successful Footlong Pass, which for $15 offered a half-price subscription to Footlong for a month. The company said he sold 10,000 passes within 15 minutes.
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