Popeyes’ Latest Promotional Packaging: Mardi Gras Bead Chicken Boxes

Back in December, we took extra pride in our Philadelphia roots, with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. choosing our city’s international airport as the lone site for its Emotional Support Chicken food boxes distribution. While we can still feel special about that, it seems we have to bow to New Orleans, as the city blessed to be the founding location for the fast food chain became the envy of the chicken-eating world yesterday through the Mardi Gras Beadbox’s release:

We know this is extra, but 🤷‍♀️. Happy #FatTuesday! pic.twitter.com/N6kflL8USq

— Popeyes (@Popeyes) March 5, 2019

Life in The Big Easy ended up being even more leisurely on Fat Tuesday, the revelatory sendoff to excess that precedes the Christian observance of Lent. Those with a mind and a stomach to celebrate the day minus any cares could have taken that desire for ease to an even greater level thanks to the customary beaded necklaces that Popeyes added to the containers for two of its chicken meals. Available through the eatery’s Canal Street location only, said boxes featured no additional branding, but we are willing to bet that they drew ample attention anyway, as Mardi Gras merrymakers searched for food selections to complement what was surely a fun night of drinking.

We have an affinity for quick-hit promotions that companies execute to draw immediate attention to their amenities, as we see them as nice companions to other campaigns tasked with engendering longer-lasting gains. Since the Mardi Gras Beadbox marks the second such limited-time-only concept for Popeyes in a three-month span, we are wondering if the chain is pondering more blink-and-you-might-miss-them ideas, or if it's considering promotions with a lengthier shelf life.

In the chicken world, after all, it seems that Kentucky Fried Chicken will stop at nothing when it comes to promotional marketing. Could Popeyes, which definitely has comparable clout, bone up on how to use more promotions to assist its sales? We would certainly love to get a “bead” on possible answers to that.