1 Million Fans Strong and Still Growing

    ATLANTA, GA, November 26, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Following a record-breaking year of new likes, Church's Chicken has surpassed 1 million fans on Facebook. The cornerstone social media outlet was a key target for the brand in 2015, and in just this year alone, it has gained more than 800,000 new fans, and won't stop there. Executives of the Texas born, Southern-bred chicken giant attribute the growth to its strategic digital practices and active listening. To put things in perspective, the one-year influx of fans well exceeds the total number of fans of one of Church's closest rival chicken restaurants.

"Our digital brand brings people and communities together around great food. There's no better way to do that than to be invited by our fans to be a part of their online conversation," said Laura Reese, Director of Media and Digital at Church's. "It's meaningful and it's powerful. They have a voice, and now, we are actively and deeply listening. We respond, we resolve, we connect and we build loyalty through our Facebook audience."

In 2015, Church's internal digital team worked hand-in-hand with agency partners to develop a sound digital strategy around content, conversation, messaging and placement. Reese said the strategy clearly worked, with this year's efforts marking an increase greater than 300% over that of the previous year. Much of the brand's success is attributable to deep listening and the decision to segment its total guest audience into different "personas" or personality groups. "Our goal to hit 1 million was fueled by significant strategy work to understand our brand archetypes. By developing and utilizing personas, we stay focused on communicating with the right people at all the right times," explains Reese.

To maximize opportunities with each audience, multiple mini campaigns were designed to run alongside one another. Amusing videos and memes pulled in younger, quick-scan types of fans while heartwarming stories from real fans and guests created an ongoing dialogue reflecting the Church's brand personality. By building a solid base of fans on Facebook, Church's now has the power to deliver relevant messages to communities and acquire them on other digital platforms.

On the heels of this success, Church's will be allowing social media efforts on Facebook to run their course over the next year. "We will continue our social media relationships in 2016 and have established new objectives for the upcoming year," Reese said, "While growth of our platforms is still a goal, we will shift some of the focus to acquiring users of our mobile app, which allows us to interact with our most loyal guests and deliver a personalized experience to them based off their behavioral habits within the app and to make further connections with our guests and fans."

About Church's Chicken
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952 by George W. Church, Church's Chicken is one of the largest quick service restaurant chicken chains in the world. Church's specializes in Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared throughout the day in small batches that are hand-battered and double-breaded, Tender Strips , sandwiches, honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great value. Church's (along with its sister brand Texas Chicken outside the Americas) has more than 1,650 locations in 25 countries and international territories and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information, visit http://www.churchs.com. Follow Church's on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/churchschicken and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/churchschicken.

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