Chick-fil-a App Reaches Top of the App Store Giving Away Free Chicken Sandwiches
If you ever wanted to know how to make an app become the most downloaded free app in the App Store, it turns out all you have to do is give away free chicken sandwiches to all downloaders. The lesser known fast food joint, Chick-fil-a, known for... chicken sandwiches, recently employed this strategy with the release of its "One" app and has been the most downloaded free iOS app in the world for the past week, outdoing the usual giants like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.
By the way, if you're already drooling over the prospect of a free chicken sandwich, I should tell you that you only have until June 11th to take advantage of that offer.
Chick-fil-a's One app has been downloaded more than 1 million times since Wednesday, so we can assume that means the company has gifted at least that many free chicken sandwiches. While that might seem like a large loss to take, if you account for the fact that the majority of those downloaders bought something else, it probably also generated a great deal of sales at the chain's locations across the country, not to mention the following press, so overall it appears to be a victory for the brand and the developers of the app.
Are There Really That Many Chick-fil-a Customers?
Who would've thought that Chick-fil-a could launch an app and have it be so successful within the first few days. Does the brand really have that many fans just waiting for an app, or is the free chicken sandwich just too much of an offer to turn down? Come to think of it, if there was a Chick-fil-a near me, I'd probably download the app myself. Nothing wrong with a free chicken sandwich. But that can't be it, because there are already so many coupons and specials out there; this isn't the first time anyone has ever given away a sandwich. The real reason the app has become so popular so quickly is because it is something that should've happened a long time ago.
Showing Up to the Party Late
It seems like every fast food restaurant has its own app nowadays, including Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, and a long list of other household names. In fact, almost every major business I can think of has an app of its own. So, in theory it seems that Chick-fil-a's app is kind of like that person who shows up to the party late, and because they're so late, and everyone else is already there, everyone turns around and notices the guy walking in the door. I could see half of the downloaders saying "Oh wow, Chick-fil-a finally has its own app now and they're giving away free chicken sandwiches!"
What's with the Name?
What's up with the name of the app being One? Is it because they only give you ONE free chicken sandwich? Probably not. The only reason I could think of is that when you say "Chick-fil-a One" really fast it sounds like you're saying "A1" as in top-quality, probably not having any affiliation with A1 steak sauce. Here's the official app release trailer:
