This is a Strategy?

I was wandering around online this week and I ran across an interesting line of speculation about the ongoing Chick-Fil-A fracas, and whether it’s all as random – and psychotic – as it looks. If you’ve been out of touch for the last few years you may not know that this national fast-food chicken chain has a long history of supporting anti-gay political groups, and specifically those opposing same-sex marriage, or that earlier this month Chick-Fil-A’s CEO came out and defended this affiliation, saying that these are the core beliefs of his organization. This has resulted in all of the public outcry you would expect from the left side of the political spectrum, and there are now protests and boycotts being proposed all over the country (or at least those parts of it that have operating Chick-Fil-A locations in them)…

This doesn’t seem like it would be good for business, does it? The exact number of people in this country who identify as part of the group Chick-Fil-A is antagonizing is unclear, as they are still highly stigmatized in some areas, but something like half of all Americans are in favor of full civil rights for members of the GLBT community, if not for same-sex marriage itself, and alienating that much of your customer base seems unwise. Even worse, people in the younger demographic groups – who make up a disproportionately large amount of the fast-food customer base – are more likely to support the GLBT rights and same-sex marriage cause than older people in otherwise similar populations, making this public and political stance that much more likely to damage sales. But what if a change in demographic support was the whole point of the exercise?

Over the past week, as folks on the left have been organizing protests and calling for boycotts, there has been a response from right-wing political leaders who are jumping on this situation to curry support from their ultra-conservative supporters. We’ve already seen former (and possibly current) presidential candidates calling for a “Day of Appreciation” for Chick-Fil-A and urging like-minded people to support the company by purchasing more product. As a direct result, people who wouldn’t be caught dead in a Chick-Fil-A under any normal conditions are showing up, having their pictures taken, tweeting and blogging about the situation. Meanwhile, millions of people who had never heard of Chick-Fil-A before (and have certainly never eaten there) are talking about the company and debating what they think they’re doing…

Now, it may seem a bit far-fetched to believe that the company had intended such an effect all along; it certainly assumes a much greater understanding of psychology (and a great deal more intestinal fortitude) than we normally associate with the fast-food industry. But competition in that industry has been intensifying in recent years, leading to such unexpected moves as Taco Bell attempting to introduce upscale entre choices, McDonald’s offering salads and high-end coffee products, and KFC trying to promote itself as health food. And while it may be optimistic of the company to assume that they will receive more business from new ultra-conservative supporters than they lose from more liberal folks, very few companies in this country have ever lost money betting on small-minded, reactionary bigotry…

The question of whether all publicity is good publicity remains in dispute, but it’s hard to deny that in this case Chick-Fil-A has gotten millions of people to pay attention to them for the price of a press conference. Is this a devious strategy to increase sales, a Machiavellian publicity stunt, or just the political ranting of a group of people who don’t seem to understand that sometimes asserting your personal beliefs (however sincerely) is bad for business? What do you think?