THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Auto See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Beauty See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Business to Business See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Consumer Brand See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Education See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Entertainment See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Financial Services See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Fitness, Health, & Wellness
<br>See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Food & Beverage
See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Gaming See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Government & Politics See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Hospitality See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Insurance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Live Events See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> News & Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Non-Profit See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pets & Animals See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Pharma & Healthcare See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Estate See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Restaurants See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Retail & E-Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Activism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Sports See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Television See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Travel & Tourism See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Wine, Beer & Spirits

Strategy & Engagement

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Call to Action See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Community Management See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Creative Use of Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> CTV/OTT See previous winners and honorees for Insights and Trends here.</a> <a href=https://shortyawards.com/17th/"https://shortyawards.com/category/16th/data-visualization">See previous winners and honorees for Data Visualization here.</a>"> Data & Insights See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Earned Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Event & Experiential See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Gamification See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Humor See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Innovative Media Buying Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Integration with Traditional Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Internal Communications See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LGBTQ Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Influencer Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multicultural Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music & Dance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> On a Shoestring See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Organic Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Paid & Amplification See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Physical and Digital Convergence See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Public Service Announcement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Time Response See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> SEO & SEM See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Storytelling

Wendy’s Frosty Fix

Finalist in Humor, Event & Experiential

Objective

Wendy’s iconic Frosty treats are a hallmark of our brand. But in the fast-paced world of quick service dining, consumers are making split second decisions on where to take their business and our competitors offer similar desserts. It’s a flat category, and there are 3x as many McDonald’s restaurants as Wendy’s, so we need to be top of mind more often and more memorably than the competition. McDonald’s has a big problem; their ice cream machines are notoriously broken. It’s such a widespread problem that consumers were driven to make a website called McBroken.com dedicated to tracking broken machines in the US. We know we can make waves in organic social, especially when we take a shot at our competition. But can we give people even more to talk about to increase our reach and change purchasing decisions? 

Strategy

The Set Up

Our objective was to steal visits and provide a superior sweet treat to fast food users who had been let down. While Wendy’s is renowned for its iconic Frosty, McDonald’s is notorious for their unreliable ice cream machines. To capitalize on this cultural conversation, we highlighted the widespread consumer frustration surrounding McDonald’s frequent machine malfunctions. We kicked off our activation by compiling complaints from social media and ended our organic video with a teaser, hinting that a fix was coming. 

 

Bringing the Frosty Fight to McDonald’s Turf 

To make the biggest impact out of the gate, we knew our first stop had to be symbolic. So we took the fight to McDonald’s backyard: Chicago. Deploying a fleet of Frosty trucks, we set up shop at several McDonald’s locations with non-functioning ice cream machines to save the day when customers left feeling frustrated without their fix. We handed out Frosty treats to disheartened patrons exiting the drive-thru. We engaged with people en route to McDonald’s and reminded them that our Frosty is delicious, and always available. We even served a McDonald’s manager who was also craving a sweet solution. Not only did we make a bold statement by parking our Frosty truck in front of the golden arches, but we gave reluctant McDonald’s goers a reason to rethink their dessert choices the next time a craving hits. 

 

Taking it National 

We were just getting started. Broken ice cream machines aren’t just a local issue, they’re a national one. So to show up for ice cream lovers and get them to consider Wendy’s, we took Frosty Fix national. We sent out a national push notification alerting consumers that there was a broken ice cream machine near them, but at Wendy’s, we don’t clown around - we offer a reliable dessert for just $1.  

Results

We set out to change consumer mindset and remind fast food users that Wendy’s has a superior, more reliable dessert. We did just that . After deploying Frosty Fix, 100% of the frequent McDonald’s customers we sampled said they like Wendy’s more now than they did before and were more likely to visit us vs. our competition in the future. 

 

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

VML, Wendy's

Links

Entry Credits