Golden Marketing Opportunities

You better act fast.

The limited-edition Raising Cane’s Golden Birthday Plush Puppy is only available through the end of April (if it doesn’t sell out before then).

The release of the golden plush puppy – modeled after Raising Cane’s yellow lab mascot – is an extension of the chicken finger fast food chain’s golden birthday celebrations. (The company turned 28 on the 28^th of August last year.)

But it’s more than that. Net proceeds from sales of the plush puppies will go directly to nonprofits that support pet welfare throughout the chain’s local communities. The announcement of new community partnerships has garnered media coverage in communities where Raising Cane’s has a presence from North Carolina to Wisconsin and beyond.

It all ties back to the pledge Raising Cane’s made to invest $28 million in its local communities across the country during its Golden Birthday celebrations – which also included the opening of its 828th restaurant.

Serving Up Timeliness

Tapping into milestones and anniversaries has long been a marketing tactic for brands across industries. Even McDonald’s recently celebrated the 50^th birthday of the Egg McMuffin.

Raising Cane’s had a few initiatives it wanted to promote – the philanthropic pledge, a new store – but it didn’t have a hook to connect the initiatives. Using its golden birthday was a perfect fit and gave a common theme and creative direction for each of its initiatives while highlighting the chain’s brand pillar of community partnerships.

The celebration also included a birthday website where fans and customers could enter to win one of 828 golden prizes worth more than $100,000 in total. Plus, the 828^th store was the first of the chain’s to be covered wall-to-wall in gold.

By tying the announcements to a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, Raising Cane’s was able to control the message and give its actions relevancy, while stoking customer engagement through limited-time promotions.