Fast food chain Bojangles is hoping to drive sales ahead of this year’s Super Bowl through a publicized road trip to support the Carolina Panthers, during which fans can request a stop in their town through social media.

Two marketing representatives will be driving the retailer’s Teamobile, named for its sweet tea product, from its home base in Charlotte, NC to this year’s Super Bowl location to bring iced tea to the Panthers’ players. Fans of Bojangles can request the vehicle to come to their local Bojangles store using the hashtag #Tea4PantherNation on social media, creating a branded tailgating experience.

“Social media is a critical aspect of this campaign as it allows us to virtually bring our customers along for the journey by not only finding out what is happening on our journey, but engaging in our conversations,” said Doug Poppen, senior director of marketing and corporate communications at Bojangles’ Restaurants, Inc. “For example, we will ask our followers for play list suggestions, ask them to join in our conversations happening in the Tahoe, ex: what is the most underrated item on the menu at Bojangles, suggestions on where to eat outside of the Bojangles’ footprint, and roadside attractions we have to see.

“All of this establishes strong connections between the brand and our customers,” he said.

Bojangles’ mobile journey
Bojangles is a sponsor of the Carolina Panthers, who will be competing in this year’s Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The southern fast food chain is in the process of making a highly-documented trek on social media from its headquarters in North Carolina to the San Francisco Bay area.

The goal is to provide its team with sweet tea during the game, showing its support and helping them clinch the Super Bowl title. Bojangles is hoping to drive sales at individual stores by stopping at locations along the way.

The fast food retailer is hoping to get all Carolina fans involved by prompting them to request stops through posts of their location pleas with the #Tea4PantherNathion. Panther enthusiasts are also encouraged to share images of themselves in fan attire on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, including the hashtag as well.

Cliff and Colby are the representatives making the journey on behalf of Bojangles, and left early Monday morning. The two plan on making it to California by the day of the Super Bowl and will be keeping fans included in their trip by posting on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook on the official Bojangles account.

Social media integration
Krispy Kreme also laced up its mobile sales strategy with a Super Bowl tie-in, creating two football-themed donuts and tracking their popularity on social media daily leading up to the big game (see more).

Similarly, Mazda Motor Corporation drove fast and furious sales with a mobile advertising campaign focused on interacting with consumers through a native integration with Instagram, which links to the automaker’s site (see more).

“In our category, it is important for Bojangles’ to always be top-of-mind with consumers,” Mr. Little said. “Meal and snack decisions are often made in seconds, and we are more likely to be considered if consumers have both recent and relevant dialogue with us, on a regular basis.

“There is nothing more timely or relevant to our fans right now than the big game,” he said.