TGI Fridays is making social media into a shoppable platform with a new campaign to let consumers order an appetizer through Twitter by tweeting a football emoji to the brand.

The campaign was made possible due to some help from Conversable, which offered its chatbot technology to Fridays. The move helps Fridays keep its customers engaged on all channels while expanding the concept of what channels can be used for commercial purposes.

“Our digital offerings allow us to give the same personalized service to guests online as we would in the restaurant or across the Fridays bar,” said Sherif Mityas, vice president, strategy and brand initiatives at TGI Fridays. “Being the first national bar and grill to accept orders on Twitter is just the beginning of how guests will see us cater to their needs using technology.”

Social purchasing
With the rise of the Internet of Things and mobile, there is an increasing tendency on the part of brands to bring ordering and purchasing abilities to a wide variety of different channels.

Where once consumers could only purchase things over the phone with their credit card or online on a desktop, the ways in which they can do so now are numerous.

Consumers can now order through chatbots, apps and voice devices such as Amazon Echo. Any one of these has greatly expanded what can be considered a commercial channel.

Now, Fridays is continuing the trend of making ordering available on unique channels by letting consumers order appetizers through Twitter.

This Sunday, during the Super Bowl, Fridays customers can tweet to the brand with a football emoji to unlock the ability for them to order an appetizer through a direct message with the brand for just one cent.

The promotion takes advantage of chatbot commerce technology provided by Conversable.

The football emoji simply opens the door to the promotion. From there, the brand uses Twitter’s built-in support for chatbots to facilitate the purchase.

Mobile ordering channels
While messaging commerce has been gaining traction and is not completely unheard of, Fridays is taking the unique step of offering it to customers through a social media channel and not just through a messaging app such as Facebook Messenger.

The campaign also boasts the unique feature of letting customers access the ordering option just by tweeting, with an automatic response prompting them to continue the transaction.

This move is consistent with Fridays attention to messaging as an ideal option. Late last year, the chain enabled mobile reservation booking through Facebook Messenger (see story).

Meanwhile, Fridays has also tapped into social media for more general marketing campaigns such as one that involved customers making a purchase and sharing it online to receive a coupon (see story).

These campaigns show that Fridays is committed not just to mobile and messaging, but to expanding the way the two can interact in order to form new mpurchasing opportunities for customers.

“When one of America’s most-loved brands like TGI Fridays adopts chatbot technology, it’s obvious where the future of the restaurant industry is headed,” said Ben Lamm, CEO of Conversable. “We’re proud to help Fridays go where its guests are, whether they’re watching the Big Game from home on Sunday or looking for nearby happy hour specials.”