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Brand Experience Brief: Superchix

Welcome to Brand Experience Week!  Every day this week I’ll be releasing a new Brand Experience Brief, a video audit and analysis of a new or interesting restaurant or retail concept.  My goal is to identify the elements of a great brand experience so that you can apply the learnings to your customer experience design.

Today I start with SuperChix, a new test fast food restaurant concept from Yum Brands, that serves up what might be the best chicken sandwich out there today — and an extraordinary experience too.  Check out the video and subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss the rest of Brand Experience Week which includes Evolution Fresh (a new juice concept by Starbucks, Warby Parker and Bonobos, Dannon and Chobani, and sweetgreen.

DLYohn Brand Experience Brief: SuperChix from Denise Lee Yohn on Vimeo.

Check out other Brand Experience Briefs here.

transcript:

Today I’m kicking off a 5-day Brand Experience Brief extravaganza! Every day this week I’ll be releasing a video audit and analysis of a new or interesting restaurant or retail concept. My goal is to identify the elements of a great brand experience so that you can apply the learnings to your customer experience design.

I’m starting Brand Experience Week today with a fast food restaurant where I had what might be the best chicken sandwich ever. I’m talking about SuperChix Chicken & Fries, a test concept in a suburb of Dallas, run by Yum! Brands, the company that owns KFC as well as Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. From the signage, messaging, and even aspects of the experience at SuperChix, you would never know there’s any connection between it and Yum! – it’s the antithesis of KFC and very different from most fast food restaurants in general.

The design aesthetic is bright and modern. The restaurant exterior features neon lighting, metal and wood. The outdoor seating area is brightly lit and thoughtfully decorated. Inside, the high open ceiling and brightly painted fixtures give the place an airy feel while the basic lighting and contemporary furniture, including a communal table, are cool without trying too hard. SuperChix borrows a page from Five Guys and uses its supplies as decorations, which is an effective way to draw attention to the ingredients in its products. Even the bathrooms were clean, colorful.

The kitchen is open so you can see utensils, ingredients, the cleanliness, and the way the staff work together to make your meal.

The product packaging also stands out. Not only in form – the sandwiches come wrapped in a foil lined bag, fries in cup-like holder, and combo meals in a In n’ Out like cardboard tray – but also in design – the messaging on the packaging conveys the quality of the product, saying for example, that the chicken is marinated and hand breaded in store and the drinks are simple and honest.

The menu is simple – primarily chicken, fries, drinks, and custard , plus the obligatory salads and kids meals. The chicken sandwich itself is terrific — a huge piece of moist, tasty chicken with breading that looks and tastes hand-made, plus fresh produce and bun. The fries were hot and fresh and served with a bunch of sauce options including sriracha. And they make frozen custard fresh daily in fun flavors like Coffee and Donuts and Fluffernutter.

The staffers wearing cool black t-shirts are very friendly and helpful. My only complaint is the slow speed of service – it took approx. 7-8 minutes to get a sandwich and fries.
SuperChix’s themeline is “The Last True Chicken Sandwich” – I guess that’s supposed to convey the brand’s authenticity and timelessness. Whatever the intent, the delivery is really terrific.

There are 3 key takeaways from this brand experience brief:

– First fast food can be good food – the quality at SuperChix is excellent and at under $10 for a huge sandwich, fries and a shake, it is definitely offers a great value for the money.
– Next it’s OK – even appealing – to wear your brand on your sleeve. The signage and packaging at SuperChix tells you it’s proud of what it has to offer.
– Finally, tailor your service to people’s needs. I was delighted to discover that SuperChix allows you to place your custard order when you order your food and then get it after you’re finished eating. This simple gesture provides a great convenience for customers and reinforces that SuperChix really wants you to enjoy its products.

So that’s today’s Brand Experience Brief. Tomorrow I’ll be covering the new juice restaurant concept from Starbucks and the rest of the week includes briefs on Bonobos, Chobani, and more. Subscribe to my blog feed so you don’t miss these and check out this URL to learn from past Brand Experience Briefs.

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