The controversy over Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy's remarks about gay marriage has done more than push the company into the cable news and social media spin cycle.
It has caused the usually publicity-friendly Atlanta chain to retreat almost completely from the public.
Instead of challenging the back-and-forth on Cathy's stand against gay unions, the privately held company posted a statement on its Facebook page in late July and simply stopped talking.
"The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender," the statement read.
Leaders in crisis communication are mixed on the strategy.
Supporters of the company's media shutdown noted Americans' notoriously short attention spans and the likelihood that today's drama will quickly be forgotten tomorrow. Chick-fil-A's calculation, they say, is to stay quiet and resist adding fuel to the fire.
"The smart thing for them to do is to let it die," said Ken Bernhardt, a professor of marketing at Georgia State University and who has advised the company for 31 years. "In this case, the statement they have made is exactly the statement they should have made."
Others are surprised the company has not pushed harder to differentiate between Cathy's personal views and those of the company. To them, Chick-fil-A seems to have been caught flat-footed.
"Every company worth its salt has to have a plan, especially those with opinionated owners of any sort," said B.A. Albert, head of Big Table, an Atlanta-based marketing agency.
That's important because the issue is about more than the impact the controversy will have on the Atlanta-based fast-food chicken chain's sales today. It's about future growth.
Chick-fil-A, which had sales of $4.1 billion in 2011, is moving aggressively beyond the South — its core — into the West and Northeast, where it is not as well known and has not enjoyed the years of goodwill that has allowed its business to explode.
"The risk for Chick-fil-A is that their brand could become associated with a point of view," said Tim Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. "And in areas that are unfamiliar with the company, that could be a problem."
The comment sparking the uproar came when Cathy told an interviewer from Biblical Recorder, a religious publication, that he supports "the biblical definition of the family unit," which many regard as opposing gay marriage. Harder-edged remarks he made on a radio show in June also have circulated.
Gay rights organizations also have complained about donations the company and franchisees have made to groups that oppose gay marriage.
Tragedy also struck the company when Don Perry, who had led its public relations team for almost 30 years, died July 27 of a heart attack. While the company has other press officers and often employs outside public relations agencies, the loss rocked the staff.
Image problems are unusual for Chick-fil-A, which has always worn its owners' Christian beliefs as a badge of honor. The company has enjoyed almost universal admiration since launching at Greenbriar Mall in 1967. Fans applaud its customers service, which consistently scores at the top of quick service restaurant surveys. QSR Magazine reported the chain has the biggest sales per unit in fast food.
And its advertising campaign, using spelling-challenged cows to convince diners to "eat mor chickin," is one of the most recognizable and successful in the business.
Some of that could be changing. The company's positives dropped 26 points in 11 days, according to YouGov, a British company that measures brand perception. And politicians in Chicago, San Francisco and Boston blasted Cathy's position.
Supporters of the chain fought back Wednesday. Chick-fil-A "Appreciation Day," the brainchild of former Arkansas governor-turned-talk show host Mike Huckabee, saw thousands turn out at locations across the nation and set a one-day sales record for the company. Lines snaked throughout stores from Alabama to California while drive-thru traffic backed up for blocks.
While the turnout proved the company's fans could be mobilized, Mark Pettit said it has the potential to further polarize the company.
"They can't separate the president from the PR right now and that's a problem," said Pettit, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based marketing company Creaxion.
Bernhardt thinks that could guide the company in the future. Instead of giving through its WinShape Foundation or stores, the company may focus on giving as individuals.
"I suspect moving forward that, knowing they are on the radar screens, gifts to controversial organizations will be done personally, not through the corporation," he said.
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