Brand Battles is a new regular feature from Ad Age profiling competing brands and the ways they are going to market, including marketing, media and agency strategies. Read the first installment featuring Coke and Pepsi here.

A few years ago, the fast food marketing wars were dominated by chicken sandwich fights. And while chicken is still hot, the newest skirmish is over wings, as chains seek new attention from consumers craving the saucy food, including Gen Zers, who analysts say prefer the boneless kind.

In the last year, more brands have waded into the chicken category. In January, Whataburger launched its boneless wings by leaning into the debate around whether boneless chicken wings are wings or simply nuggets. That same month, Applebee’s brought back unlimited boneless chicken wings. Longtime chicken sellers are also experimenting with different forms of chicken, including KFC, which began selling chicken nuggets in March 2023.

But the most high-stakes wing war is occurring between Popeyes and Wingstop, analysts say, as the two brands increasingly play on each other’s turf. 

Wingstop launched its chicken sandwich in 2022, and Popeyes added chicken wings as a permanent menu item earlier this year, supporting the move with a pricey Super Bowl ad.

“Anybody serving chicken wings is a potential competitor,” said Bret Thorn, senior food and beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News. “So wing specialists will have to work to stay on top, be it with better product or delivery and takeout.” 

Below, a closer look at the Wingstop-Popeyes wing combat, including marketing, media and agency strategies.

Also read: Top 5 food and beverage marketing ideas

Why have wings taken off?

The fight over chicken market share has been simmering for a few years. The chicken wars began in 2019 when Popeyes introduced its fried chicken sandwich, sparking a frenzy and heating up competition with Chick-fil-A. In 2021, brands including KFC, Jollibee, McDonald’s and Burger King were still vying for chicken sandwich supremacy. 

Recently, bone-in and boneless chicken wings have gained popularity, partly because chicken is a popular protein, cheaper than beef, and holds up during deliveries. 

“Chicken is a trendy protein,” Thorn said. “Chicken wings also travel well and can be delivered well. Gen Z and millennials like boneless chicken because it’s easier to eat, and they can forget they’re eating a dead bird.”

Thorn also noted that wings are easier on franchisees operationally because the core product stays the same, but wings are customizable with sauce varieties.

What are Popeyes’ and Wingstop’s marketing strategies?

Popeyes indirectly challenged Wingstop with a campaign for March Madness that encouraged consumers to “break up with your old wings” in favor of Popeyes’ honey lemon pepper wing flavor. Although Wingstop was not named in marketing, a press release announcing the campaign referenced its competitor by using the distracted boyfriend meme image showing a man looking longingly at a container of Popeyes wings and away from what appears to be a green-colored Wingstop order.

“We like to have a little fun with our competitors,” Jeff Klein, Popeyes’ president in U.S. and Canada, and its former chief marketing officer, wrote in an email. 

Buffalo Wild Wings, as usual, ran a ton of March Madness marketing, but analysts do not consider the chain a direct challenger to Wingstop because it focuses more on fast-casual dining rather than fast food, although BWW operates some Go locations focused on carryout and delivery.

“I think Buffalo Wild Wings and Wingstop cater to different occasions,” said Thorn. “If you want to go out and hang out with friends and watch the game, then you go to Buffalo Wild Wings. And if you want to stay in, you order Wingstop.”

A top Wingstop exec says the chain is not worried about Popeyes stepping on its turf. “We don’t mind when other brands promote wings, we think it helps us,” said Melissa Cash, VP of global brand marketing at Wingstop. “It elevates wings in general, and we know we will be in that top consideration set.”

But the chain is sharpening its marketing to focus more on consumer lifestyles and enjoyment of the food. “Our consumer is multicultural,” Cash said. “Tapping into music and sports is important as we think about staying culturally relevant and authentic to that audience.”

Also read: Inside the multicultural marketing debate

That means fewer ad shots of just the food and more celebrity marketing. For instance, TV ads for the brand from 72andSunny feature music by rappers P Lo, Rae Sremmurd and Latto, who also partnered with the chain on a lemon herb flavor in 2023.

Wingstop stands out due to its delivery and carry-out- focused model, analysts said. The model helped sustain the brand through the height of the pandemic and still resonates with consumers who may be looking to eat out but not spend as much as a sit-down restaurant.

Wingstop has been testing a new technology platform, tentatively called MyWingstop, as it looks to capitalize on digital orders and do more with its first-party data. Sixty-seven percent of its fourth-quarter system-wide sales were from digital orders, Wingstop reported. 

Wingstop has been agile in adjusting to consumer needs. In 2019, when there was a chicken wing shortage, Wingstop launched the virtual, delivery-only brand Thighstop as a way to address the supply chain issues and gauge consumer interest in adding thighs to the menu permanently. (They didn’t.)

Over the years, Popeyes has served wings as limited-time menu items, but its ghost pepper wings especially gained traction in January of last year. “We sold out in two and a half weeks,” Klein previously told Ad Age. “We knew then we had something special, and then followed it with our sweet and spicy flavor in August [2023]. We saw lines at our restaurants that were the same as what we saw with the launch of our chicken sandwich.”

That demand drove the decision to make the menu item permanent and support it with a Super Bowl ad starring comedian and actor Ken Jeong.

Last year, the chain rolled out its new creative platform, “We Don’t Make Sense, We Make Chicken,” which leans heavily on the brand’s Southern roots and that the chain hand-batters its chicken.

The creative also focuses on Black and Gen Z consumers. The chain’s campaign for its sweet and spicy and ghost pepper flavors starred New Orleans native actress Tadasay Young.

“Black consumers are absolutely an important demographic for us, and yes, we are focused on this audience, as part of our ecosystem,” Klein said via email. “We’re a brand from New Orleans and we don’t shy away from that. Additionally, the other main target with these spots are the Gen Z and millennial consumers for whom this content and the ‘Just like your Nana’ narrative resonates.” 

Klein also pointed to the brand’s price point—$5.99 for six wings. “It’s a compelling price point and value really matters when you look at the market.” Comparably, at Wingstop, six bone-in wings are selling between $12 and $14, depending on the city, according to the chain’s website.

On a recent podcast from the trade magazine Restaurant Business, Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth said the company’s increase in buying breast meat for sandwiches and boneless wings has helped it become a more balanced poultry buyer. Cash told Ad Age that many Wingstop locations can be run with three or four employees, keeping labor costs down.

Hoops and wings

Both brands have made sports marketing a priority.

This year, Wingstop was quick to partner with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo after he pulled out his phone to scan the QR code for a free Wingstop promo during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. A month later, he posted on his social media with the hashtag #WingstopPartner.

In 2022, Wingstop inked name, image and likeness deals with 11 women’s college basketball players. Wingstop has also been an esports sponsor, working with esports organization OptTic Gaming and the Golden State Warriors’ NBA 2K team.

Last year, Popeyes signed an NIL deal with Dieurnest Collins, who went viral as the boy featured in the Popeyes meme. 

How much do Popeyes and Wingstop spend on advertising?

In 2023, Popeyes spent $181 million in U.S. measured media, down from $198 million in 2022, according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics.

“We’re seeing record engagement on TikTok and Instagram in particular, as well as success in earned media and linear TV,” Klein said via email.

Wingstop spent $83 million on U.S.-measured media spend in 2023, down from $85 million in 2022. Social media is also a top-performing channel for the brand.

“Digital is in our DNA, so we see a lot of paid and organic social media doing well,” Cash said. She pointed to the brand’s work with social media creators including TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee and NIL athletes.

What agencies work with Popeyes and Wingstop?

Popeyes’ agency of record is McKinney, which was behind the chain’s first Super Bowl ad. Klein worked with McKinney while he was at Little Caesars, and Popeyes made the switch from Gut to McKinney in April 2023.

Wingstop’s lead creative agency is 72andSunny, which took the account from Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett in April 2023. The Stagwell-owned agency’s first work for the chicken chain was the partnership with Latto to promote her lemon herb remix flavor.

Who are the key marketing executives at Popeyes and Wingstop?

Wingstop’s chief marketing officer is Anne Fischer, who took over the role in July 2023. She was previously the CMO at Papa Johns, where she was credited with doubling the pizza chain’s loyalty program during an earlier stint as its customer experience VP. 

Popeyes currently does not have a chief marketing officer. Klein, who previously held the role, was promoted to president of Popeyes U.S. and Canada in March, and the brand is searching for a replacement.

Who is winning?

Both brands have seen increased same-store sales. Wingstop’s domestic same-store sales increased 21% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 18% for the year, according to its earnings report. Wingstop ranked 32nd in Nation’s Restaurant News 2023 restaurant rankings, which are based on system-wide domestic sales from the previous year.

“Wingstop’s same-store sales have been driven by several factors,” said Peter Saleh, managing director of restaurant research at BTIG Research. “They shifted more dollars into national ads and have been aggressive on TV. They are also still seeing momentum from their UberEats partnership and chicken sandwich that launched in 2022.” 

Wingstop had originally exclusively partnered with DoorDash for delivery but expanded to UberEats in 2022 as a way to reach more customers.

Popeyes’ comparable sales were up 5.5% for the fourth quarter of 2023 and 4.5% for the year. The chain came in 36th in the 2023 Nation’s Restaurant News rankings.

What’s next for the brands?

The impact of permanent wings at Popeyes has yet to be fully seen until the chain reports its first quarter earnings on April 30. Its to-do list this year includes upgrades to its restaurants.

Joshua Kobza, CEO of parent company Restaurants Brands International, plugged the investment during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, saying the new “easy-to-run kitchens at Popeyes will transform the guest and team member experience.” The retrofits “provide new equipment, updated kitchen layouts, technology upgrades and process simplification, all geared to help solve fundamental operational hurdles that impact speed and overall guest satisfaction while upholding our excellent product quality,” he added.

Klein said that the brand will have more limited-time offers on the horizon, but declined to share details.

Wingstop will be leaning into its digital supremacy, and the brand is also looking to increase brand awareness to acquire new customers with new flavors, said Cash.