Everyone can be an influencer, thanks to Wingstop Wearable Billboards.

Wingstop replaced their out-of-home budget to make fans their human advertisements.

Credits - Wingstop

With a bold new move, Wingstop, America's Chicken wings fast food chain, has taken over fan's wardrobes to convert them into walking advertisements for the brand. The brand's new campaign declared on 9th March that they are giving away free hoodies and a sum of $10 to wear the them in public and post a picture on Instagram. This one of the coolest ideas, I have heard and are all the reasons why?

The hoodies come in three simple but very likeable designs. You can either choose to advertise for Wingstop, Boneless or Delivery. They have a to-the-point, bold, catchy headline followed by an image with the logo is printed behind the hoodie. It's got the organic CMYK print boxes on the sides as well as spelt out on the top. Giving it the look that the design was made for paper but ended up being printed on cloth.

Credits - Wingstop

So why is it good?

The catchy Headlines

This isn't the first time we have fast food logos printed on t-shirts but definitely the first time we have the word 'ad' spelt out on one. You may call it lazy, but people like being aware of sponsored content - this is a sponsored shirt. The clever headline only makes the sweatshirts more desirable. It is the headline that makes the person wearing it, the influencer they always wanted to be. The same clarity reflects in their hashtag - #thisisanadforwingstop. It is direct, no beating around the bush and so unique that no other brand would have any reason to use it. Credits - Wingstop

The Influencer strategy

Everyone loves an extra buck. The campaign comes as a relief to people who crib on social media about being broke. Wear the cool hoodies, post pictures with it and earn money. This is precisely what defines the lifestyle of a social media influencer. No doubt, every person that loves an online presence will want to own this hoodie, even if they were not getting paid for it. But just the love for chicken wings in enough to wear these sweatshrits.

Shifting from just catching attention to trending

A billboard just lies there in the landscape hoping to get noticed. Billboards cannot track the number of eyeballs that glanced through, the duration of the stare, the most viewed part of the billboard, well at least, I haven't heard of any yet. But with a Hashtag, Wingstop can track the number of uploads, likes, comments, views, impressions, and a lot more data about their fans. It also helps them trend, forcing people to notice. In the words of Wingstop,

'It looks way better on you, than the side of a building.' - when numbers are a concern.

The success of the campaign

Soon after the launch of the campaign, the sweatshirts could be ordered online at wingstopwearabillboards.com but sold out within hours. Fans received the hoodies by post with a lovely letter titled, 'You've gone from fan to fam', encasing posting requirements. This week customers have received their hoodies and have begun posting their photos with the hashtag.

I really hope this trend takes off and more brands hop on and give away free merchandise and money to fans. The idea wins because it goes beyond traditional advertising very smoothly. Wingstop started with a picture, but other brands can fly off with dance videos, prank videos and challenges on Tik Tok as well. Just play stay within the lines of sponsored content for social media to keep everyone will be happy.