13 Things That Happened When Arby’s Took to Twitter with #TrickOrMeat

Holidays mean an opportunity for chains and franchises to get on social media and offer cute holiday-related deals and freebies in an attempt to engage with consumers. This year Arby’s attempted to relate Halloween back to its current All The Meats campaign with a special treat for its social media followers – say “Trick or Meat” at the register, and get a free piece of bacon on anything you want. It’s a small treat, but who can argue with free bacon?

As brands are wont to do, Arby’s got the ball rolling by promoting #TrickOrMeat as a Twitter hashtag – always a risky gamble, with the potential for hijacking and consumer backlash. How did Arby’s fare? Here’s what happened when Arby’s got down with promoted hashtags (in thirteen steps, because Halloween!):

1. Bacon fanatics got excited.

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2. Hearts were won.

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3. While others just swiped left.

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4. People stopped being polite and started getting real.

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5. Directioners got involved (because it’s Twitter, of course they did).

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6. PETA got involved (because it’s meat, of course they did).

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7. Other brands tried to piggyback.

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8. People questioned Arby’s motives in handing out free bacon.

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9. Other people questioned Arby’s commitment to transparency in its meat sourcing.

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10. A lot of minds went to some dark and not at all brisket-related places.

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11. Others found themselves in a Moons Over My Hammy dilemma when faced with actually having to say “Trick or Meat” out loud in order to get free meat.

[Twitter]

[Twitter]

12. People lamented the follies of Arby’s locations that didn’t seem to get the memo about bacon in anything.

[Twitter]

13. And some people looked at this campaign and saw only the End Times.

[Twitter]

So did it work? People are certainly talking about it, and more or less staying on topic – no one has managed to hijack the hashtag or turn it on its head too severely. In the dangerous world of promoted hashtags, that’s all a brand can ask for.