The First Fast Food Chain To Truly Master Social Media
Wendy's is dishing out more than just fries and Frostys. Right now, the Ohio-based fast-food chain boasts 3.6 million X followers and 1.3 million Instagram followers. In the age of social media, Wendy's has shaped the way other fast-food competitors interact with fans online — yet remains leagues above the pack for its innovative, pioneer approach to social media engagement (which includes searing roasts).
"Ma'am/Sir, this is a Wendy's" has been a longtime viral meme format, which gained popularity independently of Wendy's official social media account presence. Before long, however, the chain stepped into viral-dom in its own right. It all started back in 2017, when Wendy's broke onto X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) hot out of the gate. In January 2017, when a Twitter user asked Wendy's how it keeps its beef fresh if it doesn't use a freezer, Wendy's acerbically replied, "Where do you store cold things that aren't frozen? I'll wait." The same month, when another Twitter user asked Wendy's to "roast" them, the fast-food account responded, "Get one of your 51 followers to roast you." Fast-forward to November, when the official McDonald's X account posted an apparent unfinished techno-flub ("Black Friday **** Need copy and link****"), Wendy's clapped back with the comment, "When the tweets are as broken as the ice cream machine." This red-hot debut quickly garnered Wendy's its now-famous social media personality, emerging as a distinct voice with quippy comebacks, sass, and wit.
Wendy's honed its social media game into an animated branding offshoot with a personality of its own
Wendy's edgy-yet-playful online persona is a masterclass strategy in personalization and customer engagement. Behind the funny exterior, the chain has effectively harnessed social media as a mechanism for maintaining cultural relevance with up-to-date knowledge of "meme speak" and other facets of the ever-changing online lexicon. Other social media users have even goaded the Wendy's account to try to elicit a wry response from their hero: One poster Tweeted at Wendy's asking, "boxers or briefs" (response: "We are a restaurant") and another asked Wendy's how much a Big Mac costs (response: "Your dignity").
By 2018, the movement snowballed into a multi-brand, Wendy's-originated online trend known as "National Roast Day." In 2022, the tradition "became a trending topic on Twitter within 60 minutes of the initial announcement tweet and peaked at the #5 Trending Topics," as reported by QSR, prompting content from fellow global brands like Anheuser Busch, OREO, and 7-Eleven. In 2023, Wendy's brought National Roast Day to TikTok for the first time (the fifth annual installation of the unofficial holiday), expanding from written Tweets to short-form video content roasts.
Memorable content drives customer engagement
Wendy's Twitter has also expanded to post content that is relatable to fans, promoting engagement, but that might not have anything to do with food at all. On February 8, for instance, Wendy's Tweeted, "Has a kicker ever won MVP?" (2.7K likes). Its conversational approach invites a sense of familiarity among customers, effectively personalizing the Wendy's character and (subsequently) brand. In 2024, Kristin Tormey, Wendy's director of brand engagement strategy and pioneer of the "Wendy" social media voice, told Nation's Restaurant News, "Man, with social, you've got to be freaking nimble. If we can't be nimble, we're not going anywhere."
By 2019, Wendy's took first-place on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list in the Social Media category. Now, seven years later, the fast-food giant is still putting up impressive figures (re: likes and comments) on every post — impressive longevity for the infamously-fickle playing field of social media. According to the outlet, "Wendy's manages 24/7 engagement with a core team of five social media staffers empowered to make quick decisions." These quick responses keep Wendy's at the front of the action — like, in 2024, when a photo of a McDonald's Golden Arches sign engulfed in flames went viral, Wendy's was quick to retweet the image with the caption, "Pookie looking absolutely fire." Call it dedication to the craft — or, as "chronically online" folks might put it, "married to the game."