When it comes to fried chicken, Popeyes is the bomb. And celebrities don't let us lie. They simply love 'that chicken from Popeyes' and show no fear of posting it on social media. However, in Brazil nobody knows our brand. Also, compared to KFC, the top fried chicken brand in the country, our media budget was the size of a chicken nugget. So how could we get to the hearts and stomachs of Brazilians once and for all? By making a campaign with all those celebs we couldn't afford – without them knowing, of course.

As a new brand in Brazil, Popeyes couldn't afford celebrities nor post them without getting sued. So we put consumers to do the dirty work and post their pics eating our chicken to create an unstoppable Popeyes Chicken trend on Brazilian social networks. To do so we mapped out every piece of content where there were celebrities eating Popeyes. Then we turned each one of them into a discount coupon. To get it, we went back to social platforms: all people had to do was find any image of that sort and post with our #CelebrityCoupons. Yeah, it was that easy! So without paying a dime for image rights, nor a 15MM US$ in celebrities' fees, we broke the internet and all social media with non-sponsored content of famous celebs eating Popeyes. A total of 100MM impacts – half of the Brazilian population.

The strategy was simple: leverage the power of celebrity endorsements to overcome the limited media investment for Popeyes in Brazil. Through data gathering and analysis, we identified our target audience and understood their preferences. We knew that Brazilians loved celebrities and that they were always looking for the next big thing. So, we turned every piece of content where a celebrity was eating Popeyes into a discount coupon and created a campaign that spoke directly to our target audience.

After mapping out the 'celebrities eating Popeyes' pics on the web, we asked people to repost them with the #CelebrityCoupons. In exchange people would get discounts. And Popeyes didn't get sued for posting celebs without permission. The initiative took place on social media for a single month, delivering coupons to consumers and attracting them to our stores just to try the chicken celebrities love and endorse.

After mapping out the 'celebrities eating Popeyes' pics on the web, we asked people to repost them with the #CelebrityCoupons. In exchange people would get discounts. And Popeyes didn't get sued for posting celebs without permission. The initiative took place on social media for a single month, delivering coupons to consumers and attracting them to our stores just to try the chicken celebrities love and endorse.