SOURCE: Hardee’s
Every Fan at Both Stadiums Could Win Free Sausage Biscuit
ROCKY MOUNT, NC–(Marketwire – September 29, 2010) – North Carolina Hardee’s® restaurants will celebrate the 50th birthday year of Hardee’s on Saturday with 100,000 of their closest college football friends, watching to see if a special field goal clears the uprights.
If the field goals kicked at halftime at the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack home football games are successful, every fan in each stadium will leave the games Saturday with a coupon for a free Sausage Biscuit at Hardee’s.
It’s all part of the North Carolina 50th birthday celebration for Hardee’s which was born in North Carolina in September 1960. All 230 Hardee’s locations in North Carolina are participating in the promotion.
In recognition of this special milestone for the brand, Hardee’s will have a fan attempt the halftime field goal from the 20-yard line at Kenan Memorial Stadium where the Tar Heels play East Carolina University and at Carter-Finley Stadium where the Wolfpack plays Virginia Tech.
If the 30-yard attempt is good at each game, stadium ushers will distribute a coupon to exiting fans good for a free Sausage Biscuit with any purchase at all Hardee’s restaurants in North Carolina. In addition to the coupon, 2,500 students at each game will receive bandanas designed with their school colors. Hardee’s already is a sports marketing partner with each university supporting the teams through radio network sponsorships and in-stadium signage.
Hardee’s will also have the same field goal attempt promotion for a free Sausage Biscuit on Oct. 23 during the East Carolina University vs. Marshall game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville.
The special birthday present is a gift to North Carolina since it was the state where the late Wilber Hardee opened the first Hardee’s brand restaurant in Greenville, N.C. on Sept. 3, 1960. He offered “charco-broiled” hamburgers, fast service and a drive-through window. At the time, a hamburger cost 15 cents. The new brand quickly sprang up in towns large and small across the state and beyond and a fast food star was born.
“Hardee’s was born here in North Carolina, and we’re excited to celebrate its birthday with some fun at college football games,” said Jerry Allsbrook, chief marketing officer for Hardee’s franchisee Boddie-Noell Enterprises. Rocky Mount-based Boddie-Noell became an early Hardee’s franchisee in 1962 with its first restaurant in Fayetteville. Today the company has 133 restaurants across North Carolina. Rocky Mount also served as Hardee’s Food Systems’ hometown headquarters for decades before the brand relocated to St. Louis.
Nationwide, the Hardee’s brand has taken a decidedly updated approach to the birthday with fan involvement through a variety of social media channels including giving away $50,000 through The The Wheel of Awesome™ on its Facebook page and daily giveaways of $50 Hardee’s gift cards to Hardee’s Twitter followers during the month of September.
Hardee’s has also been busy sharing the nostalgia across the web while asking fans to also weave their own stories and memories of the restaurant name. To inspire fan nostalgia, Hardee’s YouTube channel is featuring a happy birthday video with snippets of Hardee’s history, as well as birthday messages from politicians, sports figures, franchisees, partners, bloggers and friends of the brand. Hardee’s fans are encouraged to submit their own videos in response. The video is also being featured on the Hardee’s Facebook fan page, along with other retro photos, including images of people, restaurants, premiums and promotions associated with Hardee’s over the last 50 years. Additionally, nostalgia fans can visit the retrospective photo collection or subscribe to the open community group on the brand’s Flickr site to share vintage Hardee’s memories of their own.
About Hardee’s
Celebrating 50 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee’s Food Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of second quarter of fiscal 2011, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,149 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 18 countries, including 1,239 Carl’s Jr. restaurants and 1,898 Hardee’s restaurants. For more information, or to find a Hardee’s near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.hardees.com. Hardee’s social media sites include www.facebook.com/hardees, www.twitter.com/hardees and www.youtube.com/hardees.
About Boddie-Noell Enterprises
Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE) is a diversified family-owned business engaged primarily in restaurants and land development. Founded with a single Hardee’s location more than 47 years ago, BNE today is the largest Hardee’s franchise operator in the United States with 336 restaurants across four states. For more information about the company, visit www.bneinc.com
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