Nando's MY scares netizens with goodbye post on social media

Nando's Malaysia strikes again. This time, the fast-food chain stirred up an online chatter with "It's time to say goodbye" post on social media. This initially caused a shock among netizens, as many were quick to assume the fast-food chain was indeed closing down. Instead, the fast-food chain was only bidding farewell to its old crockery and introducing a new set of colourful crockery designed by young South African artists. The old crockery is being sold at RM2, and all proceeds would be donated to The Lost Food Project. 

While many netizens were quick to respond to the Facebook post with pictures of the purchased crockery from Nando's, many also expressed their relief that the fast-food chain was not shutting its doors, given that Malaysia has already lost several restaurant chains such as Popeye's, Wendy's, and White Castle. Others were also quick to comment, saying how the fast-food chain had made them, "worried" and "scared to death". Some even cheekily commented that they would dine at other fast-food chains such as McDonald's or KFC.

https://twitter.com/NandosMY/status/1448106973652733958

One user, however, labelled this as "another drama" from Nando's end, explaining that he no longer trusts the brand's marketing strategy. Instead, he prefers a more straightforward approach from the brand. The same user also did not appreciate the chicken thigh drama which Nando's created in August, explaining that while it was "good drama", it still played on fans' feelings. Done in collaboration with Fishermen Integrated, the post garnered 760 likes, 286 comments and 154 shares at the time of writing.

Nando's director, marketing, internal brand and culture, Chai Hui Fung, told A+M that whether it is its communications or actions, it always looks to do things in a meaningful yet fun way. "We’re going through a major makeover to introduce the New Nando's Experience over the next few months and our crockeries are one of the first things that reflects that. Instead of being wasteful and throwing them away, we wanted to give our fans the opportunity to cherish their Nando’s memories and bring a piece of Nando’s home," she explained. 

Last month, Nando's had consumers doing a double-take at their emails when they received an email titled "RE:FW:FW:RE:FW:[URGENT]RE:RE:RE: Customer Complaint". Users initially thought they were accidentally copied in an internal email involving Nando's customer experience and marketing teams. Nando's later revealed that the customer complaints were made up and that there will be a new menu offering.

Nando's is known for trendjacking and its out of the box marketing stunts. Last year, the fast-food chain wished consumers Selamat Hari Raya and a Happy Chinese New Year on social media posts in an attempt to raise awareness about the RM10 promotion for its full platter of four to Re-Celebrate 2020.

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