Last month's issue of the Franchise Times contained an interesting article about the issues that may arise when a franchise system uses online contests to drum up business.
Genghis Grill, an Asian stir-fry quick service food concept, sponsors an annual weight loss contest called "Health Kwest." The franchisor chooses contestants who compete to lose weight while eating one free meal a day at Genghis Grill in the hopes of losing the most weight and winning a $10,000 grand prize. Genghis Grill started the contests in 2011 and, according to the Franchise Times, it is a "social media hit" generating hundreds of blog posts, Instagram photos and Twitter posts each year.
The problem? Disgruntled contestants are using the same social media outlets to blast the contest and are quickly gearing up to publicize even more negative feedback when the annual contest resumes this month. The "health" aspect of this "Healthy Kwest" had been called into question with one former contestant even alleging that a winner lost 65 pounds by overdosing on stimulants and using other unhealthy methods to lose weight such as starving himself.
According to the article, the franchisor's Chief Marketing Officer, Ron Parikh, downplays the negativity stating that the Health Kwest shows contestants how to adopt a more active lifestyle and adopt more healthy choices. Mr. Parikh did say that, based on the recent feedback, the franchisor would "be updating the rules to reflect healthy weight loss practices and the new FCC guidelines."
It is unclear whether the backlash will have any lasting negative effect on the Genghis Grill brand or taint this year's upcoming contest. As noted above, former contestants remain eager to expose what they call Genghis Grill's unethical practices.
This is a reminder to all franchise systems to carefully think through all rules for any sponsored online contests, taking particular care to ensure they comply with FCC guidelines, and address all issues or problems upfront and honestly. Genghis Grill may have avoided some of the continued anger by former contestants if the contestants felt that the mistakes made in overseeing last year's contest were properly addressed.
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