Qianwufu cops flak for crowd control issues for chicken giveaway on metro

Qianwufu, a snack company in Guizhou, China, has copped flak after its spicy chicken giveaway at a subway station in China turned into chaos last Friday. 

On 14 March, the snack brand said on Chinese social media platform WeChat that it would decorate one of the trains on Guiyang city’s third metro line with its brand colours, promoting its latest campaign to celebrate the World Consumer Rights Day. 

Also known as "Qianwufu Fresh Fried Guizhou Spicy Chicken Special Train”, gift bags carrying nine-ounce packs of firecracker chicken, a dish of stir-fried chicken with chilli and peppers, were up for grabs on 15 March.  

While the move smells suspiciously like a marketing stunt, the brand said the initiative is a “carefully crafted happiness express journey”. “Limited quantity. While supplies last,” the statement reads. It also added that consumers need to show up at the Huaguoyuan station at 8:55 am to get their gift packs. 

Multiple videos on Douyin and Xigua Video showed that citizens had been flocking to the platform and waiting to get the free gift packs home. As soon as the train doors opened, citizens rushed onto the train while some managed to squeeze their way to the front to grab the free spicy chicken despite the instructions from company staff.  

This has triggered heated discussion online as netizens reportedly said this kind of event should be banned, according to Business Insider citing one person listed by Douyin.  

Some said if a stampede occurs, the consequences will be disastrous. Others based in the province said the timing of the event was not quite right. "In the future, please don't hold these events on a working day.” 

Meanwhile, staff working in the Guiyang subway operations team reportedly said comments for the chicken giveaway had been reported to their managers. The staff also pledged to set up on-site security controls for similar occasions in the future, according to Chinese Western Decisions. 

Media intelligence firm CARMA saw over 2000 mentions regarding the spicy chicken giveaway campaign. The majority of these mentions originated from netizens in Mainland China, but netizens in foreign countries also engaged in discussions about this campaign on social forums such as Reddit.

Among these mentions, 45% conveyed a negative sentiment, while a mere 10% expressed a positive sentiment. The majority of netizens believed that both the organiser, Qianwufu, and Guiyang Metro were irresponsible for conducting such a promotion during the morning rush hour, said Charles Cheung, CARMA's HK GM. 

"Some even went so far as to suggest that the company deliberately chose this timing for the sake of generating publicity. Many also expressed gratitude that no injuries were reported among the passengers who hurriedly rushed into the metro in order to get hold of the free chicken."

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Qianwufu for a statement.  

Similar promotional events from brands had happened in China previously. Back in 2015, many citizens were seen rushing into a department store in northwest China's Yan'an city for free gifts such as blankets or pillows, according to China Daily. 

This came as the store previously promoted on social media if consumers could get 38 "likes" from their friends after sharing the promotional message on WeChat, they could receive merchandise worth 398 yuan. The event then turned into chaos as many forced their way into the store to grab the items. 

(Photo courtesy: Video on Xigua Video)

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