Chick-fil-A’s Play App: A Family-Focused Strategy with a Strategic Edge
While driving to Atlanta the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I streamed the Georgia-UMass football game on my iPhone while my wife was driving. The video quality was good with only occasional buffering, but the advertising was limited and monotonous: pretty much the same six commercials for each three-minute segment. One advertisement, though, was particularly interesting: a new app from Chick-fil-A with streaming content.
Why the heck would Chick-fil-A start a streaming channel? Is this a completely new strategy or a copycat move? I endeavored to find out, and this is what I learned.
Meet Chick-fil-A Play
The app is called Chick-fil-A Play, and it's part of a digital platform designed to entertain and engage families [my editor interjects: as Chick-fil-A continues to narrowly define the word] with games, animated shows, craft tutorials, and podcasts. Available for free on iOS and Android, the app emphasizes family-friendly content in a safe, ad-free environment.
Chick-fil-A Play includes no in-app purchases or external advertising. The app is noteworthy for streaming professionals as a new and innovative content strategy that addresses the vanishing access to third-party data.
In this article, I’ll detail the app’s features, how it compares to LEGO’s suite of family-focused apps, the marketing goals it serves, the data it collects, and the pros, cons, and challenges of initiating a similar strategy.
What the App Offers
According to the press release, the Chick-fil-A Play app (Figure 1) includes
- WATCH: Original Animated Shows—Enter Evergreen Hills and enjoy playful new adventures with the animated Chick-fil-A Cows, designed in landscape format to be watched together, either cast to a TV or through a tablet.
- LISTEN: Original Scripted Podcasts—Kid-friendly podcasts perfect for the way to school, practice, or anywhere in between.PLAY: Games, Jokes, and Conversation Starters—Get the whole family talking and laughing together, whether at home or on the go.
- CREATE: Video-Based Recipes and Kid-Friendly Crafts—Hands-on activities for families to experiment in the kitchen or through fun arts and crafts.
- READ: Animated Books and Interactive Stories—Family-friendly entertainment designed for anytime, anywhere.
Figure 1. The Chick-fil-A Play home screen
As Dustin Britt, Executive Director of Brand Strategy, described, "Hospitality and fun have always been at the core of the Chick-fil-A family experience, whether inside our Restaurants and play areas, or through our Kids Meals. The Chick-fil-A Play App is a digital extension of that experience and another way we’re reimagining ‘Play’ for our Guests, in a unique way through entertainment that really encourages time together."
Why Chick-fil-A Launched the Play App
Chick-fil-A’s stated mission for the app is to enhance family bonding and build emotional connections with its audience. However, media analysts provided additional perspective on the precursors for the app and the strategic objectives.
As Marketing Dive noted, “Though the app is new, Chick-fil-A’s experience in digital entertainment is not. After creating its 2019 short film, the company has produced subsequent Evergreen Hills stories every year for the holidays. Last year’s 10-minute video, ‘The Spark Tree,’ has been viewed more than 140 million times on YouTube. The company last year also started a games and activities brand, Pennycake, which sells puzzles, lawn games, and conversation starter card decks."
Contrasting an app-based strategy with posting videos on YouTube and other social media, Marketing Dive continues, “During a period when marketers are struggling to ensure their messaging doesn’t appear next to offensive content, it also represents a way for Chick-fil-A to ensure its marketing adheres to its desired persona.”
According to Fast Company, Chick-fil-A is thinking big with the new strategy. “The early look we got made clear that if the Play app realizes its full potential, it could be a pipeline not only for a rich supply of original content (like Netflix and HBO), but also original audio series (like Gimlet Media and Wondery), ebooks (like Amazon Kindle), interactive games (like Nintendo), and cooking videos (like Bon Appétit’s Instagram and all those other viral food Reels).
“Whatever you decide to call it—when asked, Chick-fil-A told me just to say an app offering ‘family-friendly games, activities, and entertainment’—the platform is laying the groundwork for a family-focused entertainment empire that could leave existing players like greeting cardmaker-turned-cable TV network Hallmark in the dust, and maybe even compete in scope, if not reach, with bigger players like Apple or Disney.”
Taking a high-level, big-picture view, Inc. Magazine observed , “if you’ve ever wondered if you could leverage your brand to forge a deeper connection with potential customers, it’s worth paying attention to what happens with Chick-fil-A Play.”
Advertising Without Ads
From my perspective, the first goal of the app relates to the concept of “advertising without advertising,” subtly integrating branding into its content without overt promotions or personalization. By crafting an ad-free experience, the app is intended to build trust with families while still reinforcing the brand in clever and engaging ways (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Chick-fil-A Play doesn’t advertise, though you'll often need to visit a store to complete most recipes.
One standout feature is the Create section, which offers video-based recipes and crafts that tie directly to Chick-fil-A’s menu items. For example, a recipe for a family-friendly dish prominently features Chick-fil-A Grilled Nuggets and Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Sauce as key ingredients. This approach subtly reminds families of the brand’s offerings while giving them practical, value-driven content they can enjoy together. The focus is not on selling but on becoming a part of family traditions and daily life.
Similarly, the Watch section includes animated shows, such as Legends of Evergreen Hills. While these stories don’t overtly promote menu items, they are designed to leave a positive impression of the Chick-fil-A brand through fun and engaging narratives. The storytelling creates a memorable connection with families, ensuring that Chick-fil-A remains top-of-mind without relying on traditional advertisements.
By embedding its branding into creative, useful, and enjoyable content, Chick-fil-A fosters emotional loyalty. Parents can trust that the app provides safe, family-friendly entertainment, while the subtle nods to Chick-fil-A products ensure that the brand is part of those special family moments. This strategy not only enhances the app’s value but also positions Chick-fil-A as a trusted partner in family life, driving restaurant visits and loyalty through goodwill rather than direct advertising.
The First-Party Data Question
One of the first questions most parents ask before installing an app for their children relates to data collection and usage. Here, the Chick-fil-A Play app takes a notably privacy-first approach, setting it apart in an era when many branded apps are designed to collect extensive first-party data for marketing purposes. According to Chick-fil-A's privacy policy:
"When you use CFA Play, we only collect, process, and disclose (within Chick-fil-A or to our service providers) personal information for the purpose of supporting the internal operations of CFA Play. Other than this personal information collected for the purpose of supporting internal operations as permitted by COPPA, we do not knowingly collect personal information from users, including children under the age of 13."
This statement underscores Chick-fil-A’s strict focus on using data solely to support the app's functionality without leveraging it for marketing, behavioral tracking, or advertising purposes. Despite this limited data collection, the app achieves many of the same benefits as a first-party data strategy through engagement rather than analytics. Thus Chick-fil-A Play is designed to establish a direct and ongoing connection with its core audience. Families using the app are already primed to think positively about the brand, reducing the need for targeted ads or data-driven personalization.
Comparing LEGO and Chick-fil-A
To better understand the strategy behind Chick-fil-A’s Play app, it’s helpful to compare it with LEGO’s approach to family-focused engagement, like LEGO Play. Both brands focus on family engagement and emphasize safety and trust, but their data strategies differ in meaningful ways, reflecting their distinct business models and goals.
LEGO integrates data use across its digital offerings, including features like moderated social sharing, step-by-step 3D building guides, and games that encourage creativity. As such, LEGO collects and processes personal information to improve services, personalize experiences, and provide marketing information about LEGO products, while adhering to GDPR and other data privacy standards. LEGO uses app data to connect its digital platforms to its physical product ecosystem, encouraging purchases of LEGO sets and fostering creativity-driven engagement.
In contrast, Chick-fil-A collects minimal data solely for internal app operations, with no marketing or personalization goals. Its app focuses on fostering family bonding and trust through ad-free content, reinforcing emotional connections with its brand.
Both strategies are effective in their own contexts. LEGO’s approach drives product sales and creativity, while Chick-fil-A’s app is designed to strengthen loyalty and trust.
Please don't read this, in any way, as condemning LEGO's strategy; their comprehensive privacy policy makes it clear that LEGO respects and protects its customer data. It's just using it more broadly than Chick-fil-A has chosen to.
Conclusion
As third-party data sources slowly dry up, one potential workaround is creating a direct connection with customers and prospects. Apps like Chick-fil-A Play provide an opportunity to bypass traditional advertising and data collection by engaging audiences directly. Whether the marketing is subtle, like embedding branding into recipes, or more obvious, such as cross-promotional offers, the goal is the same: to directly build loyalty and drive long-term engagement.
That said, apps aren’t for everyone. Getting people to download and consistently use an app is a substantial hurdle, especially when competing for attention in a crowded digital space. To succeed, a brand must already have a strong emotional connection with its audience, particularly if children are the focus. Without that bond, the app will unlikely resonate or find a meaningful audience.
Content creation presents an additional challenge. With families already subscribing to multiple OTT platforms, streaming YouTube, and scrolling through TikTok and other social videos, brands must create content that truly stands out. Unless you have a significant budget and a patient, long-term strategy, diving into app-based entertainment may not deliver the results you’re hoping for. For most brands, the barriers to entry—particularly the need to stand out in a content-saturated space—make this a high-risk, high-reward strategy.
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