Wendy’s will be giving out free Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers for the first three weeks of August, My Recipes reports, although you’ll have to jump through a couple of hoops to get them.
Now through August 19, the fast food chain will give you a free Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, with any purchase , once per day, provided you do the following.
First, you have to download the Wendy’s app. After you’ve done that, scroll down to the Explore option, then click Offers, and you’re in.
You can purchase a small soft drink if you like, and get a free Jr. Bacon cheeseburger with it, basically getting yourself a small meal for a couple of bucks.
You can only redeem a free Jr. Bacon cheeseburger once per day, so if you’re in the mood, you can get one a day for the better part of three weeks, though Thrillist writer Dustin Nelson advises against it. My Recipes writer Sarra Sedghi suggests that once you’ve grown tired of Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers, you can get free ones and give them to friends.
“Nobody else has to know it was free,” she says.
If Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers aren’t your thing, it looks as if the app is positively brimming with attractive deals. For example, there’s free fries, a $1 large soft drink, or free Baconator fries (although you’ll have to do a mobile order for that one).
Tomorrow, 7/30 at 8:30pm CT we’re going live with our first ever Baconcert. Watch as @HarMarSuperstar hits that stage IN A WENDY’S in Minneapolis, MN. pic.twitter.com/Nr6rMNyS3n
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) July 29, 2019
In fact, Wendy’s has been giving away free food all year. In January, for example, they gave away Baconator sandwiches for a week. In March, it was free Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and free Frosties. And earlier in July, it was Baconators again.
So why has Wendy’s “gone ham,” as Sedghi describes it, on free or heavily discounted food? You’d have to have been in one of the company’s executive meetings to know the answer to that question for certain. But merchants have been selling things near, at, or even below their cost forever. It gets people through the door, and presumably you’ll purchase more than just the free or low-cast swag. There’s even an industry term for it: “loss leader.”
And of course, by giving away free Wendy’s items, customers develop a taste for Wendy’s food.
Plus, let’s not discount the wisdom of marrying the promotion to their mobile app. By downloading the Wendy’s (or any business’) mobile app, you’re basically a captive audience. They don’t need to hope you’ll see one of their commercials on TV in order to reach you — they are literally in your back pocket.