• by Aaron Paquette , Columnist, October 23, 2023

During a time of horrific news headlines and wall-to-wall coverage of Taylor Swift and a few other female pop-culture icons, one male rocker/rapper has found a way to make news and inspire smiles with an ingenious cross-promotion celebrating three things Texans love: Post Malone, Raising Cane’s chicken, and the Dallas Cowboys.

On Oct. 12, Malone made a surprise appearance at the grand opening of a custom-designed Raising Cane’s restaurant in Dallas, about six miles northwest of Love Field.

The location celebrates the Cowboys, as well as Malone. While most Raising Cane’s locations have a red color scheme, this restaurant boasts Cowboys silver and blue throughout. The exterior is wrapped in silver vinyl featuring silhouette images of Malone and some of his most iconic on-stage moments.

A 32-foot Dallas Cowboys star greets visitors at the drive-through. Inside are a silver-and-blue interior; a vending machine with special merchandise; a mailbox where fans can leave letters that are regularly delivered to the star; and displays of Cowboys and Post Malone memorabilia.

Malone has a long association with Raising Cane’s. He’s a close friend of Cane’s founder Todd Graves and grew up eating the chain’s iconic chicken fingers, and asked Graves to install a restaurant near Malone’s home in Midvale, Utah.  Malone ended up designing that location, as well as the new Dallas location. The chain already featured  Malone collector’s cups, and fans can order a Box Combo “the Posty Way,” with no slaw, extra toast and Cane’s sauce, and an Arnold Palmer.

The cross-promotion is a home run for all three partners. For Cane’s, the new location made headlines across the U.S., and will draw locals from all over the Dallas Metroplex, and Cowboys fans around the world. The chain received millions of dollars in free publicity from earned media, all for the cost of a new location with some added bells and whistles, and it overshadowed goliaths such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and KFC, no small feat for a privately held, 27-year-old chain with about 700 locations

For the Cowboys, the store opening appeared to flip the script after a disastrous loss to the 49ers a few nights earlier, and might have even inspired them to win a hard-fought battle against the Chargers the following Monday, to a record audience of nearly 20 million viewers. 

And for Malone, coverage of the store opening (and his in-depth interview with Howard Stern the following Tuesday) exposed him to millions of new fans while he’s out promoting his new album, “Austin.”

What are the secrets to this promotion’s success?

*Authenticity is key. Malone has a long-standing relationship with Cane’s, a close personal friendship with the founder, and even a favorite meal. While some other celebrity fast-food promotions seem tenuous at best, Malone’s connection to Cane’s is the real deal, and fans of the performer and the chain know that.

*Consumers love a Box Combo. The Post Malone-Cane’s collaboration was already successful, but bringing in the Cowboys took it to the next level. Just like Cane’s most iconic item is The Box Combo, presenting consumers with a combination of THREE favorites is always a proven winner.

*Three of a kind is a winning hand. It also creates extra synergy when there’s so much crossover between Post Malone fans, Cowboys fans and Cane’s consumers. All three brands fit together incredibly well, making the cross-promotion feel totally organic.

Raising Cane’s iconic motto is “One Love,” and today in Texas, everyone is loving Cane’s, the Cowboys and Post Malone.