Why do people wait for hours to visit a newly opened fast-food restaurant—and enthusiastically document the experience on social media? In a recent WDR feature examining the excitement surrounding openings such as Nhas City Chicken and Taco Bell in Cologne, Professor Thorsten Hennig-Thurau from the Chair of Marketing & Media at the MCM, provides a marketing perspective on the phenomenon.

Hennig-Thurau explains that such hypes are rarely entirely organic. Instead, they are often supported by carefully designed marketing concepts that turn a restaurant visit into a memorable and shareable event. The queue itself becomes part of the experience, offering consumers an opportunity to participate in a widely discussed event and to make that participation visible to others.

According to Hennig-Thurau, successful “Gastro Hypes” draw on a complex media infrastructure involving brands, food influencers, consumers, and social-media platforms. Compelling narratives, distinctive locations, charismatic personalities, and attention-grabbing opening offers can help set the process in motion. Consumer motives such as variety seeking and the fear of missing out further increase its momentum. Yet even sophisticated planning cannot guarantee success: whether a campaign gains widespread visibility ultimately also depends on the unpredictable dynamics of social-media algorithms—and therefore on a considerable degree of luck.

The full German WDR article by Jörn Seidel, including Professor Hennig-Thurau’s assessment, is available here.