“The purpose of using SongDivision was actually to launch our values,” explains Matt Hudson, People Director, Popeyes UK. “We wanted something high-impact, memorable, and different from the typical corporate presentation. It needed to be immersive, engaging, and truly bring our values to life.”

The leadership team was aware of the risk—many traditional corporate team building activities can feel forced or superficial. They wanted something dynamic, inclusive, and fun, ensuring every Popeyes employee, regardless of their personality or role, felt comfortable stepping into the experience and, importantly, allowing themselves to have fun.

Popeyes asked SongDivision to craft an experience that would:

• Embed their new core values in an engaging and memorable way.
• Create genuine team connections across different stores and roles.
• Break down social clusters and specific team bonds and encourage cross-team engagement.
• Deliver a high-energy, fun experience that reflected Popeyes’ upbeat brand and culture.

Matt was clear, “We wanted to mix people up without making them feel uncomfortable. The idea was to build connections in a way that felt natural and fun, not forced or fake.”

After researching a few corporate team building activities, Popeyes found SongDivision through a Google search. What set SongDivision apart was their responsive approach, creativity, and ability to tailor an experience that aligned with Popeyes’ core values.

SongDivision worked closely with Popeyes to design a fully immersive team building experience based around one of their songwriting programs – the Team Anthem. This unique format allowed Popeyes’ teams to collaborate, have fun, and express the company’s new values in a way that felt authentic but also memorable, and for all the right reasons!

The success of the event was immediate and long-lasting:

• Stronger team connections were forged through the shared experience.
• Hierarchical barriers disappeared, allowing employees at all levels to get involved more equally.
• Employees felt a sense of ownership over the company values, making them more than just words.
• Positive energy and enthusiasm continued well beyond the event.

The results went further than anecdotal success—Popeyes UK saw measurable improvements in employee satisfaction levels following the event. “We ran our engagement survey two months after the event, and the results were phenomenal—our best ever, in fact. We even won a workplace engagement award! I can’t say that Team Anthem alone drove the uplift in our scores but it definitely had a positive impact,” says Matt.

Popeyes’ team retention scores already surpass industry benchmarks, and these scores remain a strong motivator for Matt and his team.

• Engagement scores are 6% higher than the hospitality industry average.
• Employee retention rates are 10% higher than the norm for the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector

Following the success of the event, Popeyes UK are already exploring more ways to integrate SongDivision’s immersive experiences into their culture-building initiatives.

“We’re looking at ways to make our training and development more immersive,” Matt says. “SongDivision’s ‘Team Harmony’ program, which focuses on storytelling, team cohesion, and feedback through music, could be a great fit. It’s early days but we’re open to new ideas given that our last experience was so successful.”

The Popeyes UK leadership team is excited about the future: “This event set a new standard for how we engage our teams. It wasn’t just about launching values—it was about making them real, memorable, and fun. And, wow, it worked. I’m delighted and we now have a great foundation on which to build in the future,” concludes Matt.