How do you take a number three market share position in a highly competitive industry and rebrand yourself to your advantage?There are a lot of success stories of Number Twos trying harder and winning (Avis), but the challenge has been and still is greater for fast feeder Wendy's, competing in a globe that includes Mickey D's and The King. What was Dave Thomas's team to do?
First, the creative geniuses (a compliment, not a rip) at Wendy's corporate or their agency Saatchi & Saatchi came up with a catchy, kitschy visual icon — the red wig. The wig has proven so popular that it's currently out of stock on such off-online sites as wendysunderground.com. Oh, and year-to-year, store-to-store sales were up earlier this year, as the campaign was in full speed, some 3.0% to 4.0%, and recall is "very strong."
Now (and over the past two years, really), Wendy's has doubled its online advertising budget, from 4.0% to 8.0% of its annual $375 million. Wendy's and Saatchi are using the money wisely, building microsites to better reach core 18-34 year old consumers and offering unique promotions — including a new, 100-million free songs music download with Rhapsody for persons buying the new Jalapeno Double Melt sandwich between November 21 and December 30.
The real challenge now will be for Wendy's and the agency to sustain the freshness of their campaign and continue growth. But that's what they get paid the big bucks for. So far, so good — and good lessons for all of us about branding, visual humor, and speaking to your core audience with messages and media they'll eagerly embrace.
SOURCE: ADWEEK, NOISE
REPORTER: John Sprecher
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