Millennials are all the rage these days. The latest “elusive target” to evade marketers’ efforts. But they do carry some serious marketing value. As reported in this Advertising Age article, “McDonald’s Has A Millennial Problem,” there are 59 million people between the ages of 23-36. Understanding Millennials, like understanding GenX and GenY before them, is critical to future sales..
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Cohn & Wolfe Named as New Public Relations Agency of Record for SONIC, America’s Drive-In
Appointment Affirms Commitment to Impactful Communications with All Key Stakeholders
OKLAHOMA CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Sonic Corp. (NAS: SONC) the nation’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants, today announced the selection of Cohn & Wolfe as its new public relations agency of record.
Cohn & Wolfe will work with the SONIC PR team to drive external communications to consumers and franchisees, local store marketing, cause marketing and issues management. The agency will also support social media strategy as part of a cross-functional, multi-agency team. The primary Cohn & Wolfe team is based in Austin, Texas, a core SONIC market, and SONIC has access to the full resources and specialist expertise of the agency network.
“Cohn & Wolfe brings highly relevant QSR and retail experience, fresh thinking, quick-turn agility, and the resources of a large agency – the perfect combination to help propel SONIC‘s momentum,” said Patrick Lenow, vice president of public relations at Sonic Corp. “We have a great story to tell at SONIC, and we’re confident that Cohn & Wolfe is the right partner to help us tell it.”
Cohn & Wolfe is a global communications agency and part of WPP (NAS: WPPGY) , the world’s largest communications services group. In 2012, Advertising Age recognized Cohn & Wolfe’s independent-minded, entrepreneurial culture by naming it one of the “Best Places to Work in Marketing & Media” for the second consecutive year. In 2013, PRWeek awarded Cohn & Wolfe its top honor, “Agency of the Year,” noting the agency’s “exceptional creativity.”
“SONIC offers a menu and experience so unique that it is truly unlike any other brand in the category. Our core team in Austin, having grown up with SONIC, is excited to help bring this story to more consumers around the country,” said Brooke Hovey, executive vice president at Cohn & Wolfe. “Our partnership will leverage what Cohn & Wolfe does best – insight-driven strategy, bold creativity, digital and social media engagement – to fuel the continued growth of SONIC‘s business and brand.”
The appointment is effective immediately. Cohn & Wolfe will join an agency roster that includes Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, creative agency of record; Zenith Optimedia, media …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Filed under: Company News, Industry News, Food & Beverage, Restaurants
The big three burger giants are stealing a page from the menus of their fast-casual competition.
McDonald’s (MCD), Wendy’s (WEN), and Burger King (BKW) have been rolling out new sandwiches this month that will pit them against Subway, Panera Bread (PNRA), and perhaps even that gourmet burger joint down the road.
Artisan breads, calorie counts, and more non-beef options are among the latest things the chains are introducing to woo in the customers who have been flocking of late to their marginally more upscale rivals.
Meet the New Menu Items
Wendy’s is introducing a pair of flatbread grilled chicken sandwiches. Flatbread is an option that most people will associate with Subway, but Wendy’s going a step further. Its flatbread is a five-grain blend of flax, cracked wheat, millet, rolled oats, and sesame seeds that would look more at home on Panera’s menu.
McDonald’s is also aiming at Subway’s niche with its new Premium McWraps. The world’s largest burger-flipper has offered Snack Wraps before, but the new menu items are built on larger flour tortillas, with more grilled or fried chicken and salad greens. An internal memo leaked to Advertising Age called the addition a “Subway buster” — but naturally we’ll have to see about that.
Over at Burger King, they’re now offering turkey burgers as an alternative. Burger King has offered a veggie burger in the past, but this is the first time that one of the three leading hamburger chains has tried turkey burgers, though they are frequently on the menus of gourmet burger eateries that can afford to stock wider selections.
Healthy Moves are Stealthy Moves
Menu development at McDonald’s, BK, and Wendy’s never stands still: The chains are perpetually introducing new items and retiring less popular options to keep generating interest. However, it’s no coincidence that all three are expanding their now menus with entrees feel cribbed from the menus of fast casual chains. It’s probably also not a coincidence that many of these new additions are healthier than the typical fare being flipped at the chains. As consumers grow ever-more health conscious, and labeling requirements become more common, the chains are finding it wise to offer alternatives to their less healthy signature sandwiches.
The Smoky Honey Mustard flatbread at Wendy’s packs a modest 370 calories. The sweet chili version of the Premium McWrap made with grilled chicken weighs in at an even slimmer 360 calories and a reasonable 9 grams of fat. BK‘s turkey burger isn’t exactly healthy, with 26 grams of fat, though its 5 grams of saturated fat makes it half as bad as the traditional Whopper on that front.
Bringing it All Home
A new Wendy’s ad pitches the convenience of picking up one of its flatbread sandwiches.
“Didn’t even have to get out of the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Leading Publishers Join The New York Times Company’s Ricochet Platform
Ad Age, Condé Nast, Forbes and PEOPLE Digital Among First to Utilize the Digital Marketing Solution
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The New York Times Company has added Advertising Age, the Condé Nast portfolio, Forbes and PEOPLE Digital to the list of publishers whose content will now be available on Ricochet (www.ricochetmedia.net), the Company’s content marketing platform.
Ricochet allows brands to search and find content from premium publishers, upload their ad creative and share it with their owned media channels and social following. The Ricochet platform (patent pending) creates a unique Web address that binds the brand’s advertising to content for a set duration. During that duration the brand can share the Ricochet links through any of its owned media channels and across social media.
“The involvement of these prominent publishers and titles underscores Ricochet’s position as a platform that provides value and opportunity to both major publishers and prominent advertisers,” said Michael Zimbalist, vice president, research & development operations, The New York Times Company. “As brands increasingly become content providers for their audiences, Ricochet will play an important role as a content marketplace and in so doing generate an entirely new revenue stream for publishers.”
“At Ad Age we consistently identify new technologies for marketers. Those technologies are then used to provide marketing solutions for own advertising partners,” said Allison Arden, vice president, publisher of Advertising Age. “Ricochet allows us to create contextually relevant opportunities for brands while also distributing our award-winning most relevant content through social platforms. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Drew Schutte, chief integration officer, Condé Nast said: “Since the majority of content shared in the social space is articles from publishers and our titles are renowned for their standards of editorial excellence, our audiences tend to share our content prodigiously, which render them highly influential and therefore highly coveted. With access to Ricochet we are thrilled that marketers will be able to better align with our content as part of their social Web campaigns. This is only the tip of the spear in how we can leverage this kind of break-through technology.”
The 26 Condé Nast titles that will be available through Ricochet are: Allure, Architectural Digest, Ars Technica, Beauty Inc, Bon Appetit, Brides, Traveler, Details, Epicurious, Footwear News, Glamour, Golf Digest, Golf …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Jonathan Salem Baskin, Contributor
When I first heard about Ford’s rebranding of its Lincoln division as “a Motor Company,” I was optimistic that the company was going to do something real, like run itself differently. I wrote my column in Advertising Age about the ways it could change its business and thereby make authentic, meaningful promises to its customers. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
