Fresher Burgers, Fresher Ideas

In the midst of the frightening economic plunge, (the DOW dropped 400 points in five minutes the other day…) businesses are being squeezed to the limit, gasping for one last breath. Take for instance, The New York Sun, who announced its closure after its final Tuesday paper hit the stands. Or once prominent banks, ahem, Washington Mutual, that are free falling off the market.



But for some warriors, at least the well-fed ones, the battle is far from over. Wendy's, the third largest hamburger chain, is revamping its marketing strategies. After Triarc bought Wendy’s for $2 billion, closing the deal on Monday, the new management went straight to work. 



Roland Smith, the new president and chief executive of Wendy's is jumping off the corporate train wreck, redesigning Wendy's marketing campaigns. Wendy's will try to re-engage old consumers, improve the quality of food products and will even throw in extra incentives – such as a breakfast menu. And all this redirection is coming at a time when budgets are spread thin and consumers are monetarily hesitant.



According to The New York Times, the Commerce Department reported that for the month of August, consumer spending has been at its lowest in six months, even though personal incomes were up. What's really behind the weak performance of spending is fear. A sweating fit is trickling down from top dog investors to individual consumers. So consumers need marketers to yank them out of their cowering holes and motivate them to once again hit the streets – a feat that will not only help the market, but will reward companies that are the first to market. 



The "red-wigs" at Wendy's are busy at work, adding value to their products improving the quality of its french fries, sandwich buns, and bacon. They are even beginning to sell espresso! They’ve got me sold!



Wendy's is re-targeting its consumer base, and expanding its products to include breakfast items. The new Wendy's is all about freshness and quality, a sure value to customers increasingly obsessed with healthy eating and doing it the low-cal way.



So as banks continue to fail, stocks continue to pummel and customers keep pocketing their bills, Wendy's is taking the initiative. Let's see if their fresh juicy burgers can lure the American public out of their money hoarding caves.

Comments

[Masako Gun]

How did Wendy's promote their business? Simply putting it on their website doesn't mean that the potential customers will already know what's new. Did they use any social media marketing?

[Catherine Moore]

There are different ways to market a product or service on the web. However,the bottom line of any new product marketing strategy is to make targeted clients or customers visit or at least stumble the site that is being promoted. Online marketing can be done through emails, blogs, online advertisements, back linking, and other SEO techniques.

[Mike McCue]

I hear you, Robert, and it seems to be an intuitive realization -- promote your company when others aren't and you benefit from the sole possession of the spotlight and attention. But we all know that finance departments try to put the brakes on spending as much as possible during tough times, so how can a sales or marketing executive make his firm's leadership understand that spending to increase visibility is critical to future success? Are there studies that show the benefits of marketing in tough times?

[Robert Piller]

As a marketing consultant, I tell my clients that now, more than ever, is the time to be pro-active in promoting their business. In recessionary times, there are always winners and losers--even within the same industries. Those companies that are spending the money on targeted marketing campaigns and promotional strategies will be better positioned to ride the wave and profit on the up-tick.