Subway is taking shots at the grease in some other QSR foods in two TV spots for its latest product launch, an Oven Crisp Chicken sub. The sub's white-meat chicken, tossed in seasoned breading and baked, is being billed as offering "breakthrough" flavor and a crispy texture "without the calories and fat of a traditional fried chicken sandwich" -- and the sub chain clearly has high expectations for it. "We're always looking for new options that offer great flavor and a good health profile, and this fits that bill perfectly," says Tony Pace, SVP and CMO of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust. Subway's nutrition facts show a typical 6" (273-gram) Oven Crisp Chicken sub having 0 trans fat, 6.7 grams total fat (1.5 grams of saturated fat) and 30 milligrams of cholesterol (60 of its 420 calories are from fat). The sandwich also has 23 grams of protein, 67 grams of carbs and 940 milligrams of sodium. (A quick check of KFC's menu shows 0 trans fat in all of its chicken items, with total fat and saturated fat grams per piece ranging from 3.5 to 33 and 1 to 4.5, respectively, depending on the method of preparation and the chicken part.) Subway's TV spots for the new item, from the MMB agency, don't actually claim that other QSRs do not offer any healthier options -- and in fact opt to focus on burgers grilled in oil/fat and French fries (no specific QSRs mentioned) rather than other fast-food chicken offerings per se. One of the two spots that began airing over this past weekend, "That's a Lot," shows shots of large quantities of grease, interspersed with shots of burgers cooking on greasy grills and fries in deep fryers, with a voiceover stating: "In one year, U.S. restaurants can produce up to 1.4 billion* pounds of grease ... enough to fill 3,300 kiddie pools ... over 33,000 water coolers ... or 111,000 bird baths ... of course, a lot of it ends up right here [shot of a cheeseburger]." Another, "Training Day," shows the manager of a generic burger QSR slipping on a greasy floor while showing a trainee how to prepare burgers on a greasy grill -- and how to dispose of the grease that's not ingested in the burgers: a tanker truck outside the front door (see screenshot). The spots then urge consumers to "skip the grease" or "get the deep flavor without the deep fryer" with Subway's new chicken sub. While these two ads take a decidedly more confrontational approach to conveying Subway's flavorful-but-healthier brand positioning than has been true in Subway's campaigns of recent years, Pace points out that the chain used a similar approach for its 2007 launch of its "Fresh Fit" menu (of which the new chicken sub is a part). Other new TV ads for the new item, to begin airing about a week from now, will take what's become a more familiar tack: Subway's "Famous Fans" endorsing the sandwich. With football season starting, featured famous sports fans will include the Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh, the New York Giants' Justin Tuck, and Super Bowl champion-turned-football broadcasting celeb Michael Strahan (who hosts the "Subway Post Game Show" following Fox Sports football coverage). Famous Fans will also be promoting the sandwich via messaging/tweets on their social media accounts, complementing Subway's own social media efforts, according to Pace. In addition, the campaign includes ESPN Radio's "Hotline" program, online advertising and print (including Subway's Wednesday front-page franchise position on USA Today's front page), he reports. If consumer response to the Oven Crisp Chicken sub lives up to Subway's expectations, the chain will continue its "aggressive" marketing support of the item, Pace adds. Editor's note: The article was amended.
While retailers continue to be jumpy about consumer spending in the months ahead, many are posting solid second-quarter results. Target, Staples and BJ's Wholesale Club were among those putting up strong numbers -- as were smaller chains, including Chicos and Abercrombie & Fitch. Target's net earnings rose 3.7% to $704 million for the quarter -- compared with $679 million in the same period a year ago -- while sales rose 5.1% to $15.9 billion, including a 3.9% increase in same-store sales. "We're very pleased with our second-quarter financial results, which benefited from an acceleration in the pace of our comparable-store sales growth," says Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO, in its release. Staples says its sales rose 5.2% to $5.8 billion in the second quarter, while net income rose 36% to $176 million. "Our core business is solid, our growth initiatives are building momentum, and we delivered better-than-expected earnings and cash flows," says Ron Sargent, Staples' chairman/CEO. And BJ's Wholesale Club also turned in numbers that beat expectations, with net income rising to $45.7 million, from $42.5 million in the same period last year. Sales gained by 11% to $2.98 billion, with comparable-club sales rising 7.8%, including a contribution from sales of gasoline of 4%. (Excluding the impact of rising gas prices, comparable club sales increased by 3.8%.) Abercrombie & Fitch -- which made a splash earlier in the week when it offered to pay Michael 'The Situation' Sorrentino, a character in MTV's TV show "The Jersey Shore," to stop wearing its clothes and potentially damaging its image -- says its net income soared to $32 million, compared to net income of $19.5 million in the quarter a year ago. Sales climbed 23% to $916.8 million, from $745.8 million a year ago, with comparable-store sales climbing 9%. (That includes a 5% same-store gain for the flagship brand, 7% increase for abercrombie kids, and 12% for Hollister.) At Chico's, net income rose to $43.4 million, compared to $30.5 million a year ago, or $0.17 per diluted share for the same period last year. And sales increased 19% to $551.4 million, from $465.4 million in last year's second quarter. Comparable sales increased 12.8% for the quarter. The company also says it plans to acquire Boston Proper Inc., a direct-to-consumer retailer of women's apparel, for $205 million.
Believe it or not, people are craving communications from brands -- but they want those communications to be relevant and on their terms. According to new research from consumer insights agency Communispace, people want more personalized brand communications through their mobile devices, and they want tools that help them manage and filter the flow of content. "The general U.S. consumer is connected fairly continually and it's generally throughout their lives," Katie Adams, senior consultant with the IdeaGroup within Communispace, tells Marketing Daily. "What we found was that these connected consumers have a generally high awareness of interaction with brands on their mobile devices." Despite this high interaction, there are still a set of rules people expect brands to follow as they communicate through mobile devices -- the first one being to avoid unsolicited contact. According to the research, people still value their privacy and don't want to engage in brand interactions that they have not approved. "A very specific [good] example would be having a mobile app that, whenever [a certain] product is on sale, it sends me an alert," says Julie Wittes Schlack, senior vice president of innovation and design at Communispace. "I, as the consumer, have indicated what I'm interested in and I've opted in. And the message you're giving me is information that I want." Once people have acknowledged they'd like to receive marketing messages, the brands should be ready to communicate with messages that provide some value for the consumers, whether they are a deal on a specific product or a location-based offer. "If you're a retailer or manufacturer and you know someone is in a specific location, reach out to them in the moment," says Wittes Schlack. "Or do it by creating apps that actually provide value, and not purely advertising or offers and promotions." At the same time, marketers have to learn to let people dictate the flow of the conversation. Ultimately, they'll decide the level of interaction they want to have with a brand, and it will be up to the brand to provide those many (and specialized) levels of communication. "What we're hearing is that people want to be selective in who they want to hear from and how," Wittes Schlack says. "But if people have opted in, it's because they want that content, that dialogue and that promotion. [Brands] have to be really broad and really nimble in how they respond."
Allstate hopes to double the contribution its "Quotes for Education" program makes to college-bound students via its partnership with The Tom Joyner Foundation. The Northbrook, Ill.-based insurance company will donate $10 to the foundation for every insurance quote (auto, renters, homeowners and more), up to $200,000, received through Dec. 31. Consumers can ask for quotes online at a dedicated Web site by phone or via an agent. The program continues Allstate's history of investing in initiatives that strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This is the third time Allstate has linked with nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner for the effort. Allstate also is linked with Joyner to sponsor the Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion. Although the deadline for entries for a contest to get tickets to the event has passed, that Web site includes Grammy and Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson, Brian McKnight, Kenny "BabyFace" Edmonds and Keith Sweat. The Labor Day event takes place at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Fla. "In addition to supporting a trusted community partner like The Tom Joyner Foundation, we're also pleased that this program engages families and communities as part of the solution," said Kimberly Turner, marketing manager for Allstate, in a release. The program is part of Allstate's "Beyond February" initiative, which strives to engage African-American consumers year-round, not just during Black History Month. The foundation's primary mission is helping to keep students enrolled in Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). Since 1998, it has raised more than $60 million to help keep students enrolled in black colleges, has assisted more than 14,000 students and worked with more than 100 HBCUs. Throughout the week, the foundation announces scholarship winners on Joyner's nationally syndicated radio show. State Farm is also a sponsor of Joyner's radio show, with ads featured prominently on that Web site.
Marketers, specifically multi-location retailers and franchise organizations, were recently confronted with a new Facebook-marketing reality. What was once a relatively "top down" process of managing one's brand from a single Profile Page, has now given birth to a "Child/Parent" dynamic that is hyper-local. While Facebook Places launched almost a year ago, the improvements released recently send a clear signal to retail brands: think and act local. First let's review what's been rolled-out then we'll have a look at the implications for brands with multiple locations. New Enhancements to Facebook Places Generally, the changes are focused on establishing a relationship between "Parent" Pages (heretofore called "Page") and the "Child" Pages (let's call these "Place Pages") for each of the company's locations or stores. Access to these features is still limited and accessed through a Facebook Account Representative. Specifically the following features have been added:
The financial market debacle-- catalyzed by the S&P's downgrade of American debt-- and its future repercussions have been blamed by many on politicians who have haggled too long over minutia (driven by anger, ego and small-minded power-mongering) at the expense of America's strong financial standing. Anger, fear and uncertainty are all common themes regardless of ethnicity, and there is not one person in this country that the current crisis does not impact. The fact that demographers predict that the country as a whole will become majority "minority" before 2045 makes the question of how race and ethnicity play a part in the current political situation quite interesting -- not to mention how this will likely be a determining factor in many 2012 battleground states. Let's first tackle the economic side of the crisis. It is widely known that Hispanics and African-Americans are more likely to be optimistic about the future in general -- even during times of uncertainty like the one we currently live in. In the case of Hispanics, this optimism is to some extent rooted in the nature of the Latin culture, but it is also the result of a practical benchmark with how life would be in their countries of origin in Latin America: Regardless of how bad things are now, many still believe that they are in better shape here in the United States. When it comes to African-Americans, the innate optimism of the segment has with no doubt been boosted by the fact that we now have the first African-American president in office. But make no mistake -- being more optimistic does not mean that Hispanics and African-Americans do not care, and politicians would be making a huge mistake if they underestimated the seriousness of the situation when talking to voters within these ethnic segments. In fact, government figures indicate that both groups have been hit hardest by the crisis, and poll after poll clearly show that jobs and the economy are also the most important factors for these voters. Therefore, politicians would be wise to acknowledge the severity of the problem in their message to these constituents. In doing so, however, it is important that they keep a positive tone that is more in line with voters' attitude. Rather than emphasizing how dire the situation is now and playing the blame game -- like most politicians do in the mainstream media today -- they should focus on how they plan to get us out of this economic mess. The political side of the issue is not that different, but there are some additional factors that politicians should consider when trying to win the ethnic vote: First let's demystify a common misconception about Hispanic voters -- while immigration might be a topic that many are interested in, it is definitely not at the top of their list of priorities. In fact, I'd go ahead and hypothesize that the immigration issue is actually more prevalent among mainstream voters, whether they are for or against reforms. The economy and other aspects that affect them directly are indeed more relevant to Hispanic voters. So politicians should not expect to gain much support if they focus solely on immigration. With that said, however, all other things equal, being too outspoken against immigration reform can have an impact on the vote too. Another crucial fact of the Latino segment is that they are a very diverse community, even more diverse than the mainstream in many aspects -- several countries of origin, important generational nuances, economic disparities, different lifestyles, and so on. While language can be a unifying factor, there are conservative and liberal Hispanics, and yes, I am sure there are a lot of independents too. While in the 2008 election Obama and the Democrats won among this segment, I wouldn't count blindly on the Hispanic vote moving forward. Things could go the other way easily, as has happened in the past. Let's not forget that several of Republicans' conservative values do resonate with traditional Hispanic values, like the role of family in our society. Like Hispanics, African-Americans are also a very diverse group that for the most part, is concerned about the same issues affecting our country -- jobs and the economy at the top of the list. From a values perspective, our research clearly shows that there are also conservative and liberal African-Americans. With that said, however, the fact is that Barack Obama seems to be having a strong influence on how African-Americans vote. Electing the first African-American President was a huge achievement for the nation at large, but it was understandably monumental for African-Americans in particular. This was crystal clear in the 2008 elections, but continues to be evident today in the approval ratings that Obama has within this segment -- holding steadily in the 90 percentages. The natural affinity of African-Americans with Obama in no way means that voters will blindly follow the President anywhere. Politicians would be making a huge mistake by assuming so, especially Democrats. As mentioned before, jobs, the economy and other factors that affect African-Americans are what matter and the message should focus on them. The advantage point that Obama has could be easily lost if his proposals do not align with the expectations of African-American voters. Interestingly, the racial group that seems to be playing quite a prominent part in the current political discussion is Whites. Because they are still the majority of the population, politicians -- and marketers -- tend to downplay the role of Whites in a multicultural America. This way of thinking has some validity. In the world of advertising, for example, we have found that White consumers do not necessarily perceive commercials with Black-only or Asian-only casting to actually be targeted to Black or Asian consumers, respectively. They see them just as being targeted to them, regardless of the casting's race. Therefore, there is no need to develop communication targeted to Whites as a racial group, right? Well, not so fast. As the U.S. becomes a nation of minorities and their racial segment continues to shrink proportionally, some Whites seem to be becoming more race conscious. I don't see this trend consolidating in the marketing world yet, but the Tea Party movement -- which is extremely much Whiter than what America is today-- is a clear evidence of this already happening in the political field. To be clear, this has nothing to do with the group's economic message, which is actually shared by people of different races. It is more about their claim to "reinstate traditional American values." This is a real social phenomenon that -- politics and extremisms apart -- is understandable and should be discussed openly at every level. Let's not repeat mistakes of the past for the sake of being politically correct. As politicians craft their campaigns, it is important for them to consider the nuances of each ethnic segment, including Whites. Obviously not just with the goal of winning their vote -- which I understand is important to them, but more importantly to ensure that the actions they take, if elected, are indeed in line with the multicultural nation the United States has become -- which is what matters to us, the people.