Breaking with its 15-year tradition of buying local-market broadcast advertising, Arby’s is launching its first national television ad campaign to introduce the chain’s newest line of sandwiches designed for adult tastes: Arby’s Market Fresh. The move underscores the system’s wholehearted support of its deli-style sandwich line. Arby’s Market Fresh will be available nationwide beginning in May.
“We’ve had new products in the past, but nothing as revolutionary as Arby’s Market Fresh,” says Michael Howe, president and CEO of Arby’s, Inc. “Its track record in test markets is so strong that it has received unanimous endorsement by franchisees and thus a permanent place on all Arby’s menu boards nationwide. Franchisees are see value in the line thanks to its current popularity and because it offers new opportunities for product line extensions.”
The Arby’s Market Fresh advertising campaign kicks-off April 29 and will run through mid-May on national cable outlets like: ESPN, The Discovery Channel, and VH1. The Arby’s Market Fresh commercials, created by Doner (Southfield, MI) are part of a series of ads that utilize humor and wordplay to position the brand and its products as fast food for today’s more discriminating adult tastes. The Arby’s Market Fresh spot features the tagline, “Arby’s. Satisfy your grown-up tastes.”
The Arby’s Market Fresh line consists of four new items: Roast Beef and Swiss, Roast Turkey and Swiss, Roast Ham and Swiss, and Roast Chicken Caesar. All four sandwiches are loaded with Arby’s slow roasted meats and topped with garden fresh tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, and sweet red onions, sandwiched between two slices of thick-cut honey wheat bread. The Roast Chicken Caesar is topped with Caesar dressing made with Parmesan cheese; the other sandwiches are accented by a dab of spicy brown mustard and creamy mayonnaise. Sandwich prices will range from $3.49 to $4.29.
“Market Fresh provides a new level of variety to Arby’s customers and may very well attract new customers,” says Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a restaurant industry consulting firm.
To demonstrate its confidence in the launch, TRG will fund the first flight of national Arby’s Market Fresh television advertising. In addition, AFA Service Corporation (AFA) is providing free in-store merchandising kits to jumpstart the program.
“Market Fresh is such a strong, distinct product line that it deserves an advertising approach unique to Arby’s,” says Lloyd Fritzmeier, president of Arby’s Franchise Associates (AFA), the marketing arm of Arby’s. “We went with a national cable plan because cable reaches our target audience better than traditional network TV. This concerted outreach effort elevates the Arby’s cut-above brand and provides the strongest media coverage of any product we have launched to date.”
