Storyboard: Buns in the Oven

Expecting a new product line, Arby's delivers a fresh branding campaign.

By Margaret Littman, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 5/1/2003

Arby’s is expecting hot sandwiches on artisan-baked rolls later this year, but it has already started sending out the announcements. The 11th-largest chain in the country is spending $85 million to herald the first in its line of new sandwiches and give birth to a new branding campaign.

The cost is more than five times what Arby’s spent on its last ad campaign, but Michael Howe, president and CEO of Arby’s parent Triarc Restaurant Group, is confident the chain will grow into a $4-billion brand over the next several years.

Howe makes this move as burger chains struggle. Sales at the average McDonald’s restaurant fell $22,000 last year, and Burger King’s second-largest franchisee, Ameriking Inc., filed for bankruptcy in December.

But Arby’s new branding effort is designed to underscore a long-standing point of difference between Arby’s and its competitors that Howe fears may have been lost in recent years: Since 1964 Arby’s has oven-roasted its beef for more than three hours in each restaurant.

“In research we learned that oven-roasted is one of the most preferred [methods of preparation], and it is perceived as ‘better for me than grilled.’ There is an emotional tie to it,” Howe says.

Fits Like a Glove
What Howe hopes will be memorable is “Oven Mitt,” a spokescharacter created by Southfield, Mich.-based Doner Advertising, Arby’s ad agency for the last 13 years. Oven Mitt, as his name suggests, is a talking potholder, who is shown working as a member of the Arby’s crew in the restaurant kitchen.

The animated Oven Mitt is voiced by actor Tom Arnold, but Scott Lippitt, executive vice president and account management director for Doner, says the campaign is downplaying the famousness of that voice.

“Like Disney and Pixar, we wanted to use a solid actor who could bring the character to life,” Lippitt says. “When we showed the spots to people, they could not pinpoint the voice. But he does come across as a passionate part of the crew. He is serious about his role and brings that passion to life in his voice.”

Doner developed Oven Mitt as an animated character who would appeal to teens and adults, rather than younger kids to whom most QSR characters speak. Adult fast-food diners are Arby’s core audience. In preliminary research, Oven Mitt scored over 90 percent in likeability and over 60 percent in conveying the key message of the spot among these consumers, Howe says.

In the first four 30-second spots, the first of which aired in March, Oven Mitt is found exclusively in the Arby’s kitchen, working with the crew and introducing the new Italian Beef ’n’ Provolone sandwiches. Lippitt says Oven Mitt may venture out of the kitchen into the restaurant, or even outside, in the additional six spots planned for 2003.

Oven Mitt will also introduce other new products from Arby’s later this year, many of which will be served on artisan-baked rolls, an evolution of the deli-style sandwiches on thick bread introduced in the Market Fresh campaign in 2001. Soups and salads are also on the menu for later this year.

Clearing Hurdles
“I think this brand is on the cusp of some explosive growth. As much as we see the difficulty in this category, we think [the fast-food challenges are] way overstated,” Howe says. “Consumers want better-tasting food, and Arby’s has been founded on that. We just have to do a better job of communicating it.”

The challenges to which Howe refers include concerns about nutrition and lawsuits over obesity. “I think the hurdles there are overstated. There is opportunity for us to give healthier choices without depriving our consumer,” he says. “Consumers don’t just order entrees, they order meals. We’re looking at healthier sides, not just french fries, but fruit cups, green salads, macaroni salads, pasta salads and more drink options like noncarbonated beverages. We have always had the equity of great-tasting food; we can provide it in a nutritious form.” Howe also sees offering more poultry sandwiches as healthful alternatives.

The $85 million campaign is focused on cable TV and radio, with media buys on ESPN, Lifetime, MTV and VH1. The character is also featured on direct mail coupons, in-store displays, billboards and new packaging. The 12-month investment is considerably more than the $15 million Arby’s spent on its last campaign, when it launched Market Fresh sandwiches (Chain Leader, July 2001). The primary objectives are to increase awareness of Arby’s kitchen techniques, trial by new users and frequency by loyal Arby’s eaters. Longer term, Howe hopes it will increase the average check from its current $4.82 to the $5.25 to $5.50 range.

Howe says he hopes to increase systemwide sales by $1.2 billion over the next four years; $300 to $350 million of that will come from new units, all of which are franchised. Franchisees contribute .05 percent of sales to a national ad fund and 3 percent to a local ad fund.

Lippitt says Doner has been careful to build continuity into the new television spots so they fit with Arby’s past ad messages. “There will always be mouth-watering food photography in an Arby’s commercial,” he says. “But we are trying to get beyond just selling an individual sandwich to talk about what Arby’s the brand should mean to the consumer.”

Lippitt has worked on one subtle way to underscore Oven Mitt’s long-term commitment to being the Arby’s spokescharacter. At the end of the spots, Oven Mitt spins around to become the similarly shaped Arby’s logo. “My hope that when people see the logo, they’ll think of Oven Mitt rather than the cowboy hat,” he says. “But that will not happen overnight.”

Addressing the Troops Length: 30 seconds
1. Oven Mitt: OK, people. Here at Arby’s we roast our beef in ovens	2. Right in the store, so it is fresh, juicy, never greasy.
3. Which means we have to respect the Oven Mitt.	4. So, we don't want a repeat of yesterday, now do we?
5. [Flashback] Oh! Oh! Get it off! It's heavy. Ow!	6. Got it! Voice-over: Try the oven goodness of Arby's new
7. Italian Beef ’n’ Provolone with beef marinated in Italian seasonings	8. Oven Mitt: What are you eating today?