NCAA March Madness at Wendy’s Take Your Shot

With only days to go until the official start of March Madness, Wendy’s is inviting both young and old college basketball fans into their restaurants for a chance to win a trip to the big dance and more; and according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® this is one limited time offer (LTO) with a platform built for success.

If you have been following your favorite college team all year or are just prepping to fill-out your office ‘bracket’, Wendy’s knows that being a fan can be tough. Whether your team wins or loses, Wendy’s has your back all tournament long with great deals and prizes, including a chance to win a trip to the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2020. Here is how the LTO works:

Now, through April 7, Wendy’s fans who purchase a large cold drink will have a chance to win instant free food.   Including, $5 Wendy’s mobile app credits for, more food, or a trip to Atlanta for the Final Four in 2020.

According to Wendy’s the “Take Your Shot” promotion runs through April 7, so you’ll want to get a couple of cold, large drinks as soon as possible to, you know, increase your odds. For Rules, free entry, possible earlier end date, prizes, odds, & full details, visit WendysTakeYourShot.com.

Kurt Kane, Wendy’s executive vice president, chief concept and marketing officer stated “As the Official Hamburger of the NCAA for the third consecutive year, we’re kicking it up a notch and offering fans more value than ever before,”  “We encourage all fans to get in on March Madness and 'Take Your Shot'. With plenty of prizes and promotions, Wendy’s is keeping fans fueled all tournament long.”

Kane continued “As the tournament progresses, Wendy’s will continue to announce new mobile offers, so even if your team is eliminated, Wendy’s will be right there to pick you back up. Download the Wendy’s mobile app today and you won’t miss one minute of the action.” Do your LTO’s have seasonal relevance?

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how www.FoodserviceSolutions.us can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Live Sports, Snacking, and Food Sales Success

With the Superbowl just concluded maybe we should look at how much is was spent and who is buying what?  One thing is clear that is live sports on TV drives incremental consumption of snack foods and if you are not offering consumers a package of snacks you are missing out, according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

So, who is spending what on ‘super bowl’ game day? Well, biggest spenders are those “ages 35-44 at an average $123.26 while the lowest are those 65 and older at $40.97. Viewers in the Northeast plan to spend the most, at an average $94.89, followed by the West at $84.01, the South at $79.09 and the Midwest at $69.24”.

Frito-Lay North America unveiled its inaugural U.S. Snack Index, a poll asking consumers what they plan to snack on during this year's big game.  Key insights from the U.S. Snack Index include:

1.       Nine out of 10 viewers plan to have at least one snack during the game. In addition, 80 percent of Americans will have potato chips or tortilla chips. 

2.       No two cities are exactly alike when it comes to Super Bowl snacking preferences. Chicago's top pick is popcorn. Los Angeles had the highest percentage of potato chip lovers, while Boston chose tortilla chips as their top pick.

3.       Nearly half of Gen Z and millennials selected cheesy snacks as a top pick. In addition, spicy snacks fared best with these age groups.

4.       Salsa was the overall top dip choice. French onion dip was the most popular dip for potato chips, while both salsa and guacamole came in high for tortilla chip dipping.

5.       More than one-third of those polled planned to share their photos on social media.

6.       More than half of viewers prefer to prepare simple recipes when they are attending a partly or hosting their own gathering.

Sporting events occur all year long.  How are you edifying your fresh food offering to garner a larger share of stomach?

Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization? Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.

Was Wendy’s Late to the Game

Success does leave clues integrating social media a food brand and sports always seems to payoff according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  It’s March and basketball is top of mind in the sport world in the US and this year Wendy’s is the Official Hamburger of the NCAA which is a good thing for both the NCAA and Wendy’s brand marketing efforts. .

March Madness awakens students to the possibility of success and one more game while rekindling the youth in the rest of us.  Wendy’s understands the difficult choices in filling out March Madness brackets and is instead taking a swipe at a competitor with ’The Bracket’.  According to Wendy’s, fans have two options—Fresh Beef vs. Frozen Beef. It’s that easy.

The bracket is an interactive experience that will live on Wendy’s social channels: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Content within the experience encourages fans to pick Wendy’s “Team Fresh Beef” and they will be rewarded with perks throughout the tournament here is how it works:

One Download Away from Exclusive Offers

Throughout the tournament, when fans pick Wendy’s as their team and download the Wendy’s app, they will receive exclusive offers each week. These ongoing deals, like a free Dave’s Single with purchase,will keep fans satisfied.

A Fresh Look for a Fresh Team

Wendy’s has also partnered with popular designer of luxury sportswear, Don C., to launch its first-ever streetwear collaboration.

“I’m excited to collaborate with Wendy’s,” says Don C. “I’m from Chicago, where being fresh is way of life, so I’m excited to team up with an iconic brand that values staying fresh as much as I do."

Wendy’s fans will be able to win items from this exclusive collection through giveaways on social media, local stops at regional tournaments and during the Final Four weekend in San Antonio.

Road Trippin’ with Team Fresh

Wendy’s Food Truck will be serving up free Dave’s Singles, challenging fans to an interactive basketball game and offering members of Team Fresh a chance to win Don C-designed swag and exclusive offers by downloading the Wendy’s app. Fans can catch the action at the following locations:

·         Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (3/16-3/18)

·         Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. (3/22 & 3/24)

·         Final Four Fan Fest in Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the March Madness Music Festival in San Antonio, TX (3/30-4/2)

The most successful food marketing tools in a food marketing tool kit today are tools that car consumer interactive and participatory.  ‘The Bracket’ is all of that and will prove add incremental value to Wendy’s brand marketing efforts according to Johnson.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant

March Madness and Pizza Hut Pie Top IIs

Talk about doing all the right things Pizza Hut is doing just that according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  In fact Pizza Hut has found the fuel to drive new electricity to drive top line sales and bottom line profits according to Johnson.

In the minds-eye of Johnson, there is one dominating element that will power success within retail and foodservice over the coming years and that is partnerships and as the Official Pizza of the NCAA March Madness and the Final Four Pizza Hut will drive branded relevance to new levels in 2018.

Johnson calls partnerships the new electricity that new electricity is partnerships specifically strategic partnerships.   The new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh food, grocerant consultants, urban farming (produce, seafood, etc.), autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, cash-less payments, clothing, shoes, plates, cups  digital hand held marketing of which Pizza Hut is doing with this partnership.

Retailers the ilk of Pizza Hut to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable in some form.  That will require brands to embrace new fresh food partnerships more now than ever before according to Johnson.

Pizza Hut did not stop with the March Madness they also partnered with famed sneaker designer, the Shoe Surgeon, on a second iteration of the first-and-only shoe ever created that orders pizza at the push of a button. Talk about the ability to create buzz, garner attention, all while creating customer brand relevance. 

This year not only do the Pie Top IIs order pizza, but this year’s version—comes in two colorways (red and wheat)—also pauses live TV. Yes, a button inside the tongue of the other shoe will pause the game so March Madness fans do not have to miss a minute of the action.

The technology highlights the Pizza Hut special offer for this year’s tournament—two topping medium pizzas for $5.99 each when you order two or more. Thus the fresh food component!

Zipporah Allen, Chief Marketing Officer, Pizza Hut  stated “This year, the Pie Tops II were created to showcase our focus on giving customers the best delivery experience while making sure that tournament fans can feed their pizza craving without missing a moment of the action,” .. “It’s called March Madness for a reason. We don’t want anyone to miss a play while answering the door to get their pizza.”

In addition to the new color scheme and ordering/pause capabilities built into the tongue, the shoes have plenty of unique features, including:

·         Extreme marinara splash

·         Cheese grater mesh

·         Branded Pizza Hut lace tags

·         Extra “cheese pull” laces

·         Branded inner soles

·         Mixed material upper—patent, suede, nubuck and gum

Success does leave clue and an integrated branded platform can work for any company.  Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.