Jersey Mike’s Partnering with FanHub for College Football Season

 

Fall football season garners college sports fans from a bygone era to today’s students. Restaurant chains with a goal to expand their brands relevance while driving new electricity are wise to follow the lead of Jersey Mike’s this fall according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

With college football season is underway, most of you know that Jersey Mike’s Subs has teaming up with FOX Sports to celebrate by offering a College Football Trivia and Rose Bowl Stadium Sweepstakes when it hits the road this fall for the multi-city Jersey Mike’s Tailgate Tour. The tour will feel better than two shots in the arm so you can attend.

Partnering with FanHub to drive incremental relevance to many and clearly a sense of immediacy, Jersey Mike’s will celebrate its return by releasing trivia games for 49 participating NCAA football schools, including five questions for each developed by team insiders. Fans can download Jersey Mike’s app to play.

So, upon completion of the trivia quiz, fans will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes for a chance to win a VIP trip for four to Rose Bowl Stadium to celebrate America’s New Year’s Celebration, which includes game tickets, round trip airfare, hotel, Rose Parade presented by Honda tickets, pre-game hospitality area and private tour of the FOX Studios in Los Angeles. In addition, trivia players will be rewarded with six Shore Rewards points to redeem in store, in-app or online.

Rich Hope, Chief Marketing Officer, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, stated, “We are looking forward to working with FOX Sports and connecting with hungry college football fans across the county”…  “Our goal is to deliver a fun, interactive game day experience and introduce fans to our mobile app.”

With this partnership FOX Sports has agreed to air 30-second commercial spots promoting the sweepstakes. The Jersey Mike’s Tailgate Tour will also visit local FOX affiliates in tour locations, providing staff members with a free lunch and a chance to participate in the tailgate experience in the days leading up to select games. In-store display signage will remind guests to download the app and play the sweepstakes/trivia game.

Robert Gottlieb, Executive Vice President, Marketing, FOX Sports, stated, “We are thrilled to team up with Jersey Mike’s for what promises to be an exciting college football season,”… “As we welcome fans back into stadiums and tailgates, we are eager to elevate the college football fan experience in unique ways across this multi-city tour.”  

Get this, in addition to its first stop at the University of Minnesota, the 14-week college tailgate tour will make stops at Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Rutgers, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Florida State, Clemson, Arizona State, Texas, USC and Washington, culminating in the final stop at Rose Bowl Stadium on Jan. 1, 2022.

Extending the brands reach, the fully customized tailgate trailer will give football fans a chance to sample Jersey Mike’s authentic fresh sliced subs, download the app to enter Jersey Mike’s College Football Trivia and Rose Bowl Stadium Sweepstakes, and experience other game day fun including:

·         Outdoor lounge with Adirondack chairs and picnic benches

·         “The Juice” mobile device charging station

·         Corn hole lawn games

·         Interactive kiosk display

·         Giveaways

·         FOX Sports “Cleatus” character appearances and live game action on outdoor TV

The branded trailer will be placed in high traffic locations on each campus near tailgaters and stadium entrances for up to five hours before kickoff.  So, how is your branding extending your brand invitation this fall?

According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”  That said, what are you waiting for?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com 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.

At Jersey Mike’s Subs Partnerships Drive New Electricity

Who is not ready for some baseball on TV?  I know I will enjoy watching some live baseball, heck any live sporting event will get my attention. But, baseball I’m in.  So, the 2020 baseball season is about to get underway.  All Star, player Aaron Judge is teaming up with Jersey Mike’s Subs to entertain fans and make a big difference in local communities and drive some new electricity into the Jersey Mike’s brand.

In a new marketing campaign, Jersey Mike’s will donate $1 million to Judge’s ALL RISE Foundation, which inspires children and youth to become responsible citizens by engaging them in traditional summer tie activities, from camps too reading programs. The goal is to encourage them to reach unlimited possibilities.

Aaron Judge stated, “For my ALL RISE Foundation to be the recipient of $1 million dollar donation from Jersey Mike’s is monumental for us,” “Even if our organization impacts one kid, one family, it’s making a difference in this world and that’s what it’s all about for me.” Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® believes this is a great move by Jersey Mike’s.

Adding new electricity to the value of the partnership that runs until July 26, 2020, is another partnership with Pepsi and Lay’s, where customers can order “Aaron’s Way,” adding chips and a fountain drink to their sub order for just $2.99. Fans can substitute a 20 oz. bottled drink for 50 cents more.

So, customers who order Aaron’s Way will have access to exclusive content via a QR code on 22-ounce fountain cups that links them to a web page with the videos. The four fun and uplifting videos, one released each week, teach fans:

·         Aaron’s Way to Chew Gum

·         Aaron’s Way to Relax

·         Aaron’s Way to Talk Like a New Yawka

·         Aaron’s Way to Give Back with the ALL RISE Foundation

Aaron’s Way plays off Jersey Mike’s iconic Mike’s Way of ordering an authentic sub with onion, lettuce, tomato, a blend of olive oil and red wine vinegar, and spices. A new commercial with the baseball star will air nationwide.

Yes, we have to note that , bsed on guidance from the CDC and public health authorities, only some Jersey Mike’s locations have reopened for in-store dining. Guests can place takeout orders in-store or for no contact pick-up at the door through Jersey Mike’s website or the Jersey Mike’s app. Delivery is available through the app or through third-party delivery partners. 

Driving new electricity into a legacy brand with a partnership is a good move and will accelerate the marketing messaging for all companies involved according to Johnson. How is your company positioning to grow your brand, the top, and bottom line?

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, online ordering, delivery, plant based foods, sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands,  grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? This new partnership does all of that.

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Jersey Mike’s Customer Relevance has to be Consumer Facing

The team at Foodservice Solutions® and our Grocerant Guru®, Steven Johnson have been touting the strength, relevance, new electricity, and loyalty that Esports can bring to a foodservice partnership. Jersey Mike’s understand the relevance and importance of this new sector of sports most of you have simply over looked.

Here is an example from ‘GeekWire’ this week that will give you an example how important the tech industry thinks Esports is and how big they think it will get. According to Geekwire “Microsoft agreed to pay game streaming star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins between $20 million and $30 million per year to join its Mixer streaming platform and leave incumbent leader Twitch, according to a new report from CNN detailing the arms race among tech giants to land big names for their streaming services.

Ninja is one of several high-profile streamers recently poached from Twitch, which Amazon bought for close to $1 billion in 2014, by the likes of Mixer, Facebook and YouTube. CNN reported that streamers with 10,000 or more concurrent views on Twitch are receiving offers of more than $10 million annually while smaller streamers can get up to $1 million.”

For those of you who are just now hearing about Esports the follows and players are younger demographic, with 75 percent of esports fans being millennials. What demo is your target market? 

As for Jersey Mike’s Subs extending its partnership with Team Liquid, a leading international esports team, through 2022. You should know that Team Liquid, which competes across 17 distinct esports.

Program elements include:

·         Jersey Thursdays. The two brands feature content from superstars across Team Liquid’s competitive lineup. Every first Thursday of the month, Team Liquid gives away one Team Liquid jersey and a $50 Jersey Mike’s gift card to fulfill a lucky fan’s sub sandwich craving.

·         Jersey Mic’d. During the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) matches, Team Liquid mics up their players to capture the realest moments in esports, available for fans to download.

·         Subs for Dubs. Team Liquid and Jersey Mike’s celebrate Team Liquid tournament wins by offering fans special discounts on sandwiches, meals and more.

·         New Sub Bombs. Interaction with players and their chat through the “JerseyMike’s” Twitch account, mass gifting to their chat a “sub”scription to that channel.

Are you integrating new electricity into your brand? Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, Online ordering, delivery, plant based foods,  sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why? This new partnership does all of that. 

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? 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.

Jersey Mike’s Subs Looking A Customer Ahead

Restaurant chains now days seem to run hot and cold.  There is a reason for that according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® that reason is they focus on short term tactics vs. strategy.  One chain that continues to do most things right is with a solid focus on strategy is Jersey Mike’s Subs according to Johnson.

Looking a customer ahead is mandatory when building a brand.   While regular readers of the blog know the importance of partnership in driving top line sales and bottom line profit; while creating a platform for new electricity, well so does Jersey Mike’s Sub’s now in a new partnership Huddle. Huddle is the leader in high school event tickets and marketing, the program reaches nearly 3,000 high schools throughout the country. The new program elements include: 

1.       Naismith Awards— Jersey Mike’s is now the title sponsor of the Naismith High School Awards, administered by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, and official sub sandwich of the Naismith Awards. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, these are the most prestigious national awards in high school basketball.

2.       The Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy: Presented annually since 1987 to the most outstanding boys’ and girls’ high school basketball player nationwide. The award focuses on the 50-player watch list, a midseason team of 25, 10 national semifinalists, five finalists and the winner.

3.       The Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Coach of the Year Award: Honors the best boys’ and girls’ coaches with announcements to recognize five finalists as well as the winner of each award.

4.       The Jersey Mike’s National High School All-American Teams: Awarded to the top five boys’ and girls’ players on each of the first, second and third teams along with 15 additional honorable mentions. 

5.       Gridiron Gang— Football coaches and players will have access to discounts and offers from Jersey Mike’s and includes a season-long award program.

6.        Above and Beyond Award: Coaches will recognize players who go above and beyond each week and will name the overall winner at the end of the season.

7.       The School Spirit Award: Jersey Mike’s will recognize the most spirited student football fans. The top 10 schools will receive $1,000 in school scholarships and a catered pep rally.

8.       Coaches’ Club: Each coach will receive a package containing discount sub cards for players, catering deals and VIP coach’s cards. 

Rich Hope, chief marketing officer, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, stated “High school sports teach valuable life lessons about teamwork and leadership, and we are proud to support a high school sports program that positively impacts athletes, coaches and students,” says. “Jersey Mike’s Founder Peter Cancro bought his first sub shop at age 17 with the help of a former football coach, so sports have played an important role in our history.”

Joey Thacker, CEO, Huddle stated “We are excited to partner with Jersey Mike’s to engage with high school coaches, athletes and administrators to bring value throughout the school year,” says. “Jersey Mike’s new partnership with the prestigious Naismith High School Basketball Award further demonstrates their commitment to excellence within high school athletics and the local communities they serve.” 

How is your brand creating new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new menu related products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, free food / sampling, toy’s, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Consumer like Eating-Out when Eating-In. It’s time to call the Grocerant Guru®

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/