A&W
Over the past year, everyone has watched a new fast-food trend explode: celebrity-endorsed meals. From McDonald's and Travis Scott to Popeyes and Megan Thee Stallion, the marketing ploy has worked wonders. However, A&W has decided to flip the celebrity trend on its head. The company recently released a new marketing campaign around "Anti-Celeb Meals" and real-life employees!
A&W’s Unusual Campaign
A&W
A&W's new "Anti-Celeb Meals" not only pokes a little fun at the chain's competition, but also puts the spotlight on the real celebrities for the company: the everyday workers who keep the lights on at night! The marketing campaign centers around for A&W employees, "locally sourced celebrities," all from the state of Kentucky - Hannah, Gerald, Jada, and Raider. Meanwhile, the campaign features photos of the A&W employees juxtaposed against the celebrity meals of other brands (seen above). And this won't be a simple internet campaign either - the ads will also appear on television and in stores!
"Our A&W team members are incredibly dedicated and hardworking – particularly those who have been with us for a long time and have a lot of experience running our restaurants," said Liz Bazner, the company's senior director of marketing. "Giving them the celebrity treatment and recognizing the talents they bring to the workplace every day was not only really fun, but also rewarding."
Of course, as you probably know, this employee-focused campaign also comes amid the fast-food industry facing serious hiring issues. A&W hopes that these new, Anti-Celebrity Meals ads will show potential employees just how much the chain cares about its workers. Will it work? Only time will tell...
The Anti-Celeb Meals
A&W
No questions asked: a campaign like this makes A&W stand out from other fast-food chains. It makes the company seem more employee and family-focused than others. However, how much of an impact the ad campaign will have is a whole other story. Still, those at A&W feel confident that this campaign will bring the applications in.
"[I]t was challenging to shift gears to hiring and retention," Bazner explained. "But we knew it was crucial to get the 'now hiring' tools in the hands of our owners as quickly as possible to support their needs. [The campaign is] incredibly authentic and also allowed us to pull this concept together incredibly quickly using our own restaurants, products and people."
"It's still early days – these customizable marketing materials were just made available to our franchise system this week," Bazner also said. "But we're going to keep a close eye on the number of restaurants that are ordering these kits to use at their own locations. We're... hoping that [franchise owners] see an uptick in applicants immediately."
Sources: The Drum, The Takeout
