Wienerschnitzel

national student advertising competition 2019

advertising campaign

Role // Lead Designer

Faculty // Joe Glennon

Objective

Develop a marketing campaign with Wienerschnitzel branding to elevate the perception of the hot dog and drive the overall consumption of hot dogs

Target Audience

Trendmakers (Millennials) and Connectors (Gen Xers)

Big Insight

Nothing transports you like a hot dog

Strategy

Position the hot dog as a vehicle that provides our target audiences with a reprieve from their busy lives. Unlike any other food, a hot dog takes you to good times and memories. Because all it takes is one bite and you're there.

A full and robust 12-month campaign

Instead of another marketing campaign to bring customers to a business, Wienerschnitzel, the world’s largest hot dog chain, wants to change the perception of a hot dog amongst Millenials & Gen Xers. Wienerschnitzel believes if the perception of the hot dog could be changed with Wienerschnitzel leading the charge, it would have a great benefit to the hot dog industry as well as to its business.

Through our research, we found that our target audience needs reprieve and escape. The qualities they enjoy in a hot dog the most are memories, events, and places. From these findings, we decided that Wienerschnitzel needs to convince consumers that they don’t have to wait for a baseball game or barbecue to enjoy this tasty American classic and the uplifting energy associated with it. Instead, we can elevate the perception of the hot by reminding the audience that:

Big Insight

Nothing transports you like a hot dog.

And we did just that. By creating an exciting, independently produced original program and a companion Wienerschnitzel-specific advertising campaign – both work together to elevate the perception of the hot dog and drive sales for Wienerschnitzel.

The trailer for Frankly Delicious
Directed & Edited by: Carli Showmaker

Commercials alone don’t elevate hot dogs to somewhere new and special. You can’t accomplish this with a hashtag, micro-influencers or a new Wienerschnitzel app. Instead our audiences crave for something more, that's why we created Frankly Delicious: part travel, part docu-series, part culinary adventure. This 10-episode independently produced original series cooks up a cross-country expedition filled with hometown stories and delicious food.

Frankly Delicious combines what our audience needs: escape and food – a perfect combination.

By pairing making hot dogs with impactful stories, we remind viewers that the hot dog is the important link that brings people together. Again, nothing transports you like a hot dog.

FRANKLY DELICIOUS

Transit hub takeovers leave a bold impact on travelers across the country. People can stream while they wait for their flights and rides. High traffic, high awareness, high reward.

We’ll take Frankly Delicious across the country through our “Buns on the Run” Food Trucks. Serving hot dogs from the show, our 8 trucks can help measure the enthusiasm in potential new markets for future Wienerschnitzel expansion.

Social media posts will lead viewers to the Frankly Delicious microsite—the central hub for episode information, food truck schedules and Blue Apron ordering.

While Frankly Delicious is transporting you around the country, a concurrent Wienerschnitzel specific campaign transports you to happy memories, using what we affectionately call Newstalgia: the celebration of special moments in the past that can be easily recalled or recreated in the future, especially when you bite into something as transportive as a hot dog.

Because when it comes to breaking free of the hassles of everyday life, you are never far from the escape of a backyard barbecue, a ballgame, or a roaring campfire. In fact, if you’re looking for an escape, visit Wienerschnitzel because:

Tagline
One bite and you're there.

WIENERSCHNITZEL

Regional billboards remind drivers how close they are to a Wienerschnitzel location and a taste of newstalgia.

Through experiential airport installations, we recreate the moment of a backyard bbq. We take fliers away from the hassle of gates and TSA with free phone charging, samples of hot dogs, a field of lush grass, and scented luggage tags. Scented luggage tags take the scents of suntan lotion, fresh cut grass, and a sizzling grill along with you.

We’ll implement a location-targeted digital campaign, paid search, and social media support. Wherever our audience might be, our campaign directs consumers to a local Wienerschnitzel, the brand’s homepage or to Grubhub for easy ordering.

MY ROLE

Our team consisted of 23 talented advertising students. As the lead designer, I helped create the majority of the creatives for both Frankly Delicious & Wienerschnitzel, along with laying out and putting together the 21-page plan book detailing our campaign strategy, creative, and metrics. In addition, I created the Keynote presentation for our final presentation in New York City.