Let us sandwich in a little news today: Quiznos is pulling the plug on TV advertising, and investing that money in digital.
Are you surprised? We bet you a Mesquite Chicken on Jalapeno Cheddar bread that you’re not.
“As Quiznos comes back from bankruptcy, the sandwich chain is making some serious changes in its advertising strategy,” says Entrepreneur Magazine in a recent Quiznos commentary. “That means going digital.”
“Our advertising budget is kind of split between print media and digital, with a higher weight on digital advertising,” admits Tim Kraus, the director of interactive and innovation at Quiznos. “Within that, probably our primary focus is on video.”
Call it the wave of the future — and the model for marketing the Mesquites going forward.
“Since coming out of bankruptcy after completing financial restructuring in July 2014, Quiznos has turned to TubeMogul to help with this new digital focus for marketing,” notes Entrepreneur. “TubeMogul, which launched its first campaign with Quiznos in June 2014, is a platform that integrates the ability to buy and deliver video advertisements in real time.”
What’s the trouble with TV? It isn’t “paying off,” according to Quiznos execs.
“We’ve been around for 30 years, and we were a big TV advertiser, we were a big print media advertiser. And, we just saw the returns on some of these campaigns diminish,” says Kraus. “The consumers we’re trying to target are spending way more time online.”
The modern sandwich platform? Yes, a plate — but more to the point, an online site.
“What we’ve learned in the last 10 years is you can’t be everything to everyone and you really have to find that core audience,” says TubeMogul CEO Brett Wilson.
Follow your audience, say Quiznos honchos.
“We want to make sure wherever our audience is going, that’s where we have to go,” explains Kraus. “So if they switch to consuming video content on their mobile device, or their tablet or their desktop computer, that’s where we have to be as a brand.”
