When it comes to advertising in a recession, it’s dog eat dog.
Or chili dog eat chili dog in the case of Wienerschnitzel’s latest advertisements.
The hot dog chain, part of Newport Beach-based Galardi Group Inc., got wind that Carpinteria-based CKE Restaurants Inc. was planning an advertising blitz in April pushing the addition of a chili dog to Carl’s Jr.’s
menu.
Not to be outdone, Wienerschnitzel moved up a similar ad campaign of its own to promote a chili dog that clocks in at one-third of a pound.
“We saw Carl’s Jr. testing a jumbo chili dog in some of its outer markets and decided we needed to pre-empt them on that,” said Tom Amberger, vice president of marketing at Wienerschnitzel.
The campaign created by the restaurant chain’s ad shop, Santa Ana-based DGWB Advertising, will be run in radio, TV and print ads and in advertising in restaurants.
Launched this month with a 30-second “You Don’t Bring a Micro-waved Wienie to a Chili Dog Fight” TV spot, the campaign takes on fast food chains looking to include hot dogs on their menus, particularly Carl’s Jr.
“We decided to take a swipe at the whole chili dog poser segment who tries to get in on the hot dog action every so often,” said Jon Gothold, executive creative director at DGWB. “(Carl’s Jr.) was going to roll it out soon, so we moved the big chili up on the schedule.”
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Wienerschnitzel ad campaign: harks back to original Der Wienerschnitzel name |
The advertising campaign is a small part of Wienerschnitzel’s product introductions and the return of the company’s larger “Der” campaign. The chain was launched in 1961 as Der Wienerschnitzel, but dropped the der, which means “the” in German, in the 1970s.
“We’re launching the products under the umbrella of the ‘Der,'” Gothold said. “The Der is this great thing that the old fans light up about when they hear it and younger fans just think its cool.”
The hot dog chain has been increasing its marketing efforts, taking advantage of discounts on TV and radio air time.
“We’re able to get a lot more with our money than we have in the past as the spots are running more often and the buys are much stronger,” Amberger said.
Apartment Assurance
Irvine-based Western National Property Management has taken a page from Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc.’s game book in offering a program for tenants who lose their jobs during the recession.
The automaker’s “Hyundai Assurance” program allows car buyers to break contracts and return vehicles if they lose their jobs or income. The move seems to have helped sales for the automaker, part of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., these past few months.
Western National’s tenant program will allow a tenant to move out of an apartment without penalty,provided there is 30 days notice,if the tenant loses his or her job. The assurance program applies to new and existing tenants.
The renter will still have to pay the last month’s rent but won’t be liable for the balance of the lease or have to pay a lease termination fee.
Western National is hoping the program
will attract renters and combat falling lease rates, which have dropped about 5% from a year ago.
Bits and Pieces:
Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc., the parent company of the Orange County Register, is forcing all of its television station and newspaper employees, including executives, to take an unpaid week off before June 30. The move could save the company $8 million, which will be used to pay down the company’s debt. Freedom also announced additional layoffs at the Register to take place this month Sportnet.com, part of Los Angeles-based Wasserman Media Group LLC, has acquired Aliso Viejo-based GrindTV.com LLC, part of El Segundo-based PureVideo Networks Inc. GrindTV, a producer of Web videos of surfing, skateboarding and other events, moved to Aliso Viejo in January to be closer to the Orange County surf and skate scene. GrindTV Chief Executive and cofounder Erik Hawkins will continue to serve as chief executive; Wasserman and venture capital firm Softbank Capital will be majority shareholders Irvine-based ChopShop Entertainment Inc. has produced a half-hour TV show with News Corp.’s cable network Fuel TV and the Tustin office of magazine publisher Carlsbad-based Transworld Media for the 10th Annual Transworld Riders’ Poll Awards in Las Vegas. The awards will air on Fuel TV on April 6. The shop has completed two 30-second TV spots for San Diego-based WD-40 Co. expected to air this spring.
