Carl's Junior Brand Chief Dives Into the New Normal

CKE Restaurants in case you didn39t know is the parent company of Carl39s Junior and Hardee39s with over 3800 restaurants in 44 states Crawford was the first guest on AE Networks39 new Virtual Insights series in which AE39s performance ad sales team hosts a monthly Zoom conversation with an ad world luminaryCrawford is the perfect choice to kick off the series The restaurant industry was thrown into turmoil by COVID19 as cities around America went into lockdownamp8212and even with parts of the country opening up seated dining is still down around 60 percent from last year across America That39s a whole lot of communities who are having to deal with the twin blows of un or underemployment for restaurant workers and a dearth of communal eating optionsCrawford is one of the many big brains trying to figure out how to get to what everyone is referring to as quotthe new normalquot What quotthe new normalquot means is still very much up for debate and when the stakes are as high as they are with a novel disease with no vaccine or treatment that means some serious thought Crawford and his team are laserfocused on the safety of both guests and the people serving those guests as America has begun to reopen for business but that reopening has been quite piecemeal with lots of different local regulationsAnd yet CKE is wellpositioned to handle this piecemeal opening Crawford said Not only are Carl39s Junior and Hardee39s regional brands with Carl39s Junior being primarily a Western US phenomenon and Hardee39s having the Eastern half of America but the franchises are locally owned and can thus adapt more easily to local regulations quotWe39re fortunate to have fantastic partners that are willing to learn adapt be transparent in communication and I think that39s been the key fundamentals of how we39ve adapted and gone to market recentlyquot Crawford addedSafety regulations are one piece of this new normal Another is messagingamp8212how one markets in the middle of a pandemic is quite tricky The Carl39s Junior and Hardee39s brands are both bold a little on the wild side and Crawford is finding the balance between celebrating that boldness while leaning into consumers39 current desire for comfort and familiarity And having two brands under a national footprint means finding what Crawford said is the quotshared nucleusquot between the brandsquotWhen we think about how we go to market there are amazing shared elements of bothquot he added quotOnehundred percent black angus charbroiled burgersquot But Crawford noted that he also wants to be sure to celebrate the brands39 differencesThe three messaging elements crucial to Crawford39s approach areA strong brandA strong supportive franchise base willing to try new thingsThe voice of the guestquotWhat is the guest looking forquot Crawford asked quotWhat personal challenges are they facingquot Are they looking for escape Aamp8212forgive the punamp8212taste of normalcy A moment of interaction with a person that isn39t in their householdConsumers stressed to the gills were driving up meditation app downloads That inspired Crawford39s team to create a spot called Happy39s Meaty Meditations which plays as a guided meditation that describes a Carl39s Junior bacon cheeseburger in delicious detailOnce you39ve gotten your messaging in tiptop shape though the question becomes What is the best way to disseminate that messageFor Crawford nothing beats TV Recent advances in TV are bringing it ever closer to that muchdesired oneonone targeting quotThe definition of TV has changedquot Crawford said Connected TV and Smart TVs are enabling precision targeting TV viewing spiked during lockdown periods across the country and in order to connect with customers who desire familiarity and comfort but may be experiencing economic hardship Crawford said CKE has focused on staples like the Western Bacon Cheeseburger and Famous Star Burger pitching them with a quotbuy one get one for a dollarquot offerquotThe good news is we have the breadth and scale to do really great things and focus on broad issues But we have a franchise and restaurant base that allows us to be nimblequot Crawford said quotWe continue to embrace the mindset that our franchises are owned individually by members of the communities they servequotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Carl's Junior Brand Chief Dives Into the New Normal

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Oriana Schwindt

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Carl's Junior Brand Chief Dives Into the New Normal

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