Arrowhead Advertising

Research Analyst & Media Planner

My final year at Florida State, I was on the Arrowhead Advertising Team, which is a part of American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC.) The client was Wienerschnitzel, a hot dog franchise based out in California. The objective was to elevate the image of the hot dog to increase primary demand. Throughout the year, we figured out that people associate things with occasions. For example, when we think of Disney, we think of the princesses. When we think of brunch, we think of mimosas. These associations lead people to develop cravings for overall experiences. Hot dogs already enhance certain experiences (like the Fourth of July and ballgames,) and they can enhance more experiences if we can associate them with more occasions. When we place the hot dog in unexpected occasions, we are calling our target to Crave More. From August to March, our team created a year-long national campaign to achieve this goal.

Fall: Secondary Research

Our team researched hot dog consumption through multiple tools, whether it was reading over Mintel reports and online articles or creating crosstabs on Simmons OneView. Based on our findings, we worked with the Strategy team to come up with four segments of hot dog eaters. We measured how many packages a hot dog eater consumes in a month by multiple lifestyle attitudes and opinions.

  • Loyalists: These are the people that eat 5+ packages a month. They don’t worry about the future, stick to what they know, are unapologetically themselves, and value family time.
  • Go-Getters: These hot dog eaters live a fast-paced lifestyle, want instant gratification, and are spontaneous within their boundaries. They eat hot dogs for the convenience.
  • Comfort Seekers: These hot dog eaters are content with who they are. They love to hang out, relax, and appreciate the little things. They also eat hot dogs for the convenience.
  • Modern Realists: These are the people that eat about a package a month. They are concerned about their health and well being, but are also adventurous, do things aligning with who they are, and view food as an experience. Since this segment is the largest, they are the Primary Target. When we improve the image for them, the demand for hot dogs increases, and so does Wienerschnitzel’s.

Aside from segments, we also came up with some key takeaways, including how perception was the main issue (like associations with cancer,) how seasonality plays a huge role in hot dog sales (summer is the highest by far,) and how consumers tend to associate hot dogs with events.

Spring: Media

Our team came up with a twelve-month media plan consisting of multiple digital and traditional channels. Our plan was based off of our research, nationwide events, the top DMAs, and the executions of the Promotions and Social Media teams. We invested in out of home (OOH) according to DMAs, invested in print magazines and TV based off of each segment’s interests, and invested in local radio based off of our SuperBowl launch. Every purchase was researched to make sure it fit within our media budget of $18.5 million.

To see the entire campaign, click HERE to view our Plans Book.