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Arby’s shifts focus to proteins with new marketing campaign

Arby's execs believe high quality meats are the brand's unique differentiator in the QSR segment.

July 28, 2014

Arby’s today announced a new marketing campaign centered on the tagline: "We have the meats!" It replaces "Slicing up freshness," which debuted in the fall of 2012 and featured former New York City Police Detective Bo Dietl.

"We have the meats!" will be featured in TV commercials and in-store materials and kicks off Arby’s latest limited-time offering – the Mega Meat Stacks. The lineup, which the company calls the "meatiest LTO in company history," includes:

• Triple Stack, with turkey, roast beef, pepper bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo on honey wheat bread.
• Club Stack, with ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, pepper bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo on a harvest wheat bun.
• Reuben Super Stack, with corned beef and turkey, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing on marble-rye bread.

In addition to the new commercials, Arbys.com has a new look to align with the campaign and LTO launch. Fans can join in the conversation using #Meatcraft on Arby’s Twitter or Facebook pages.

The new campaign is the brainchild of Rob Lynch, who was named chief marketing officer in September. Lynch joined the Arby’s brand from Taco Bell, where he helped lead the launch of the Doritos Locos Tacos.

Jason Rollins, Arby's manager of public engagement, said in a May interview that the Bo Dietl campaign has been popular. That campaign was spearheaded by then-CMO Russ Klein, who left Arby’s in June 2013. 

"But we’re at a point now where we want to focus on our proteins," Rollins said. The Smokehouse Brisket, which was introduced in September 2013, was Arby’s most successful new LTO ever, he added.

"Adding a new protein like that is unheard of in QSR," he said. "The new campaign will focus on proteins. That’s Arby’s unique differentiator – high quality meats."

In an interview with Advertising Age, Lynch said the new campaign is geared toward Millennials. Arby’s, he said, has the second-oldest customer base in the QSR Segment.

"We didn’t want Arby’s to grow old with that customer base," he said.