Wendy’s Canada is making the idea fresh ingredients even more central to its brand with its latest campaign, tying it closely to appetite appeal.

A hero spot in the new campaign once again calls out its hallmark “fresh never frozen beef,” but also puts it alongside its other fresh ingredients. Because of the longstanding commitment to quality and freshness, there was an opportunity for the brand to really put a stake in the ground with the campaign, explains Liz Geraghty, CMO for international markets at Wendy’s.

The video, about midway through, also mentions having “frosty machines that actually work.” Geraghty concedes this is a not-so-subtle jab at competitor McDonald’s and its ice cream machines, which have become something of a meme online due to how they always seem to be broken.

Geraghty says that ties into how Wendy’s operates as a “spunky challenger brand” – something it has long played into with things like “fresh never frozen beef” implying the same isn’t true at competitors. Wendy’s is currently in third place’s among Canada’s burger QSRs, behind McDonald’s and A&W.

The campaign spot explicitly shows its dessert options, because according to Geraghty, Wendy’s has made innovations to its Frosty, introducing a strawberry flavour in 2021, the first new flavour since 2006.

Earlier this year, Wendy’s entry in the breakfast wars came with a big marketing push. While that daypart is still a priority, and continues to be an area where the QSR adds to its menu, Geraghty says the new campaign is reflective of the fact that it generally promotes all dayparts throughout the calendar year.

Last fall, with its new loyalty program, Wendy’s looked to entice rewards seekers with freebies and the value of earning opportunities.

“[The rewards program] has far exceeded our expectations,” Geraghty says. “We are now growing our app usage at a rate that is significantly accelerated…and it’s been a key part of our strategy.”

Creative for the new campaign was handled by McCann, with which the restaurant chain has had a two decades-long relationship. Ketchum led PR and influencer communications, and Initiative led the media buy. 

Media spending at Wendy’s is “probably about a 30% increase in our typical spend,” some of which is part of the breakfast launch.