News

Panera spends $40M to demo authenticity

June 14, 2011

Panera Bread Co. is spending $40 million on a new TV and radio ad campaign called "Make Today better," but Chief Marketing Officer Michael Simon told Forbes that the company is still "significantly" under-spending its competitors, who allocate an average of about 3 percent to 5 percent of their sales on media spending. Panera allocates 1 percent.

The company's TV and radio spots broke Monday, and social media elements, including Facebook and Twitter, will launch next week, Simon said.

According to Advertising Age, Panera's TV campaign is airing in 30 markets. The spot was created by Interpublic Group of Cos.' Mullen unit, and WPP's Maxus is doing the media buying, the trade publication said.

The aim of the campaign, Simon told Forbes, is to tell the story of the Panera brand experience with an "eye on highlighting the little differences, extras we choose to do for our customers. We focus on fact-based differentiators that single us from other concepts, like bread baked fresh daily and our lettuce program that has cut the time our produce moves from the field to our customers' forks in half."

The TV spots feature Panera associates and customers (no actors) demonstrating how Panera goes the extra mile to help custommers "make a better day."

Simon predicts that the approach will go a long way long way toward extending the brand's authenticity which was built on efforts like being first to nationally display calorie information on menu boards, to move away from transfats and to offer healthy menu options.

The company reported that its first-quarter profit rose 27 percent to $32.8 million on revenue that grew 16 percent to $422.1 million.