A campaign with Real Meat.

It takes patience to claim a position that everyone in the category thinks they already own.

Arby’s is a great example of how a consistent brand message over a long period of time can bring the desired results. But the key is patience. For many brands immediate gratification is the only thing that matters. Branding efforts are expected to make the needle move just like a marketing promotion, except, brand building doesn’t work that way. Brand is not always asking you as the consumer to respond in the moment, only to be aware and connected to the brand so that in the moment of decision the brand comes to mind. Like; “I don’t really want a burger today, I want something different. But I also don’t want a sit-down service experience. Hmmmm. Oh! Arby’s. They have several meat choices and I can still get in and out.”

There’s the point. As soon as people are looking for something other than a burger (and there are lots and lots of burger options) where can they go? A subway style sandwich (and there are now lots of those). Pizza (and there are tons of those). Chicken (and there’s plenty of that). But there’s really only one Arby’s so it’s important to keep the brand out there and consistent.

Speaking of consistency, the use of the same voices (Ving Rhames, who is assumed to be James Earl Jones and H. Jon Benjamin, the voice of Archer) along with the same styling of the food creates a recognizable presences that stands out from the others in the category. Notice the visuals are always focused on the food, there’s only been one commercial where people were in the spot, and of course the featured actor was H. Jon Benjamin – Brilliant! And that commercial seemed to be an effort to help the audience understand that “We Have The Meats” needed some qualification – meats for sandwiches. Which, on a personal note, I find sad that people need to be literally told where the meat goes. But even through that situation they were able to navigate the challenge without giving up the concept – they stayed calm, made the adjustment, and carried on. For these reasons I think Arby’s has taken their brand which has been overlooked for years and put it in the middle of all the other fast food brands that thought Arby’s was not a player. Arby’s strategy of going for the long game has brought the brand back into the consumer consideration set. Patience pays off!