Under the direction of new chief marketing officer, Craig Bahner, Wendy‘s (NASDAQ:WEN) is pursuing an aggressive course to raise its visibility and attract new customers.
The burger chain is revamping its menu, adding new products, and increasing marketing to Latino customers, according to BurgerBusiness.com
Wendy’s plans to introduce Grilled Flatbread Chicken Sandwiches, a Black Label cheeseburger with mushrooms, and is considering a pretzel roll for its Pub sandwich and a jalapeno bun topped with Cheddar cheese for its Spicy Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich.
The company is also planning to restructure is value menu, introducing a two-tiered pricing plan to prevent franchise stores from raising prices for certain items over 99 cents. It is countering smoothies and shakes from McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Burger King (NYSE:BKW) with its own line of Signature Lemonades.
A former Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) executive, Bahner noted that revitalizing the Wendy’s brand required “compelling, distinctive and own-able” innovations. He noted that the chain had produced an inconsistent marketing message in recent years and had “lost relevance” with fast food diners.
In addition to adding new products, Bahner plans a vastly increased focus on social media and mobile promotions.
The company will also update its outreach to Latino customers, adopting a new slogan for Spanish-language media.
Shares of Wendy’s rose more than 1% in Friday mid-day trading.
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