Arby's Hunting Commercials
General Topic
Have you guys seen the hunting commercials from Arby's? I've seen them run on the Sportsman's Channel. I think it's awesome that a large company like this that has nothing to do with the hunting industry decided to market to hunters in a positive way. I found this link that covers the campaign from Ad Age. I believe each of the spots are in the link. Check it out and show Arby's some love!
I've been eating at Arby's a lot more often since those commercials have came out!
One would think that catering to meat eaters would be a good idea when you sell shredded meat sandwiches!!!
It will be news when they run on a real channel with mainstream programming. Marketing to the choir is not risky and does not take a lot of courage
In this day and age, coming out as blatantly pro hunting does take a lot of courage IMO, especially when they don't have to. Spending the money to cater to a relatively small demographic with the potential backlash associated with it is a risk for them, regardless of where the content airs. I think it's an awesome show of support.
Regardless of how much "courage" you think it does or doesnt take, making a commercial that directly targets hunters on a hunting channel is somethin they dont have to take a risk on. When the under armour thing went down, tons of ppl said that hunters werent enough of a force to move the needle. So why should Arby's go after that "small" market when they could just do an ad on a channel that non-hunters watch and would still appeal to hunters watching that channel. Its ok to give a little attaboy every now n then. Always amazes me that some things are never good enough for some ppl. Thanks bigeasy, i dont often watch the hunting channels, so i was unaware of the commercial. And i rarely ever eat at Arby's, but i as a hunter, i appreciate the effort no matter how little "courage" it took and will look to hit one up now....
I agree, bigeasy, and I will make an effort to spend more $ at Arby's.
when i first saw the commercial i thought cool, but then i remembered what channel I was watching... my immediate thought was I'd love to see this as an ad during Good Morning America! I bet the station would not even accept the application for the commercial. I do enjoy Arby's food though... baby steps, I know.
I agree Stick! Think I'll stop in on my way home tomorrow and grab a big roast beef sandwich. :)
I saw it yesterday and I don't think I watched anything but Comedy Central . Not for sure but I do know for sure it wasn't a hunting channel.
I never really cared much for Arby's food but it's good to see this company portray some reality for the masses.
I really like Qdoba but, when I log on to their wi fi it doesn't allow access to web sites like Bowsite and if that isn't liberal control bullshit I don't know what us.
Last count I heard, there are over 40 million hunters in America, I personally wouldn't consider that a "small" market....
It is pretty small considering they typically market to as broad a population as possible. The number of hunters is closer to 13-15 million based on license sales, or about 5% of the US population. For a company that has nothing to do with the hunting industry attempt to appeal to the hunting community, it's awesome and in my history fairly unprecedented IMO.
The most recent study by the national shooting sports foundation reported 21.8million people hunted at least once in the past five years.
I've been stopping more at Arby's since they started advertising to hunters. I stop by in the afternoon and get the gals in our office warm cookies. They love them!!!
Zbone, I dont necessarily consider hunters a "small" market. That is what the quotation marks were for. As i said, a lot of ppl here claimed when the under armour thing went down it wouldnt affect their sales. I dont agree with that, so i used it as an example here.
A mainstream company advertising to hunters on a hunting channel with a hunting themed ad, i'd rather give them a nod versus find something to bang on them about. Thats all
Arby's?! No thanks. I don't care how they market crappy food.
You'd be better off cutting out the middle man and just throwing the sandwich into the toilet.
^^^Uh oh - another honest post with a differing opinion from the mainstream...
I've always liked Arby's, but it doesn't take hunting themed commercials to make me buy it. Most people who eat meat are usually indifferent about hunting anyway unless they actually do it. I don't know many meat eating hunter haters.
But, for the indifferent ones, I guess these commercials don't detract away from hunting.
Some people are so pessimistic it is ridiculous. With Cecil, they hung him before even knowing the facts. When that didn't work, they moved on to Pedals. Between those debacles, they take every chance to say how hunters standing up for a hunting issue will do nothing. My goodness. I'm assuming they are going to vote for Clinton because there is no sense denying the inevitable according to their reasoning.
Hunters numbering over 20 million is not a small market in fast food. I'm betting if McDonald's or, any other fast food chain could claim the equivalent percentage of over 20 million strong consumers, they'd be ecstatic.
Some of the business philosophy used by people on this site are examples of very poor reasoning. With an estimated 324,000,000 people living in this country, Catering to 10% of that total population will result in HUGE financial benefits. To help you negative nay sayer's a bit by getting really serious and, considereding that only about a quarter of the total population are potential consumers, that the slightly less than 10% that hunters compromise of total population becomes a quarter of the potential market. That is beyond huge.
I think it is a good thing. God Bless
I guess I am the one who is being pessimistic and negative. All I said was "It will be news when they run on a real channel with mainstream programming. Marketing to the choir is not risky and does not take a lot of courage "
Let's break that down to find the falicy in the position
Would this be bigger news if it ran in prime time on network TV?
Would we be more excited as hunters to see it there?
Is there a risk of backlash running a hunting ad on hunting TV?
That is not negative is it legitimate. The math above is irrelevant. it's not how many hunters there are, but how many hunters there are that will see the ad. The cable channel for that show will be lucky to get 250K viewers. Heck most the shows PAY to be on there as opposed to are paid to be on there. the fact there are 20M hunters in US does not matter if only 250K or less will ever turn on the show to see the spot.
If arby's runs that add on pregame of NFL today they will probably get 15M viewers and a big share of the 20M hunters.............but you won't see it there. If they run it in the super bowl window they will get 180M viewers. that would be really neat.
it's nice arbys made an add with hunters. it is far from groundbreaking or impactful on our overall visibility or image.
now let's go grab a pressed meat sandwich if we can even find an arby's within 25 miles of where you are today.
The first time I saw the ad was on KDKA Pittsburgh, the CBS affiliate.
Like I said before, I believe I saw the add on Comedy Central so I believe it's mainstream.
It's a shockingly good thing to see in this day and age.
I could frankly care less where the ads run. The fact of the matter is a company that has zero to do with hunting decided to spend money on a campaign geared towards hunters. The campaign is geared around their support of the pursuit of meat. That needs to be recognized by our community.
Again, we're not talking about Under Armour, or Yeti coolers, or Ford -- companies that have products to market to hunters. This is a company with no dog in the fight that came out in support of hunters. We bitch and moan about the lack of support hunting gets, and here's a company that decided to portray hunting in a positive way and people don't think it's enough? This should be viewed of as a huge positive for our community.
I'm driving up to South Dakota for a mule deer hunt in a week. I, for one, will be sure to stop at Arby's a time or two on the trip!
I appreciate them coming to realize that there are meat-eating hunters out there. Not likely I'll be stopping at an Arby's any time soon though. I checked their website and the closest one is right at 300 miles away!
Pete
X2 Boulevard
Miller Coos runs a hunting campaign friends of the field with camouflage cans.
I've only seen it on sports channels, magazines, and Internet.
Never on television
Didn't read all the posts, may have been pointed out. 'Bou, they are not marketing to the choir. They are not selling hunting. They are selling a product, their product, to hunters. Not all or even most hunters eat at Arbys. I for one, seldom do. But by running those spots on outdoor programming, they are reaching a target market, i.e., those who already eat meat and are prone to now, eat at Arbys. Great marketing strategy.
Guys I do this for a living.
A good brand runs content where it's relevant and to run it on GMA for example might not be the right place for such a commercial (unless the data says hunters watch GMA).
Either way, I agree it's a smart move by Arby's! However, I don't think everyone should eat it because the advertise to hunters. I still prefer 5 Guys - haha.
Sage, point well taken... I tend to run on emotion not data.
Walt Palmer wasn't advertising on a major network yet they chose to crucify him. Good on Arby's, I don't eat there often but will probably start eating there more.
Is it just me, or does anyone else want a roast beef and curly fries about now?
"America's Roast Beef, Yes Sir!"
I do CWeeks HAHAHAHA but i was think n turkey ,beacon, ranch on multi grain bread Thanks for the support ARBY`S MikeC
They got the meats!...and they will see a rise in business from this hunter! I love their beef & cheddar on the onion roll....mmmm....sooo good!!!
Good for them. Too bad their food, along with most other fast-food, is absolute garbage.
Bowriter do you know what Bou does for Dunking Donuts?
As far as fast food goes....Arby's ain't too bad. I like their market fresh sandwiches okay.
Their cherry turnovers are to die for.
Terry
"Is there a risk of backlash running a hunting ad on hunting TV? "
In this day and age of the internet, yes there is. Antis cruise things like this looking for things to "tell on" When Cheerios and Motel 6 hooked up with the HSUS on projects, I didn't see any ads for it, but I found out on places like this and spread the word. I had eaten Cheerios all my life, and occasionally stayed at Motel 6, but I didn't use their products until they severed their relationship with HSUS, and I let them know that. It gets around, no matter where it is placed. We made a difference with that boycott. The same could be true on the flip side for them
I would say that a company that proclaims loudly: "We have the Meats!" on national, nonhunting channels, isn't too worried about vegetarians, who make up a substantial portion of antis. I can't remember the last time I ate at an Arbys, but when I am looking for some fast food in the future, I will give them a look
And now....Arby's venison burgers
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2016/10/25/arbys-takes-stab-venison-burgers-select-locations/92727506/
Wow, maybe too far, unless it isn't ranched venison. Sorry I didn't go to the link.
Well, we don't have an Arby's locally so I don't eat there often. But it is a nice change from the other fast food when we do go by one. LOVE the beef and cheddar, and their regular roast beef with their Arby's Sauce! (that stuff is like liquid GOLD :)
And you have to hand it to them..................................they KNOW their "target audience"! : )
"We feel like that's a community that's very passionate about what they do," Rob Lynch, brand president and chief marketing officer, told Ad Age in May. "It may not be this huge, broad-reaching activity that everyone in America participates in, but the people that do are passionate about it, and given what our brand stands for, we're all about meat, we feel like there's a connection there."
Tradmt, the only venison that is legal to sell anywhere in the US is ranched venison.
Rut Nut, they seem to really have taken the time to understand hunting and what we're about. Beyond that, I love the clear vote of support. Like they say in the commercial, "whether it's winged, antlered or finned, Arby's supports your pursuit of meats." Gotta love it!
I love the ad's and my 3 & 6 yr. old boys just giggle and giggle. GOOD JOB ARBY'S!!!
I know a lot of people that eat wild game but do not hunt.
This reaches out further than just hunters. A lot if people relate to this.
Bigeasy: Not true! Business in my back yard markets wild/ free range venison:
http://www.brokenarrowranch.com/
You might be right when it comes to whitetail meat, but not other deer species
That's semantics, txhunter. It is illegal to sell wild game in this country. Therefore when you see elk or deer on the menu it is not true wild game. It is either non-game meaning it is not a managed species or it is ranched, either on a big ranch or in pens. When you are eating venison or elk on any menu anywhere, it is not wild game. In fact, most of the "wild game" you see on menus comes from farms in New Zealand.
In the case of the ranch you are citing, their "wild game" is axis deer that is allowed to roam a large ranch. They are being pretty liberal with the term wild (these are surely large high fenced ranches) and game (the species are not any species you would buy a tag for in North America). This is also why they can sell it.
I know for a fact that the majority of the animals they sell are wild and free ranging. From axis to blackbuck antelope, sika and wild pig. Broken arrow ranch contracts with local ranchers to go at night and kill animals with a spotlight and a rifle with a silencer. I don't know of anything they sell that is raised in pen, and most are not behind a high fence. i.e. they are wild and are not feed controlled diets. They are not herded into a trailer and taken to market. However, Texas set up the regs because any animal sold for human consumption has to be "inspected". The animals have to be visually inspected prior to being shot, then inspected during the slaughter by a state inspector to ensure it was healthy enough to eat. So yes, venison covers a lot of territory, including game animals and exotics, but I would rather eat an axis burger to a whitetail one any day. And it is certainly eating wild venison if it comes from broken arrow. That being said, I am sure they don't handle the volume to supply Arbys with venison, so that is most likely pen raised.
There are lot of semantics in "venison" and "game animal" involved depending on where you live. Texas has a small, wild, free ranging elk population in West Texas. However, in Texas elk are not a game animal, so you can shoot them 365 days a year and any bulls killed can not be entered in any record books. However, if they happen to wander over the border into New Mexico................
From the broken arrow webpage...
"Meat from "game animals" as defined by state wildlife agencies that are harvested within that state cannot be sold. The restrictions and definitions vary from state to state. However, in most states native species (like whitetail deer) are deemed to be "game animals" while non-native species have different classifications, usually deemed "livestock." If it is restricted then it will not be inspected and cannot be sold. However, if it is inspected then that is assurance that it is legal to sell."
And again, "wild" and "free ranging" are terms somewhat open to interpretation.
Most people assume that when they are ordering wild game it is coming from an animal similar to the deer they see in their backyards or from an elk that has lived in the mountains. That's not the case. And while the deer that broken arrow sells may not be penned, they are not native North American deer and they live and die in a way that's closer to free ranging cattle than to a whitetail deer. You will not find truly wild whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, caribou, moose, etc on any menu anywhere.
Your last sentence is true, but you should come hunt axis on my ranch before you say they are not truly wild. They are as wild as the whitetail on my low fenced ranch (complete with holes in the fences made by my wild feral hogs), and whitetail come to feeders much more readily. I could get you a wild free ranging whitetail any day but not an axis. Just because the state of Texas deems them legally "livestock" doesn't mean they are raised like cattle. Just means that you can treat them like livestock, legally and even shoot them at night with a spotlight. But this all started with the word venison. Fact: Broken arrow sells wild free ranging venison. Game animals: no. Just going to have to agree to disagree on this one
I stated the only venison that can be purchased legally in the USA is ranched/farmed venison. I stand by that statement, as though they may act "wild", even Broken Arrow's venison is coming off a ranch. It's semantics and the reality is we're both right.
