Sandwich Maker Kicks Off New Campaign at Super Bowl

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=33899

Initiative Gets $30 Million Quizno’s Account

By Kate MacArthur and Richard Linnett

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Initiative Media has picked up media buying and planning duties for Quizno’s Corp., an account estimated at $30 million, the marketer confirmed.

Independent Cliff Freeman & Partners, New York, was the incumbent on planning, and Aegis Group’s Carat USA had the buying account. Cliff Freeman retains creative work.

Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Initiative was able to gain access to the marketer through promotions shop August, Bishop & Myers, Chicago, which had recommended Initiative for project work.

“We were impressed with their results and decided to make the change at the end of the year to improve our process and efficiencies,” said Rob Elliott, executive vice president of marketing for Quizno’s. “We’re just trying to make every dollar work as hard as we can.”

‘Shock-value humor’

The toasted sandwich chain will kick off its media year with a spot in the first quarter of the Super Bowl touting a Chicken Carbonara sandwich.

While he wouldn’t disclose the storyline of the new campaign, Mr. Elliott called the effort “pretty typical Cliff Freeman-style shock-value humor.” The ads retain the current tagline of “Oven Toasted Tastes Better.”

The rest of the annual media buy will focus on eight cable networks and 40 TV and radio spot markets, Mr. Elliott said.

Doubling media spend

He added that the chain will double its media spend in 2002 based on unit and comparable sales growth. Quizno’s spent $14.2 million in measured media from January through October 2001, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres’ CMR.

As for Carat, the media shop on Wednesday also lost the $40 million media buying account for Mike’s Hard Lemonade; Cliff Freeman at the moment has the creative business. An executive at Carat confirmed the loss. Carat USA had won the Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Quzno’s accounts last February through an association with Cliff Freeman.