Official NCAA March Madness Corporate Partner Wendy’s is activating around the 2021 tournament by bringing to life its rights as the event’s Official Breakfast through an integrated campaign which spans Reggie Miller fronted advertising and which also includes feeding breakfast to college players at the NCAA Men’s Division One tournament.
Wendy’s activation includes an updated breakfast offering and a basketball-themed campaign that will evolve through the tournament as it tells a ‘breakfast story’ via a trio of commercials featuring former Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller.
The hero launch spot, posted on 15 March, sees Miller move into a Wendy’s in Indianapolis: so that the outlet will serve as his home and his bubble during 2021 March Madness which is being entirely hosted in the city.
Wendy’s campaign continued on 15 March when Kenny Smith stops by Miller’s Wendy’s bubble after admitting that he had made a wrong choice for breakfast, but because he is not in Miller’s bubble so the former Pacer won’t let him in.
A third spot starts airing on 5 April and shows Miller preparing to move out of his bubble at the end of the tournament, but then changes his mind and chooses to stay because of a $1.99 honey butter chicken biscuit sandwich which is on sale from 1 April through 2 May.
As the Official Breakfast of March Madness, Wendy’s is fuelling athletes and fans across the USA via a range of tournament-related deals. In previous years, Wendy’s has distributed food, offers and samples to fans at the games. But this year, for the first time, it is offering food to the players in the tournament and focusing on fans at home.
The product lead for its 2021 March Madness plans focus on its honey butter chicken biscuit sandwiches which are on offer alongside various deals with third-party delivery providers (including a free delivery offer with March Madness official delivery partner Uber Eats) and for branded Twitter watch parties.
Fans buying its breakfast can get a free Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit during breakfast hours from 18 to 20 March.
Y’all get ready – March Madness is HERE. Pick your winners before the games tip off.https://t.co/6hiCkU96fN
— Wendy's (@Wendys) March 15, 2021
It’s MARCH MADNESS TIME, BABY. Choose wisely in our tournament polls and we’ll hook you up with some sweet deals.
❤️ this tweet and we’ll hit you up when it’s time to vote in each tourney round. pic.twitter.com/rvWMGK1xv6
— Wendy's (@Wendys) March 11, 2021
It’s FREE HONEY BUTTER CHICKEN BISCUITBALL TIME. ❤️ this tweet and we’ll remind you on Thursday 3/18 when you can score a free Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. pic.twitter.com/YuVPLdfMj9
— Wendy's (@Wendys) March 11, 2021
The multipronged activation programme was developed in harness with Wendy’s agencies including VMLY&R, Spark Foundry, The Marketing Arm and Ketchum.
“As a NCAA sponsor and the Official Breakfast of March Madness, we share the excitement for the return of the biggest basketball event of the year and are living out our sponsorship name by kicking off the tournament with a delicious Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit deal nationwide,” said Carl Loredo, Wendy’s Chief Marketing Officer Carl Loredo. “Fans and players can leave the drama, heartbreak and upsets on the court – and enjoy the March Madness action without distractions thanks to Wendy’s first-string fresh breakfast and roster of all-day menu options that always deliver.”
“It was this week last year that we were all beginning to come to grips with the realities of COVID, and the world did change,” recalled Wendy’s Chief Marketing Officer Carl Loredo when speaking about the launch of the 2021 campaign. “There’s just going to be so much pent-up energy we could probably be running these games at 5 am and everybody would be all over them because they’re just so excited to have March Madness. We love this partnership with the NCAA. It was extended for another year given what happened last year, but we see this moving well beyond even this contract term.”
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This campaign follows on from Wendy’s 2018 and 2017 March Madness activations and the fast food giant (an NCAA sponsor since 2017) had to rethink its activation approach after Covid caused the 2020 tournament to be cancelled.
By late March 2020, Wendy’s was forced to pull back its major new breakfast push.
Back in 2020, Wendy’s breakfast rollout was somewhat muted by the onslaught of the pandemic, yet the quick service food chain still grew US sales and took the nation’s number two fast-food burger spot from Burger King.
Breakfast accounted for 7% of Wendy’s sales at the end of 2020. The chain aims for breakfast to grow 30% this year aided by a major marketing push which seeks to see it comprise 10% of total sales by the end of 2022.
With this 2021 activation Wendy’s aims to consolidate this new status through an updated breakfast offering and a basketball-themed campaign that will evolve through the tournament.
Basketball isn’t the only sport which plays a major role in Wendy’s marketing mix. It also sponsors the X Games and Fan Controlled Football and it has also moved into marketing around eSports and gaming in partnerships with titles such as Fortnite, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Street Fighter and Minecraft.
While in December 2020 it ran a ‘Never Stop Gaming’ promotion with Uber Eats selling meals promoted by gamers.
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