The campaign comes as the chain tries to reinvent itself into more of a lifestyle brand under the “Live Your Yes" platform, which Corinna Falusi, chief creative officer and partner at Mother New York, says is “more than an advertising idea.”
“The opportunity to reinvent or reset Panera with a point of view on life is fantastic,” Falusi told Ad Age. “The insight that we started out with was behind the idea of how often we feel we have to compromise and do not fully lean into what we crave and want to enjoy. The ‘Live Your Life’ platform is a philosophy on how we look at food but also how we live life, and hopefully, that elevates Panera to the exact lifestyle brand it should be.”
The pandemic has clearly affected the restaurant industry and Panera Bread isn’t an exception. Many of its locations rely on people stopping by for coffee on the way to work or a sandwich and soup during a lunch break, as well as catering events such as meetings. During 2020, when dining rooms across the industry were shuttered for months, Panera’s systemwide U.S. sales fell 10.5% to $5.35 billion, and it slipped from being the nation’s 10th largest chain in 2019 to its 13th largest chain in 2020, according to data from Technomic.
Panera’s efforts such as launching a monthly $8.99 coffee subscription service and items such as flatbread pizza have helped the brand rebound. In August, Panera announced that its business had recovered and was performing above 2019 levels, with sales at longstanding locations up in May, June and July on a one- and two-year basis. Over the past two years, Panera’s delivery sales soared 150%. The delivery volume has been maintained even with cafes opening back up for in-person dining, according to the restaurant chain.
Earlier this year, Panera introduced an updated Panera “Mother Bread” logo of a woman cradling a loaf of bread, a callback to the sourdough starter the chain began using more than 30 years ago.
In July Panera released a summer apparel line to spur offseason interest in soup. Earlier this year Panera also released limited-edition “bread bowl gloves” and gave away its own “bread bowl bike" in celebration of Earth Day to promote a more eco-friendly option for transportation.