Fast food value meal deal marketing is still heating up, even as inflation cools

Inflation might be moderating, but the fast food value marketing battle is still going strong, with brands including Subway, McDonald’s, KFC and Taco Bell continuing to plow advertising into cheap meals. Dunkin’ is the latest brand to get on the value meal bandwagon with a $6 breakfast meal deal—a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, hash browns and a medium hot or iced coffee. The brand’s latest creative features the U.S. cast of “Love Island.” Food inflation began soaring in 2022, with restaurant prices increasing 7.7%, according to the USDA. But for fast food brands, the situation did not reach a tipping point until earlier this year, when consumers seemed to have had enough, causing chains from Applebee’s to McDonald’s to report dips in traffic and same-store sales. Companies responded quickly with value meals, which are still being rolled out, accompanied by a lot of marketing. Food prices are expected to continue to decelerate in 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted in its August report, noting that food-away-from-home prices (restaurants) are predicted to increase by 3.1% in 2025. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Below, a roundup of some of the latest value ads and the other new menu items big brands are highlighting to keep consumers buying. Dunkin’ Dunkin’ is spreading the word about its breakfast deal with ads from Juxtapose that feature the final three couples from the most recent season of Peacock’s “Love Island USA” in a nod to Kordell Beckham, Kenny Rodriguez and Miguel Harachi, who became famous for making breakfast for their partners every morning. @dunkin a hot new bombshell just dropped @Miguel @NayNay @Kenny Rodriguez @Ree💓 @Kordell Beckham @leah.kateb ♬ original sound - Dunkin' Dunkin’ is also releasing limited-time T-shirts that say “Cute lil’ hash browns” or “Got the text,” which refers to texts the cast would get regarding updates to the show, like if a new person was coming into the villa, or challenges the cast had to complete. Subway Subway is running a deal for $6.99 Footlongs (which normally cost anywhere from $11 to $17) when ordered through the chain’s app with the code “699FL.” But Subway’s largest franchisee group advised members to ignore the deal, saying it would lead to financial losses, according to the New York Post. Potbelly Potbelly, a smaller sandwich-focused chain, rolled out its first-ever value meal in July. Customers can get a chicken, ham or turkey sandwich with chips and a fountain drink for $7.99. More: Potbelly’s CMO on its LTO strategy and other plans KFC KFC has been offering several value meals, both for individuals and families. Just in time for football season, the Yum Brands-owned chicken restaurant has once again teamed up with University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders and his family to highlight the chain’s “Taste of KFC” meals. Ads from Nimbus show that customers can get six pieces of chicken, four sides and four biscuits for $20. For $5, they can get two pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and a biscuit, nuggets and fries, or a mashed potato bowl. KFC also has an 8-piece bucket for $10 on Tuesdays. Wendy’s At the start of the summer, Wendy’s rolled out a $3 breakfast deal. Customers could get a sausage, egg and cheese English muffin with a side of crispy potatoes. The fast feeder also refocused marketing on its $5 Biggie Bag, which includes a burger, fries, chicken nuggets and a drink. Most recently, the chain’s TV ads from VML have touted $1 small Frosties. Taco Bell Taco Bell’s summer spots from Deutsch LA focused on its Cravings Menu, which featured 10 menu items that were $3 or less, as well as its $7 Luxe Cravings Box: a double stacked taco, beefy 5-layer burrito, a chalupa supreme and a drink. The Yum Brands chain also looked to move past its reputation as a late-night stop with a new item: a cantina chicken burrito. The spot highlighted fresh ingredients, and was notably shot during daylight hours. In a last gasp of summer, the taco chain will have Baja Blast gelato in stores for a limited time. @tacobell the time is finally here for rewards members only ♬ original sound - tacobell Football marketing news Tracking Super Bowl, NFL and college brand moves Read more here McDonald’s After seeing comparable sales fall in the second quarter, McDonald’s was quick to get out its $5 Meal Deal—a McDouble cheeseburger or a McChicken sandwich, small french fries, four-piece McNuggets and a small soft drink—in late June. The promotion was supposed to last for a month but was popular enough for the largest restaurant chain to keep the meal through the end of the summer. A report issued this week from Numerator found that in the first three weeks of the Meal Deal being live, 70% of surveyed verified buyers said the Meal Deal was involved in their choice to visit McDonald’s, with 58% saying the deal made them choose McDonald’s instead of a different restaurant. It also found that 91% of Meal Deal buyers said they were likely to repurchase, and 59% said they would visit McDonald’s more frequently if the restaurant were to keep the Meal Deal on the menu. Since then, McDonald’s has released a new collector’s cup meal, but TV ads have also focused on breakfast deals, like two breakfast sandwiches for $6, a $2.50 sausage, egg and cheese McMuffin, or any size iced coffee for $1.29. Also: How McDonald’s built CosMc’s, its space-themed chain Papa Johns Earlier in the summer, Papa Johns’ marketing from Camp+King focused on its Pairings Menu. The deal is still active: customers can get two or more items including a medium one-topping pizza, wings, garlic knots or a dessert for $6.99 each. (The offer is strikingly similar to Pizza Hut’s $7 Deal Lovers promotion.) Chili’s Some chains are even directly comparing their food prices to competitors. In one Pizza Hut ad for its $7 deal, the narrator says, “I can’t even get a latte for that.” Chili’s marketing has been leaning hard into its “3 for Me” deal, a non-alcoholic beverage, chips and salsa, and a burger and fries for $10.99. A few months ago, a Chili’s ad from Jon Marshall and Daughters remarked that the Big Smasher has twice the beef of a Big Mac, and the narrator wonders if McDonald’s should change the name of its burger—calling out the Big Mac, but not the world’s largest restaurant chain, by name. Domino’s Other chains have moved away from focusing on price, opting to highlight quality. The latest Domino’s ads from Work in Progress star Simon Cowell as he judges the quality of pizza preparation. “It’s not just the price—it’s the amount and quality you get,” Domino's Chief Marketing Officer Kate Trumbull previously told Ad Age. “The pressure on consumers has not gone away, so they might have less occasions to order out, and when they do, it needs to be right.” Starbucks Starbucks had a value meal that it launched in June, a limited-time Pairings Menu that offered a hot or iced coffee or tea with a croissant for $5, or a hot or iced coffee or tea with a breakfast sandwich starting at $6. The deals are no longer available. On to pumpkin spice lattes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Starbucks (@starbucks)

Fast food value meal deal marketing is still heating up, even as inflation cools

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