Wendy’s will spend another $10M in breakfast ads this year

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Wendy’s will invest another $10 million in advertising its breakfast lineup.

It’s already spent around $15 million in 2021 for breakfast ads, so the total will likely cap out at around $25 million.

Wendy’s latest breakfast menu (it tried to serve breakfast before) came at a time when rivals McDonald’s and Burger King have been serving morning meals for years.

McDonald’s has long dominated the fast food breakfast market, but increased competition from other chains, including Dunkin’ and Starbucks, as they bolster their menu offerings, led to a dip in sales at the golden arches.

Wendy’s latest breakfast launch came at a bad time — it started rolling out nationally just as states began imposing “stay at home” orders due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Restaurants as a whole suffered significantly due to the shutdowns, but even as restrictions were lifted, breakfast traffic remains stagnant at many restaurants because people’s routines were changed so much due to working at home and remote education.

Wendy’s new advertising series will be aimed at getting customers to swing by Wendy’s on the way to work or school as people begin to return to those routines.

Breakfast is often considered appealing because it tends to have high margins and can be easier to prepare. When offered at an existing restaurant, it also have the advantage of using the same real estate footprint to generate additional revenue with often minimal additional labor costs.

When creating its breakfast menu, Wendy’s drew inspiration from some of its most famous items, including offering a breakfast version of its famous Baconator option and Frosty flavored coffee drinks.

Wendy’s aims to increase its breakfast sales by 30% in 2021 with the advertising investment, executives said on an investor call in August 2021. By the close of 2022, the chain says 10% of its revenue will come from breakfast items.