Key Takeaways from January Signature Luncheon with Arby’s President Hala Moddelmog
Arby’s President Hala Moddelmog kicked off 2012 for AMA Atlanta speaking to a sold-out crowd at the January Signature Luncheon. Her career trajectory was of interest because she rose through the marketing ranks to become the first female president of a major fast-food chain while at Church’s Chicken. Typically, leadership in that industry has come from operations or finance.
Hala spoke of the importance AMA Atlanta holds for her. Through networking, she found her first job through AMA contacts. That position would be her first of three turns working at Arby’s, the third being her current role which she started in 2010.
Hala joined Arby’s while it was a public company, Wendy’s/Arby’s. Under her leadership, the company has had five consecutive quarters of growth, and in the meantime was sold to an Atlanta-based private equity firm, Roark Capital. Roark owns 19 food brands - Arby’s is the largest – and it understands franchises, which is important to the Arby’s structure.
From a marketing standpoint, Hala said, Arby’s is fortunate to have 86% consumer recognition of its iconic hat logo. But the brand faced a slump when the economy turned downward. Hala joined the company ready to take on a complete, system-wide transformation led by new brand positioning. With the help of extensive market research, Arby’s identified key emotional spaces in the consumer market, one of which represented a hole in a primary group of the fast-food segment.
In fast food, she noted, speed is essential. This relates to both delivering the product and executing a transformational re-branding. One aspect of the system-wide update was to examine the company’s three-tier value strategy. Entry-level, or low cost items, drive traffic to stores. Core products are what keep loyal customers coming back. Premium products, such as new Angus beef sandwiches, attract new consumers to the brand and offer variety to loyalists. Signature sides were also analyzed, with key products such as curly fries remaining on menus alongside new additions including steak house-style onion rings. Arby’s knows its core customer, of whom Hala said, if all else fails, go back to cheese and bacon.
To complete the brand transformation, Arby’s tapped BBDO New York for a new ad campaign. The resulting “It’s Good Mood Food” campaign was certainly memorable. The campaign got people talking about Arby’s and garnered 47% recognition after seven months.
Arby’s re-branding took a 360-degree approach. Refreshed packaging and point-of-purchase reflected the updated positioning. A partnership with “Eat This, Not That” enables consumers to make healthier choices if they wish. And, of note, even the Arby’s Foundation has a new focus on childhood hunger. Directing fundraising efforts to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry effort, Arby’s, with the help of its customers, doubled a first-year goal and raised $2.2 million for the cause.
Hala closed with two 90% rules that guide her. First, she would rather have 90% today vs. 100% tomorrow. Speed matters. Secondly, she said, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. She thinks it is important to have fun every day (or at least most days) because in the end, business is a game, and she and her team are playing to win.
