NEW YORK: Jack In The Box, the restaurant chain, bases its adoption of new tools, platforms or marketing techniques in large part around whether it will help the challenger brand overcome a “Goliath”.

Iwona Alter, CMO at Jack In The Box, discussed this subject during a session at the ad:tech New York conference. And she reported that the company uses a simple question to frame its considerations about potential marketing innovations.

“Can this help us overcome a Goliath?” Alter said in describing the brand’s approach. (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: Jack In The Box’s challenger-brand ethos.)

A “Goliath”, she explained, could represent a wide variety of business issues – be it standing out in a cluttered environment, enhancing the guest experience, or implementing a novel marketing idea.

In each case, the common reference point that underpins Jack In The Box’s philosophy ladders back to its brand purpose.

“‘Making busy lives better’ is what we exist for,” said Alter.

The “litmus test” for new technology, she asserted, reflects Jack In The Box’s challenger status in a category housing giants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s.

It also guides the brand in assessing – and activating on – next-generation marketing in a clear, consistent way that encourages consumers to spread the word.

“Word of mouth … is really alive and well right now. So, all these technologies, all these different ways we communicate with each other, are enabling us to share word of mouth,” Alter said.

“It’s a very traditional principle, used in a very modern way.”

One advantage for the brand is that Jack Box, its iconic clown mascot, provides a clear personality to shape its output on new channels – such as when the brand considers experimenting with tools like Alexa, Amazon’s voice-operated interface.

“We have a very powerful challenger-in-chief, Jack, and he himself informs the experience with his very characteristic voice and demeanor and personality, which then transcends whether it is the experience with third-party delivery or the experience through technology such as Alexa,” she said.

Sourced from WARC