Courtney Sinelli Interviewed About Marketing By Local Outreach & Engagement

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches has long been lauded as a franchise group that does an excellent job of providing franchisees with the tools they need to succeed, and much of that includes a strategy for marketing when entering a new community. However, the landscape for how to get your message across has changed significantly from the time the first Which Wich shop opened in Dallas, Texas back in 2003. And that means franchises that are entering a community for the first time now face a new set of challenges to establish their foothold.

QSR Magazine recently took a look at this new challenge and interviewed Courtney Sinelli, Executive Vice President of Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, about how she and the franchise chain continued to change and evolve their approach.

Unique Approaches for Unique Markets

According to Sinelli, the Which Wich approach has always been simple: “Get out there.” In 2003, social media didn’t yet exist, and getting your information to customers took a more ground-based approach rather than a unique one in the digital sphere. That meant everything from putting flyers under windshield wipers to getting involved in festivals, athletic programs, and other community organizations. As Sinelli called it, “Pound the pavement.”

Today, that strategy has shifted to reflect the stronger prevalence of digital marketing and how social media and other online platforms have taken a greater hold in communities. Which Wich Superior Sandwiches uses a constantly-evolving digital approach to make sure the message is tailored to email, text messaging, and more. However, the trick to an effective digital marketing strategy isn’t to simply create a blanket message that works in one market and apply it all across the country. Each community is unique, and needs to be treated as such with campaigns that have authenticity and engage the community on a truly local level.

Giving Back to the Community

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches has also focused heavily on encouraging our franchisees to get involved by giving back to the communities that have welcomed our shops with open arms. Which Wich has become known for our charity work, including our Project PB&J initiative that provides sandwiches for those in need.

Our Flag Your Bag campaign encourages customers to draw American flags on our signature sandwich bags. The bags are then hung up in the restaurant before being filled with treats and sent to active service members stationed overseas serving our country. The latter initiative completed its 10^th year this past July. Both of these programs have encouraged the community to come together and unite behind a common cause, encouraging and fostering a place in the community for our franchises.

Whether it’s supporting the community through charity work or reaching out through one of several different marketing avenues, Which Wich has constantly sought to support our franchises through effective and individually-tailored marketing strategies.