Church's Chicken(TM) Adds `Spice' to Its Crunch.

SAN ANTONIO -- Church's Chicken(TM) has a new cross-generational advertising campaign, the "mmm......Crunch," which began airing on December 26, with three television and three radio spots. "mmm......Crunch" represents the next level of the "Gotta Have that CRUNCH" BrandFrame(TM), which was created in April 2004 by Church's Agency of Record, The Cartel Group. The foundation for the campaign stems from the chicken's key product attribute (the crunch) and is further dimensionalized by the brand's urban attitude.

Working in concert to accomplish many communication objectives, these spots follow the August 2005 successful roll-out of the "Spicy Chicken" campaign, which was introduced with the "spicy-elation" creative spots. A taste-driven execution that focused on that "uncontrollable feeling one gets when something over delivers. It's so good everyone around wants to be a part of the experience." Now that Church's is expanding its "flavorful" offerings with new product introductions, it was critical to bring "spicy-elation" under Church's specifically created BrandFrame.

"This campaign must work against new product launches, line extensions, product attributes and key consumer insights," says Farnaz Wallace, Church's EVP, chief marketing officer. "The end result is a campaign that reflects our core consumers' lives while inviting a new generation into our restaurants to experience great-tasting, quality chicken."

The successful introduction of "Spicy Chicken" is the latest of several, trendsetting moves Church's marketing department has implemented over the last 18 months, continuing a campaign that Cartel had already developed and that resonated with the core target. Said campaign leveraged a key product attribute and attitude, "the crunch," resulting in the highest brand awareness Church's has seen in five years.

Connie Day, Church's director of advertising and promotions, notes, "The Cartel Group had a huge challenge: They had to evolve the campaign so it would resonate with the core as well as attract new customers."

At Cartel, excitement and pride was equally present. "The new advertising we have created is built on proprietary research methodology our agency has developed over the last decade. Church's picked us because we could help them break through the clutter by developing a BrandFrame(TM) that reflects where the brand is and where it's evolving to," said Jesus Ramirez, Brand Strategist and co-founder at the independently owned agency, whose new book, The Ole Degree -- a business allegory about the "Blind Side of Marketing" -- was published last year.

"Church's new 'Spicy Chicken' campaign is a case in point. Taking first-hand insights from Church's multicultural customer base, we found that the kind of 'spicy' this segment was longing for was not an outright 'burn-your-mouth' hot fare. They were looking for something flavorful, with a kick," Ramirez added.

The recent roll-out of Church's "Spicy Chicken" menu offerings provides valuable lessons in the productive synergy that can be created between ad agency and client. In December 2004, Church's was acquired by Arcapita, which allowed Church's to revise their menu strategy by targeting the "silver bullet" of the category: "spicy, flavorful product offerings."

"It's a new day," Wallace said. "Church's is evolving. We're free to do anything we want to do."

"Everybody today is talking price and flavor to attract business," adds Wallace. "We wanted to talk about what makes us unique for our customers: being authentic, urban, slightly irreverent and known as 'the real chicken' place. We've always owned value and we've always been authentic. Now with spicy flavor offerings and variety, we have a solid strategy that differentiates us from the competition."

Wallace, a key advocate and strategy partner to Cartel's approach, explains, "Most brands today are general market trying to be multicultural. So are many agencies. Our customer base is divided among African-American, Hispanic and Anglo consumers. We are truly multicultural, and a brand that celebrates diversity and cultural understanding. That's why we chose to work with The Cartel Group, a truly multicultural agency."

About Church's Chicken

Founded in San Antonio, Texas in 1952, Church's Chicken(TM) is a highly recognized brand name in the QSR sector, and is one of the largest quick-service chicken concepts in the world. Church's Chicken(TM) serves traditional Southern and Spicy Fried Chicken with a focus on offering complete meals with large portions at low prices and is positioned as the Value Leader in the Chicken QSR category. As of December 2005, the Church's system had 1,546 locations worldwide in 16 countries, plus Puerto Rico, with system sales in excess of $988 million.

About The Cartel Group

One of the top advertising agencies in the Southwest, The Cartel Group is a full-service marketing communications firm headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Having gained prominence as a leading Hispanic marketplace agency, it has since broadened its skill set to become a one-stop multicultural firm that strives to redefine "multicultural" in a more inclusive way -- one that comprises not only African Americans, Hispanics and Asians -- but Anglos as well. The Cartel Group's roster of clients currently includes the U.S. Army, Church's Chicken, Nextel, Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (Dr Pepper, 7Up, Squirt and Sunkist), Western Union, Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. (Dickie's Apparel) and the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI).