“Even on their off days, when they’re at a restaurant or at the hotel, they’re representing us, so we have to have trustworthy, energetic folks that enjoy being around people, because even getting gas can turn into an event.” “They have to be representing Oscar Mayer 24/7-you don’t just sneak into town on a 27-foot-long hot dog,” Roland says. As a result, they receive extensive media training (at “Hot Dog High”), and they understand the business on a “more robust and significantly deeper level” than a typical staffer. efforts as spokespeople, including pitching media and conducting on-air interviews-and promoting the Call for Applications to be a Hotdogger. They’re in charge of seeking out and executing all p.r.
The Hotdoggers run up to 1,500 events per year. Oscar Mayer designed its first Wienermobile vehicle back in 1936. The Wienermobile program has rolled into the modern experiential landscape with the Wienermobile app that allows fans to follow where the vehicle is headed, and also enjoy an augmented reality view and photo op from inside the Wienermobile using their devices at home. “Years ago, the Wienermobile went around and auditioned people to be in our commercials, where they would sing the jingle through our star or talent search programs, and most recently it’s about demonstrating why it’s a better hot dog,” Roland says. A Wienermobile also made a trek to Whittier, AK (population: 220), traveling 1,200 miles by road and 3,000 miles by barge. The Wienermobile also floated into New York Harbor on a barge where it passed the Statue of Liberty and docked at Governors Island. Oscar Mayer took that new slogan to new heights by expanding its WienerFleet, announcing its new WienerCycle and WienerDrone at a Fourth of July celebration in Weiner, AK. In 2017, Oscar Mayer unveiled its “Put a better hot dog in every hand” campaign, which was all about traveling the country to educate consumers on its improved hot dogs made with no nitrates, nitrites, artificial preservatives or animal byproducts. The Wienermobile concept transcends audiences and demographics, and it can easily meet the strategic needs of new marketing messaging and campaigns. You have to have a champion of the program that will fight as new brand people rotate through the system to keep the program top of mind and demonstrate the value of the program and demonstrate the flexibility of the program and how it can morph for today’s needs,” Roland says. “You have to have the ability to stick with it. This may also require a succession plan, developing and fostering talent so that people can rise through the ranks, continue the legacy of the program and help grow it with care.
It helps to have a longstanding champion of a program who has years of experience under their belt. So, we sat down with Edwin Roland, senior experiential marketing manager for Oscar Mayer at Kraft-Heinz, for tips on building and sustaining legacy programs, the value they bring to brands, how Oscar Mayer keeps the Wienermobile program fresh and, most importantly, what goes into selecting the best BAs in the biz. This year, Oscar Mayer received a record-breaking number of applications: 6,000-far above and beyond the 1,000 applications that typically come in.Ĭlearly, the Wienermobile program has some sizzling staying power. Thirty-two years ago, Oscar Mayer created the Hotdogger program, where recent college graduates apply to be among an elite team of 12 selected to pair up and operate a Wienermobile on a one-year contract.
You may be interested to learn that Oscar Mayer doesn’t sample from these vehicles a sampling trailer accompanies them when needed. Six Wienermobiles are on the road across the country at any given time of year, and for consumers lucky enough to spot one, it’s often a once-in-a-lifetime moment-whether they like hot dogs or not. On the road since 1936, having undergone nearly a dozen upgrades over the years, it remains an iconic, versatile and viral marketing vehicle for the hot dog, bacon and deli-meats brand. In the world of experiential, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is the OG.