Wendy’s courts Hispanic customers

Among all demographics, Wendy’s is the fifth most-visited fast-food chain in the United States, trailing McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks and Burger King, according to a study taken by the market research firm Placed.The fictional Rojos family that appears in the new Wendy’s Mucho Mejor (Much Better) campaign, launched several weeks ago, is an attempt to turn the results of the study around by attracting the Hispanic public to its chain of restaurants in the United States and thereby increase the number of sales.The report Dining Out in America: The Quick-Service Restaurant Landscape, based on direct measurement of 70,000 smartphone panelists in April, found that Hispanics are 16 percent less likely to visit Wendy’s than the average U.S. customer.Wendy’s might be low on the list of fast-foods chains among Hispanics because it hasn’t advertised as much to attract them as its rivals have. In 2012, Wendy’s invested around $11.7 million in Spanish-language television, according to Kantar Media, less than the $13.2 million it invested in 2011. So now the chain plans to boost its investment by double digits.The good news for Wendy’s, according to the study’s conclusions, is that it’s the chain most visited by African-Americans, ahead of its competitors Burger King, McDonald’s and Taco Bell. That segment of the population has a 13 percent greater probability of visiting Wendy’s.