Smith Brothers Agency today announced their new digital ad campaign for DiBella’s Subs. Founded in 1918, DiBella’s is a restaurant chain based in Rochester, New York, with 47 locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, Michigan, and Indiana. The restaurant chain first began as a family owned and operated delicatessen in the city of Rochester and opened its first sub shop in 1998.
Smith Brothers won the DiBella’s assignment after a competitive pitch among multiple agencies. AJ Shear, DiBella’s Director of Marketing, cited the agency’s experience in the restaurant category and clear insights into differentiating the DiBella’s brand as key factors in the choice for Smith Brothers.
“We’re up against some huge competitors in the sub sandwich business, and Smith Brothers just had a clear way to make us stand out that was absolutely true to our brand”, said Shear.
“Subway has value covered. Jimmy Johns is freaky fast,“ said Smith Brothers co-founder, Lindsey Smith. “DiBella’s has a better product. It’s old school. With outstanding, fresh-baked rolls that are piled high with quality ingredients, DiBella’s subs are all about really enjoying the food.”
“We saw an opportunity to reject the perfectly styled subs you see in a lot of sub shop ads and depict DiBella’s in a refreshingly authentic fashion,” said Bronson Smith, who with his brother, co-founded the agency.
In research, the agency observed a consistent consumer behavior – opening the wrapper to use as both plate and tablecloth. “These are overstuffed subs,” said Lindsey Smith. “They take two hands to handle. We wanted to create a very real setting for how consumers truly eat a DiBella’s sub. But we also found that the opened wrapper was a terrific device for framing the product in all its glory.”
The campaign photography was shot in Smith Brothers’ in-house production studio, Foothold Studios, where they were deliberately authentic and avoided over-styling the subject: subs, chips and drinks. The final assets include static and animated video.
The campaign copy adopts a refreshingly frank tone, feeling like the guy behind the deli counter might be speaking to you as he makes your over-sized sub with headlines like, “Sure we have salad, we just recommend it between slabs of our fresh-baked bread,” “Yep, we’ll cut your sub, but we’ll never cut a corner,” and “You are entering a kale-free zone.” The tagline is a clever mnemonic for the brand promise - “DiBest since 1918.”
The campaign launches on June 3 across digital platforms including programmatic display, Youtube pre-roll video, Facebook, Instagram, paid search and Yelp.
ABOUT SMITH BROTHERS
Smith Brothers is a digital-forward, performance-based marketing communications agency. The agency’s experience includes launching innovative campaigns for category leaders, challenger brands and start-ups. Clients include Nestle, Premier Nutrition, Mezzetta, Spangler Candy, Nonni’s, Rivendale Farms, and Truwhip. For more information, visit www.smithbrosagency.com.
Smith Brothers also provides in-house production resources through Foothold Studios. Foothold offers its clients a streamlined production solution for photography, animation and video. For more information, visit https://www.foothold.studio.
