Executive Summary + Challenge / Proving Live Sports Drives Sales
CKE Restaurants runs two regional brands, Carl's Jr. in the West and Hardee's in the Southeast and Midwest, which made national TV buys wasteful. Live sports had long been a staple of QSR marketing, but nobody could connect it to what happened at the register.
With Alli, PMG mapped audiences to each brand's store footprint and served region-specific ads within the same national Thursday Night Football broadcast, a first for QSR. Household-level exposure was matched to credit card transactions, so budget could follow real sales signals week to week.
Live sports became a performance channel: net new buyer conversion rose 63%, loyalty sign-ups increased 107%, and conversion ran nearly 40% above QSR benchmarks.
Proving Live Sports Drives Sales CKE operates two distinct brands with regional footprints, Hardee's in the Southeast and Midwest, and Carl's Jr. on the West Coast, making traditional national media buys inefficient and wasteful. Every advertising dollar needed to drive measurable in-store sales impact, not just awareness.
Live sports, long a cornerstone of QSR marketing, lacked clear attribution. Most brands relied on broad-reach TV buys with limited geographic precision and no direct link to transactions. CKE needed a smarter model: one that reached the right customers in the right markets, refined in real time, and tied ad exposure directly to revenue.
The objective was clear: turn live sports from an awareness play into a performance channel.
Strategy / Precision Targeting at National Scale
Precision Targeting at National Scale Rather than following the standard playbook of broad national placements, PMG developed a regionally sharpened, insight-driven live sports strategy across Amazon's Thursday Night Football (TNF) and College Football.
To do that, we grounded the plan in Alli, PMG's operating system. Alli Audience Planner built personas mapped to each brand's regional footprint, capturing how Carl's Jr. buyers on the West Coast and Hardee's buyers in the Southeast and Midwest differed on QSR behavior, sports affinity, and daypart. Those Audience Planner personas gave the team a shared audience definition that could operate at national scale but flex market by market, which was the whole premise of the strategy.
With TNF, we used Amazon's advanced audience capabilities to execute the first QSR implementation of Audience-Based Creative (ABC) copy-splitting. Within a single national broadcast, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's served region-specific ads aligned to store footprints, eliminating wasted impressions and increasing relevance.
For College Football, we built a hyper-localized plan focused on SEC, ACC, and Big Ten matchups aligned to Hardee's strongest markets. An exclusive SEC Network sponsorship further reinforced breakfast positioning among a high-value audience.
The result was a digitally enabled sports strategy designed for measurable growth.
Execution / Turning Game-Day Moments Into Sales Signals
Turning Game-Day Moments Into Sales Signals On TNF, ads were dynamically served based on geography and credit card sales lift data. A viewer in Los Angeles received Carl's Jr. messaging, while a fan in Atlanta saw Hardee's, both within the same national broadcast. This precision ensured relevance while minimizing wasted spend.
For College Football, we structured market-specific investments around marquee matchups on ABC/ESPN and regional networks, including SECN, ACCN, and BTN. Media weight concentrated where Hardee's stores were located, focusing impact within its core footprint.
Throughout the campaign, we implemented a first-of-its-kind measurement framework linking household-level ad exposure to credit card transactions. Real-time signals, including foot traffic, app downloads, and purchases, powered dynamic budget allocation. Instead of chasing reach alone, we prioritized incremental reach and conversion lift, ensuring every impression worked harder.
Alli kept that real-time model running week after week. Media, analytics, and brand teams used Ask Alli to read each week's signal and test budget shifts between TNF and College Football, while both brands stayed on the same Audience Planner personas through the season. Over time, "refine in real time" stopped being a slogan and became a routine.
Live sports became a measurable, performance-driven channel.
Impact / Redefining Live Sports as a Performance Channel
63% Higher Net New Buyer Conversion 2% Sustained Transaction Lift 107% Increase in Loyalty Sign-Ups 40% Above QSR Conversion Benchmarks
Redefining Live Sports as a Performance Channel Our approach turned live sports advertising from a legacy awareness tactic into a data-driven growth engine. Across an 11-week period, Amazon's Thursday Night Football and College Football campaigns drove a sustained average transaction lift of over 2%.
CKE exceeded QSR conversion rate benchmarks by nearly 40% and increased net new buyer conversion rates by 63%. Loyalty sign-ups rose 107%, and app purchases saw double-digit gains following TNF airings.
Alli Brand Equity was the connective tissue behind the household-level ad-to-transaction attribution, tying every impression back to Audience Planner segments and regional footprints so CKE could see not just whether live sports worked, but where, when, and for whom. That signal is now the foundation for how the brand plans and refines media going forward.
By directly linking ad exposure to real-world purchases, we established a new benchmark for QSR media effectiveness. Live sports no longer operated as an unmeasured mass-reach investment, it became a precision tool for incremental growth, delivering verified ROI and competitive advantage.
"Live sports advertising has long been a powerful awareness driver for QSR brands, but we needed it to do more, we needed it to drive real, measurable business impact. By leveraging first-party data, dynamic ad delivery, and real-time optimization, we've transformed traditional live sports media into a precision performance channel. This approach allows us to connect with our customers where it matters most and turn media investment into tangible sales growth."
Scott Sutton, Media Director, CKE Restaurants
Live sports advertising has long been a powerful awareness driver for QSR brands, but we needed it to do more, we needed it to drive real, measurable business impact. By leveraging first-party data, dynamic ad delivery, and real-time optimization, we've transformed traditional live sports media into a precision performance channel. This approach allows us to connect with our customers where it matters most and turn media investment into tangible sales growth.
