Wendy's CEO Talks 'We Beefin?' Mixtape, 21st Century Marketing With Jim Cramer

Fast food chain Wendys Co WEN released  a hip-hop mixtape over the weekend — yes, a collection of five songs to promote its never frozen, always fresh meat.

What Happened

The mixtape titled "We Beefin?" naturally takes aim at rivals, including McDonald's Corporation MCD with the song "Clownin." The mixtape is about "telling our food story," Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor told CNBC's Jim Cramer during his daily "Mad Money" show Monday. Wendy's wants to emphasize the fact that its fresh and never frozen policy makes it "a little bit different" in a highly competitive landscape.

Why It's Important

Wendy's recognizes the importance of targeting younger audiences who represent the "next generation of consumers," Penegor said. 

The Wendy's Twitter page boasts 2.5 million followers and gives the Dublin, Ohio-based company a platform to "talk about our differences and how we stand apart from the competition," the executive said. This is particularly important at a time when competitors, most notably McDonald's, are introducing new menu items and adding digital and mobile ordering capabilities. Of course, Wendy's is investing in its own technology initiatives.

"The restaurants with scale are growing because when you have scale, you can invest in technology," Penegor said. 

What's Next

Wendy's must tread carefully in how it balances investments in its business,  wage and food inflation and its pricing, the executive said.

The key to success for any restaurant chain is to make sure customers find value in the food they buy — otherwise, the "gap between food at home and food away from home just gets too wide," Penegor said.

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Image credit: Mike Mozart, Flickr