ASK launches 'Friendsday Wednesdays'

ASK Italian has launched its new 'Friendsday Wednesday' campaign, now live across its 66-strong restaurant estate. 

The initiative will see the ASK Italian outlets give everyone who visits on a Wednesday the chance to get a free portion of the brand's Dough Bites starter. The promotion is part of its wider Feeding Friendships campaign, intended to encourage friendships to be formed over sharing food. 

The campaign launch follows findings from a study commissioned by the restaurant group, which revealed that 41% of Gen Z and millennials find it hard to meet new friends in real life, with 59% wishing they could spend more time with their mates. The average Gen Z and millennial has just six people in their life that they truly click with, despite having amassed an average of 615 followers online. 

Based on these findings, ASK Italian aims to provide a space where customers can nurture in-person connections. 

Through a multichannel campaign that includes digital, press, influencer and podcast media ads, ASK has launched its new 'Friendsday Wednesday' offer to drive midweek footfall alongside wider brand awareness among Gen Z and millennial audiences. To complement the initiative, campaign POS will be placed in all restaurants, with a collaborative launch event, hosted with national media partner LuxeGen, further extending the messaging.

'Forge real-life connections'

Caitlin Hoey, senior brand manager of ASK Italian, comments: "Our Friendsday Wednesday campaign is important to us at ASK, aligning to our brand that values connections between people and communities. Sixty-one percent of Brits see sharing a meal with a friend as one of the best ways to reconnect, and our restaurants are the perfect place to forge real-life connections, away from a screen.

"The research we commissioned showcases the intricacies of modern adult friendship and why our new Friendsday Wednesday campaign is so key. We are investing in this initiative, which will become a core, ownable campaign for us. We want to help friends make time for each other and tackle loneliness by catching up mid-week."

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