NZME and Wendy's join forces to break new ground with a 'hunger zone' takeover

Flava Drive with Athena and Wendy's Weekdays from 4pm to 8pm Weekdays and on iHeartRadio

Wendy's restaurant chain has taken over the Drive show of Old School Hip Hop and RnB radio network Flava, effectively owning the network's "hunger zone" between 4pm and 6pm.

In what's believed to be a radio first, Wendy's has taken out all of the commercials across the peak Drive show period giving listeners more of the Old School, Hip Hop and RnB that Flava's fast growing audience is hunting out.

"We wanted to do something different for Flava listeners and Wendy's fans," said Wendy's chief executive Danielle Lendich.

"Giving them more music and more of Flava Drive Host Athena Angelou is a great way for us to say thanks to our loyal customers and introduce new customers to Wendy's. We've appreciated the flexibility and initiative from the New Zealand Media and Entertainment team in helping us make this happen."

The food-to-go sector is fiercely competitive with all players looking for innovative ways to connect and engage with audiences.

"Giving Wendy's exclusive ownership of the late afternoon/early evening "hunger zone" during Flava's Drive is the perfect opportunity to help grow Wendy's share of audience with the "in-car" commuting customers. They're heading home and are looking for the great quality, freshly prepared food that the Wendy's Team pride themselves in," said NZME chief revenue officer Paul Hancox.

Wendy's will be the only commercial voice heard across the nearly 3-hour Drive show giving Wendy's clear air to engage with a key audience.

"The opportunity to own that space is critical to the success of this campaign. The team at Wendy's is totally dedicated to fresh, honest food, made from high quality ingredients and made when it's ordered. To be able to deliver those messages consistently to an audience that won't encounter any other commercial messaging is a new initiative in a radio Drive show," said NZME group account director Gareth McDonald.

"We've been proud to work with Wendy's and their media agency account manager Emma McMahon, from Together on this initiative."