Social Rocket
Jersey Mike’s is moving its marketing significantly into digital. According to CEO Charlie Morrison, the share of digital marketing spending rose in the first half 2026 from under 1 percent to more than 20 percent of the total marketing budget. At the same time, the sandwich chain is launching “Game Day Mike’s Way”, which it says is its most integrated NFL campaign so far.
The campaign runs across TV, online video, social, display and influencer partnerships, once again featuring Danny DeVito and former NFL star Eli Manning. Marketing Dive reports on the new media mix and the sharp shift of budget towards digital.
Digital becomes a growth engine rather than a side channel
The change is notable because, according to Morrison, Jersey Mike’s had barely used digital marketing with direct calls to action until 2026. Social media and other digital channels are now meant to contribute more to reaching younger audiences and generating measurable demand.
The strategic shift coincides with solid business figures. Jersey Mike’s reported revenue of 208 million US dollars for the second quarter 2026, ten percent more than the previous year. The share of digital sales rose at the same time from 41 to 43 percent. These figures come from the company’s official Q2 report.
SEC filings also show that the group is indeed putting more money into digital marketing. In the first half 2026, advertising spending rose by 24 percent to 115 million US dollars, according to 10-Q. Jersey Mike’s explicitly attributes the increase to digital spending as part of a strategy for higher-return marketing activities.
NFL campaign combines reach and digital activation
“Game Day Mike’s Way” is the second campaign round from Jersey Mike’s partnership with the NFL. At its centre is the film “Stacked and Jacked: The Danny DeVito Story”, in which DeVito becomes an absurdly strong quarterback by lifting heavy subs and pushes Manning to the sidelines.
The creative gag is only one part of the system. Jersey Mike’s distributes the story across several channels, adds influencer activations and limited products, and combines classic reach with digital touchpoints. It is precisely this combination that makes the campaign more interesting for social media marketers than a normal celebrity spot.
A similar pattern can be seen with other brands: Lowe’s deliberately links its NFL communication to creators and loyalty and deploys NFL stars as macro influencers for Gen Z. Dr. Squatch, in turn, combines creators, social challenges and retail in a million-dollar campaign with IShowSpeed.
First-party data becomes the second lever
The bigger strategic point, however, lies behind the campaign. Jersey Mike’s wants to expand its digital systems to use more of its own customer data. According to Morrison, almost a fifth of revenue comes via delivery, but only a small part of that through its own delivery infrastructure. Those who sell through third-party platforms lose part of the direct customer relationship and with it valuable first-party signals.
This is exactly where marketing, loyalty and commerce converge. The more orders run through the company’s own apps, accounts and loyalty programmes, the better Jersey Mike’s can understand audiences, encourage repeat purchases and measure campaigns.
For marketers, this is a familiar development from the retail media space: retailers are trying to connect their own transaction data more closely with paid media. Kroger now links its retail data with TikTok, YouTube and CTV. In the long run, Jersey Mike’s is also not just about buying more digital ads, but about improving the data foundation behind those ads.
What the budget shift shows
The jump from less than one to more than 20 percent digital share is not a general benchmark for other brands. It does, however, show how quickly a company traditionally focused on classic brand advertising can change when social, performance, loyalty and digital sales are planned together.
What stands out is the combination of a brand platform and measurable infrastructure. Jersey Mike’s is not replacing classic advertising. It is supplementing it with social, influencer and digital call-to-action channels while trying to own more of the customer relationships that result. The fact that Applebee’s is now also expanding a viral social hit into a broader marketing platform shows how important this shift from individual campaigns to lasting digital systems has become.