US sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s has kicked off a new NFL season campaign at the same time as revealing a dramatic change in how it spends its marketing money. Digital marketing, which made up less than 1% of the brand’s total marketing budget before this year, crossed 20% in the first half of 2026.
The campaign, called “Game Day Mike’s Way”, marks the second year of Jersey Mike’s partnership with the NFL, where it holds the official sub sandwich sponsorship. The brand describes it as its most integrated campaign yet, running across TV, online video, social media and display, supported by influencer partnerships and limited edition products.
A Familiar Rivalry, Flipped
The creative picks up last year’s comedic feud between actor Danny DeVito and former NFL quarterback Eli Manning. This time, the storyline is reversed. In a mock biopic film directed by Eric Appel, DeVito builds one oversized arm from lifting and eating subs, gets drafted as a quarterback and becomes a football legend, much to Manning’s frustration. The work was again created with agency of record Highdive.
The campaign blends humour with value led messaging, a combination designed to earn attention first and then drive orders.
Why Digital Suddenly Matters
The launch comes shortly after Jersey Mike’s listed on the New York Stock Exchange in July. On its first earnings call, CEO Charlie Morrison explained that the chain had done almost no call to action digital or social media marketing before 2026. Since shifting budget into digital, he said, the results have been strongly positive.
A key goal is reaching Gen Z consumers to lift awareness and how often people buy from the brand.
The financials point in the same direction. Jersey Mike’s reported Q2 2026 revenue of $208 million, up 10% year over year, while its digital sales mix grew from 41% to 43%.
The First-Party Data Opportunity
Morrison also highlighted a gap the company plans to close. Delivery makes up close to a fifth of Jersey Mike’s sales, yet only about 3% of those delivery orders come through the brand’s own channels. The rest runs through third-party apps, which means the brand has limited access to customer data from most of its delivery business.
Jersey Mike’s is now investing in digital infrastructure to make better use of first-party data, which leadership sees as a major driver of future growth.
What This Means for Growth Brands
Jersey Mike’s is not walking away from television. It is pairing a big brand idea with performance channels that convert attention into sales, and that balance is where many growing brands fall short.
The first-party delivery gap will also sound familiar to ecommerce and D2C brands in India, the UK and the Middle East. Restaurants relying on Swiggy, Zomato, Deliveroo or Talabat, and consumer brands selling mainly through Amazon, Flipkart or Noon, face the same trade off: reach today in exchange for commissions, thin margins and little ownership of the customer relationship.
For brands in that position, the path forward looks similar to Jersey Mike’s. Build owned channels, give customers a reason to order direct, put reliable tracking in place before scaling spend, and treat customer data as a long term asset rather than a byproduct of sales.
