Back with Indian touch - "RushHrs"!!!

Though we had given a logical end to this blog, being from Foodie country like India, it encourages us to come back again on this platform in order to serve more to our readers about this interesting and growing Fast Food World....

This time we are introducing you, not to the world known Fast Food Giants, but the fresh and innovative entry made by an Indian Fast Food chain - 'RushHrs'.... Have a look at its story....

Six fresh IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) grads already moved to their individual paths, came back together with their plan of opening restaurant during their college life and in August 2012,  the 'RushHrs' was born with the thought of coming up with bigger and better....

4 years of the IIT mess had a huge role to play in making them realize the value of truly good food at reasonable prices. A search for uniqueness – both within themselves and in the restaurant market – led them to building RushHrs into a quick service, fast food concept centered around eggs. They developed our signature stuffed omelette burgers – the “Stufflettes” – and the delicious burgers and rolls with extensive help and coordination from some of the best people in the food and catering industry. 

Today, they have 3 restaurants in Pune, a city in India. This city’s warmth, enthusiasm and openness has encouraged them to make this launch-pad for the Great Indian Dream. These ambitious entrepreneurs aim to make RushHrs a nationwide Quick Service Restaurant chain. 

Watch out this space to read more about 'RushHrs' and many more such innovative fast food chains.....

Courtesy: www.rushhrs.com

Last is not always the last...

As all good things come to an end, so does this Blog.

We had a great time maintaining this blog devoting long hours to make the reading experience of our readers enriching and exciting. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our readers for their comments and appreciation which encouraged us to improve the quality of the blog. Last but not the least, we would like to thank Prof. Siddharth Soni for providing us this opportunity to share our views and learn new things through the course of the sessions of Strategic Brand Management.

This blog has increased our hunger to write more which we hope to continue through our other works.

Branding - The Social Media Way : Part 2

In the last post on this topic, we talked about the growth of the Social Media spends by various brands as they have begun to realize the power of engaging customers through the online media. We also talked about how various firm follow different strategies for their Social Media activities. In this post, we'll talk about how McDonald's is trying to woo its customers and compete with other brands on this virtual platform.

According to Heather Oldani and Steve Wilson from Social Media Business Council, McDonald's digital strategy (for consumers and employees) has been based on four principles, which are:

1. Go to them and foster THEIR communities
2. Be multidimensional
3. Continue engagements
4. Be transparent

This thing is indicated through their Listen, Participate, Lead policy for their communications. The conversation strategy adopted for the various social media channels also varies in the Type of conversations, Primary owner and the Target audience.

Conversation strategy of McDonald's for various Social Media channels

McDonald's has executed this strategy for engaging its customers in 6 prominent ways:

• Cross promotion with Facebook Apps: The best thing (and the most successful thing) employed by McDonald's is 'The Quest' app on their Facebook page. It acts as a cross promotional tool for both Facebook and Twitter. Fans play a game on the Facebook application, unlocking various product based incentives. Fans are also encouraged to share their achievements through Twitter hashtags.  

The Quest app on McDonald's Facebook page

• Involvement through Social games: McDonald's added a virtual restaurant that fans can add to their city in the game Cityville. The rewards and bonuses for the fans depend on their ability to manage the restaurant. The popularity of the game is being leveraged by McDonald's in a fantastic manner.

• Sharing Videos: McDonald's has numerous YouTube channels on varied themes by employees and fans. These channels increase the engagement levels and enhance traffic on their other Social media channels. As McDonald's displays the actions of real people (employees and customers) there is a high likeability of fan interaction on Facebook and Twitter as well with comments, tweets and likes flowing in abundance. One such campaign asked customers to upload one's photo as part of an online game. This image was turned into a video using 3D mapping technology, in which the person was shown doing awesome football tricks. The video ended with the person kicking the trash (ball) into a McDonald's bin. Users could share this video on their Facebook profile/ page. This helped McDonald's reach a wider audience with over 1 million page impressions and 5,700 fuller bins than normal (interesting fact, but how did they measure this?).

• Expanding their Social reach: The Facebook page of McDonald's also provides a feature in which the customers can change their language to Spanish. Called 'Me Encanta', this feature has been included to target the Hispanic population in the U.S., thus providing a wider reach transcending language barriers.

McDonald's Facebook page with 'Me Encanta' tab targeted at the Hispanic population

• Personalized replies on Twitter: The team handling the McDonald's Twitter handle respond to individual questions, compliments and comments despite having close to 0.2 million followers. Interacting in a direct manner with the customers increases engagement levels.

McDonald's Twitter Page

• Involvement of Community: McDonald's has been constantly engaging its customers through competitions, polls and events. One example of this has been the use of Facebook and Twitter to promote the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). When McDonald's launched the 'Day of Change' campaign in 2010, they used the Social Media to generate awareness and engage customers. The results were impressive as the online donations increased by 130% in August 2010 compared to August 2009 and also impacted the physical donation boxes in a positive manner.  Also, the E-newsletter subscriptions grew by 748% during the campaign, thus providing a way for the charity to keep in touch with new contacts. 

RHMC Facebook Page

Thus, we have seen that McDonald's has worked actively in branding itself through the Social Media and its continued efforts will lead to higher fan interactions, leading to higher traffic at stores and eventually better returns for the brand.

Will the fast food culture trend continue?

According to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, India's 300-million-strong middle class will grow to a whopping 583 million by the year 2025. India's youth, which have emerged as the major economic drivers on the heels of the IT/ITeS and BPO culture, are spending enormous amounts of time and money on ex-home lifestyle activities. Nor is the action confined to the metros alone - though, with thirty-five cities housing over a million people as compared to America's nine, these are still the primary catchments.

Nonetheless, tier II/III towns are catching up. And fast food is an inalienable component of this trend that is sweeping every corner of the nation. In fact, in a period where the economic slowdown had put a damper on most retail space-related transactions, many fast food chains continued to snap of prime space for their expansion plans.

Why is this?

One reason could be the lack of time.Though the economic conditions are not very well at present yet people specially the ones having nuclear families always run short of time.So they grab something from these fast food joints. Another point is these joints offer food with a wide price range which suits the needs of everyone.

Moreover the mall culture has picked up.These joints have outlets in malls also where most of the people go for eating than shopping.

Is there any other reason you can think of?If yes then comment...

Marketing Mix Cafe Coffee Day

PRODUCT:

Café Coffee Day product mix constitutes a wide range of products that appeal primarily to Indian coffee and snack lovers. Products have a decided Indian taste to it – be it food or coffee. Most of the eatables have been adopted to meet the Indian taste buds like samosa, biryani, masala sandwich, tikka sandwich etc. Thus they have been trying to capture the Indian taste along with classic coffee.The best selling item in summer is frappe, which is coffee and ice cream blended together. The young people favor it. In winter it is cappuccino. Their merchandising includes funky stuff like t-shirts, caps etc.

PRICE:

Considering that Café Coffee Day knows its major customer lies in the bracket of 15- 29,it has tried to derive a policy whereby it can satisfy all its customers. The price for a cup of coffee ranges from Rs.45 to Rs 80. From the time it first started its operations, there has been only minor changes in the pricing policy of Café Coffee Day. The changes have been more due to the government taxes than any thing else.

PLACE:

The strategy CCD has adapted is to place a cafe in every possible location where some business can be generated.This is a prime factor in determining the success of a retail chain. Café Coffee Day looks to cater to their target market with strategically located outlets.

Their outlets are generally located in High Street/ Family Entertainment Centers, gas stations, near Colleges etc.

PROMOTION:

CCD is involved in all the areas of serious consumer passion like:

--Television: Café Coffee Day held a contest around a very popular programme on Zee English calledFriends. All the six lead characters are shown often visiting a coffee shop.They have tied up with Channel [V]‘s Get Gorgeous contest.

--Tie-ups: Besides that Café Coffee Day also tie up lot of the youth brands. So they have a contest going on with Levis,another one with Scooty, Liril, latest one with AirtelFriends.

--Association with movies: CCD can be seen in movies like Khakhee and Main Hoon Na

--Sales Promotion:Café Coffee Day uses special ‘Café Citizen Card’ for rewarding Café Coffee Day’s customers. It is a loyalty program to gain new customers and retain the existing ones.

PRICE:

The ordering and delivery process in CCD was earlier based on self- service. But now in most its coffee shops the waiter comes and takes away the order and delivers the order on table.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:

a)Logo , image, brand: Café Coffee Day has used bright red and green colours in its logo. RED stands for leadership , vitality, passion for coffee. The GREEN stroke harks back the coffee plantations that they own. Café is noticeably larger in the logo to denote that Café Coffee Day pioneered the café concept in India way back in 1996.The font looks as though the letters have congealed out of a liquid.

b) Architecture and Decor: Largely wood and granite based interior with young colours of today,like limegreen, yellow, orange, and purple predominate.

c) Literature: The literature provided by Café Coffee Day is indicative of its youthful image. The menus, posters, pamphlets are all designed to attract young and young at heart.

PEOPLE:

People at Café Coffee Day believe that “People are hired for what they know but fired for how they behave”. Motivation and personal skill are laid emphasize upon. Their employees are like friend to the customer but at the same time they know about the international standards of hygiene and cleanliness and personal grooming.

Going an ethical way!!

"If it is not right, then don't do it; If it is not true, then don't say it" 

This quote by US journalist John Byrne makes us to think on ethical part of fast food industry as well. Given that most fast food choices are unhealthy ones, it led me to question whether fast food companies are being ethical in offering the products that they do. If you ask these companies about their product, the answer is always diplomatic one that product is legal. However, ethical claims differ from claims about what is legal or illegal. The act that is legal cannot be necessarily ethical as well. Similarly, fast food companies, boasting about being legal by providing legal product, does not necessarily mean that they are ethical.

I do not believe that fast food companies are immoral just because they do not act in a paternalistic fashion towards their customers. Consumers have the choice to avoid these products, consume them in moderation, or eat them everyday. The key to me is that each company provides adequate disclosure regarding its products so that consumers can make reasoned decisions. Although it was not always easy to find, each of the nine fast food restaurants I attended have websites that disclose nutritional information about their food items. As well, two of the companies, Burger King and Wendy’s, actually had large, nutritional charts readily visible in their restaurants. Given that consumers have access to this information, I do not believe that there is anything morally wrong with these companies selling fast food.

what it says, what if offers

One could take issue with the fact that many of these companies market their products to children. Mascots such as Ronald McDonald, the Burger King, and Jack from Jack in the Box are essentially modified cartoon characters that hock fast food to kids. As well, most of these restaurants also promote meals especially designed for children that include toys. While these actions are arguably questionable, parents ultimately control whether and what children eat at these restaurants. They should be able to assess these products regardless of the advertising hype and act accordingly.

There are many things that might be done to address the ethical problems raised by the behavior of multinational corporations: laws, legal action and public pressure arising from activists. In the end, public awareness might be the most important tool. If individuals are enlightened about fast food companies' practices and their impact on health, environmental pollution and culture change.

Branding - The Social Media Way : Part 1

With the advent of the Social Media, marketers have come to believe that it is the 'IT' tool for reaching their target audience in the future. With over 800 million active users on Facebook and 380 million users on Twitter, the marketers believe that Social Media as a platform provides a high Return on Marketing Investment when compared with other traditional mediums.

A report by Forrester Research indicates that by 2016, Social Media spends will grow to 26% of all advertising spends. A study by Nielsen called 'State of the media: The social media report' (Q3 2011) found out that nearly 4 in 5 active internet users visit social networks and blogs. Also, 53% of active adult social networkers follow a brand. Another finding was that Social Networking apps are ranked no. 3 on the most used list for U.S. smartphone users.

Another study done by Charlene Li and Ben Elowitz (in July 2009) analyzed various brands based on their presence on different social media channels including Blogs, Branded Communities, Discussion forums and External social networks like Facebook, Twitter etc. This was followed my measuring the engagement levels of customers across these social media channels and find the engagement levels of these brands per fan. Based on their research they found that Starbucks was the best global brand in Social Media followed by Dell. These researchers also developed a framework for profiling these brands based on customer engagement and no. of channels used.

Engagement profiles of Brands

The four profiles are classified as follows:

1. Mavens: Above average engagement score. Present on seven or more channels. Robust strategy and dedicated teams for social media.
2. Butterflies: Lower than average engagement scores. Present on seven or more channels. Tend to invest in few channels while ignoring other channels (being inactive).
3. Selectives: Higher than average engagement scores. Present on six or fewer channels. Lightly staffed social media initiatives.
4. Wallflowers: Below average engagement scores. Present on six or fewer channels. Have ventured recently in this area and are testing things through a few channels.

Another thing done by these researchers was looking at the financial performance of the brands observed  in Q4 ’08, Q1 ’09, Q2 ’09 and Q3 ’09. The conclusion was that the higher the engagement of the brands were, the higher the financial performance was. Mavens were found to have sustained strong revenue and margin growth despite the economic slowdown. It was also found out that social media reach alone caused a positive impact for a brand as more touch points caused a ripple effect for the brand. The authors also suggested that deep engagement in less number of channels could also prove to be an effective and successful strategy.

Financial returns for the brands with the above profiles

 The above results are indicative and not conclusive, but this surely tells that every brand should operate with a concrete strategy and not lie in the south-west portion of the brand profile map.

According to The Virtue, McDonald's has slipped from 32 to 62 to 66 from 2008 to 2010 on the list of Top Social Brands. In the next post on this topic, we'll talk about McDonald's current engagement strategies to help it jump back to a higher stead on the Top Social Brands index.

A Revealation---The power of a brand

Today I would like to share an interesting fact about a research that was conducted on pre-school children which clearly depicts the power of a brand.The food and beverage industries spend more than $10 billion each year to market to children in the US. One of the goals of marketing is branding to encourage children to recognize and differentiate particular products and logos.

In this study, researchers studied the food and drink preferences of more than 60 preschool children. They offered them a portion of a hamburger, a Chicken McNugget, McDonald’s French fries, 1% milk or apple juice, and two baby carrots in McDonald’s packaging and in matched but plain packaging.They found that children were six times more likely to prefer chicken nuggets when they were presented in McDonald’s packaging; and were three times more likely to prefer French fries when in McDonald’s packaging. Preschoolers with more TV sets in their homes and children who ate at McDonald’s more often were more likely to prefer foods and drinks they thought were from McDonald’s.

So one can say that marketers are doing a lot to attract children from their young age so that they can create an association with them which in turn would make them loyal towards the brand once they grow up.

But the big question remains that is it justified to promote fast food like this? Shouldn't they come up with more healthier options specially when it comes to attracting preschoolers and kids.

On the other hand we can attribute the phenomenal success of Mc Donald's to their marketing strategies that are so well defined and properly targeted to the right audience...

Who is the global winner? McDonald's or Subway?

Which company can go global? Answer is simple.... whose product is global.... Fast food category is not an exception.... Where fast food is the need of whole world nowadays, players in this industry must play in different markets to survive in the competition. So, the major players like McDonald's, Subway, Domino are doing. All the giants are expanding rapidly worldwide, providing best quality product changing recipe as per country and being a best distributor.

I have got some data to point out some findings this time. Wall Street Journal reports of this year shows that at the end of last year, Subway had 33749 restaurants worldwide, whereas McDonald's had 32737. Subway believes some of its success is due to their private ownerships.They say that it enables them to focus on the product, quality, restaurants and not on the other things associated with a public company.

Subway v/s McDonald's

McDonald's is still a leader if we consider sales in terms of revenue. When asked on this, they say that they remain focussed on listening to and serving their customers and are committed to being better, not just bigger.  On the other hand, Subway is rapidly expanding its international operations and The Wall Street Journal reports that it expects its number of international restaurants to exceed its domestic ones by 2020. Subway expects one of its biggest new markets to be China where it is planning to increase from 199 restaurants to more than 500 by 2015. Subway is also known for opening outlets in non traditional locations, so McDonald's has been known to serve different customers differently.

Figures may depict any player as a winner, say in terms of outlets, or revenues or just profits. But, only thing we can say that winner will the one who will continue to win the hearts of their customers through their stomachs!!!!

Cafe Coffee Day- the preferred medium for alternative marketing needs

Cafe Coffee Day has successfully executed a number of campaigns for various brands across a wide spectrum like FMCG, white goods, telecom, education and many more categories to meet their brand objectives and thus has proved to be a strong alternative to conventional media properties.

The opportunity to get the brand message across to customers in a very subtle yet effective method is limitless. From large wall spaces which can attract the customer with eye catching brand messages to 3D table stickers, to branded tissue papers, the list is endless. CCD is also trying to continuously innovate and offer the best possible options to create a successful campaign.

CCD offers the option to deliver a well rounded brand experience if the youth happens to be the target customer of the brand. The leveragable strengths of CCD:

Vis-a-vis reminder medium

• Lucrative base of 3 million young consumers (15-30 yrs). No other reminder medium can boast of such a focused TG delivery.

• Distribution: 800+ cafes spread across 120+ cities which includes tier 2 as well as tier 3 towns as well. A definite advantage compared to medium like Radio and Cinema.

• Dwell time: Though other mediums could talk of higher time spent on the medium, ad communication is much limited to a few seconds. Vis a Vis communication is effective for the complete dwell time at CCD.

• Engagement: Trials, customized communication.

Vis-a-vis below-the-line medium

• Focused TG (as against mall activations or road shows).

• Uninterrupted OTS, due to high dwell time and continuous visibility of communication, thus least opportunity of consumers to switch communication.

• Captive audience, as against other diversions at malls or road shows. There are no attention diverters and the audience is in a relaxed state of mind and open to engaging with the communication.

HIGHLIGHTS

ITC- Fiama Di Wills/VivelCampaign

Objective: to sample the product to a filtered young Sec A/A + potential buyer

Touch Points in cafes: High impact and involvement driven, Tent Cards, CRM forms, Walls, Standees

Visibility: High impact intersections like Wall, Standee, Tent Cards. As soon as the customer sits down, he/she is handed over a Vivel/Fiama gift hamper by the team member and requested to fill up a CRM form. The CRM forms are collected in the drop box kept on the counter.Number of Samples given out for Vivel/Fiama, in three phases: 2 Lakh

Metro Now Campaign

Theme : Soapbox

A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech

CCD Activation:

10 cafes, high on student footfalls chosen for the promotion where CCD consumers would be invited to come up, stand on a soap a box and ”Give Gyaan”

Topics chosen:

• “Old enough to get married have a child but not old enough to Drink??”

• “Safe Premarital sex v/s moral issues”

• Age - 43 SRK is the superstar & heartthrob of the youth…??

• “Love at first sight”

The schedule was announced on tent cards, leaflets, danglers and standees in 40 cafes in Delhi/NCR. A professional MC conducted the event at all the 10 cafes. The best views won prizes and got aired on Metro Now.

CCD offerings for campaigns and promotions

ON THE TABLE- Stickers and Tent cards

WITH THE FOOD- Side Menu Card

CONTESTS- Contests have been activated through leaflets/contest forms given out with the menu-card /bill folders. Drop boxes, which also add to prominent visibility, are used to collect all entries to the contest

ON THE WALL- The most imposing branding option within a cafe for visual communication with minimal amount of text.

SAMPLING- The surest way to reach your filtered TG reducing all clutter costs. For example, to communicate soya milk re-launch and communicate its benefits Heshey’s Soya Milk samples were distributed after billing customers in 60 cafes in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The collaterals used were 3D table stickers and standees. About 5 lakh samples were dispensed over a period of one month.