Kfc vs Nando’s Marketing Strategy

INTRODUCTION Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action.

Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand people’s wants.

It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. In this essay, we will assess the effects and outcomes of the promotion and advertizing strategies of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Nando’s. We will analyze their promotion and advertizing campaigns; their failures and successes; and lastly, what the public have to say about the two organizations. KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN Harland David Sanders was born September 9, 1890 in Indiana, USA.

The young Harland Sanders had many jobs such as a farmhand, a bus conductor, a steam boat driver, a soldier, and a salesman. Eventually he became a business man owning a petrol service station in Kentucky, one of the 52 states of the USA.

Many travelers stopped at his service station wanting refreshments and food. The Colonel saw this as a business opportunity and decided to offer food to these customers. The Colonel enjoyed making his customers happy – he was passionate about entertaining them with excellent food and superb service. His food and service was so good that he was mentioned in several newspapers around the country.

As a result he had to expand his dining room to keep up with the increase in new customers.

This ‘Customer Mania’ experience made people drive from far away just to visit the Colonel’s restaurant. KFC’S ADVERTISING STRATEGY From the onset, it is vital to gain an understanding of what an advertising strategy is, what it entails and its overall usefulness. An advertising strategy is a campaign developed to communicate ideas about products and services to potential consumers with the aim of convincing them to acquire those products and services (White, 1993).

The focus then shifts to the flexible, creative planning accompanied by in-depth knowledge of the target consumer and the methods that will be used to reach that consumer. We can thus conclude that advertising strategies are aimed at achieving three general and fundamental objectives.

Firstly, to promote awareness of a business and its products or services; and Secondly, to stimulate directly and attract competitor’s customers and finally to establish or modify the business image.

In other words, “advertisements are meant to inform, persuade, remind, influence, change opinions” (White, 1993) Shifting our attention to Kentucky Fried Chicken, we will begin by examining the one advertising strategy which has remained constant and persistent throughout the existence of the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand. “As early as 1978, Kentucky Fried Chicken advertisements focused on providing home-style wholesome meals with campaigns such as, IT IS NICE TO FEEL SO GOOD ABOUT A MEAL and KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN IS HOME” (Patton and Beckman, 1995).

Obviously such campaigns portray Kentucky Fried Chicken as the ultimate family restaurant providing great tasting, appetizing, quality family meals. Such adverts have been primarily used to target those responsible for preparing family meals, which according to Kentucky Fried Chicken management are mothers between the ages of 25-54 who still cherish the value of sharing a good meal together as a family (Patton and Beckman, 1995).

This is more important now than ever as life is busier and more demanding and due to a harried lifestyle and the fact that more women are working nowadays yet they still have the responsibility of looking after the family. As a result time is a huge constraint, limiting the amount of time a hard working woman has to slave over a hot stove after a grueling day at work. Kentucky Fried Chicken offers the convenience of a ready made home-style family meal to be enjoyed at dinner time within the comfort of your home