Brand overview

Nando’s is a popular South African restaurant chain that is credited for its special Portuguese-African food. This restaurant was founded in the year 1987 in Johannesburg and is currently operational in over 35 countries (nandos.com.au, 2020). The flame-grilled peri-peri- style chicken one of the signature dishes of the firm has captured the hearts of consumers all across the globe. The restaurant uses the Rooster of Barcelos as its logo. In the year 2010, the restaurant was named as one of the worlds top 30 hottest marketing brand by Advertising Age magazine. In addition, in the same year, The Guardian mentioned that Nando’s was a modern restaurant and the menu has changed the face of British fast food.

2. Brand target psychographic profile

Nando’s primarily targets individuals who want to enjoy the essence of a nice casual dining restaurant As the organisation is operating within the fast-food sector it mainly attracts younger crowd belonging form the age group of 18-35 (Gajanova, Nadanyiova & Moravcikova, 2019). Furthermore, the company has maintained a company has positioned its products from three generations ranging from middle to upper-middle-income sectors. It is noted that the organisation has gained a competitive edge over its competitors as they live up to the changing needs of the consumers. It is noted that eating habits of people in Australia are changing ad they are into healthier food options, therefore, the company as per the behavioural segmentation has targeted people belonging to a healthy lifestyle for their products because their menu has numerous healthy options with low cholesterol.

As per Maslow’s Hierarchy, the company fulfils its consumer’s psychological hunger needs and then moves up in the hierarchy by fulfilling their need of belonging through its cultural attributes and warm ambience (Oved, 2017). Moreover, esteem is increased by the CSR practices of the firm. Finally, self-actualisation needs are completed by providing consumers with healthy and quality food.

3. Brand strategy and CSR/Sustainability analysis

3.1.1 Market strategy analysis

Brands	Price Proposition	Distribution	Packaging	Promotion
Nando’s	Competitive pricing strategySome of the products are prices under the skimming and market penetration strategy	Restaurant and dining servicesOnline shops for Nando’s products like Peri-peri sauces	Takeaway bags of the restaurant are made from 100% recycled paper. Vegetable-based inks are used for printing items.	Television commercials, print ads, radio commercials and moreSales promotion through special offers and discounts
Grill’d	Makes use of market penetration pricing strategyCompetitive pricing strategy	Restaurants, outlets in malls, home delivery options	The company uses recycled paper bags and boxes	Print ads, television commercialDiscounts and offers

Table 1: Marketing Strategy of Nando’s and Grill’d

(Source: Created by the learner)

3.1.2 Brand positioning Analysis

	Brand Logo and colour	Brand personality	Communication channel	Taglines
Nando’s	The logo has a red and black colour. The logo consists of a Rooster of Barcelo in black having a red heart and the brand name written in red.	Family-oriented, up-to-date, cheerful, friendly and confident	Facebook, Instagram and Twitter	“Flamed-Grilled Peri-peri chicken”
Grill’d	Red and white with the word Grill’d written at the centre	Sophistication, ruggedness, sincerity, and excitement	Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn	“burger from a better place”

Table 2: Market positioning

(Source: created by the learner)

From the above analysis, it is clear that Nando’s and Grill’d have a lot of similar operative features. Both the organisation are positioning their products as taste with quality. The comparison evaluates that in Australia both the firms have opened numerous outlets at crowded locations however Nando’s is able to attract more consumers due to its healthy food menu (Widaningrum, Surjandari & Sudiana, 2020). In addition, Nando’s has extended its distribution to an international level as it has a presence in more than 35 countries. Both the firms make use of TV commercials, print ads and other similar marketing tactics.

In the context of brand positioning Nando’s brand personality focus on family-oriented, cheerful, sincere and more whereas Grill’d is focused on ruggedness, excitement, friendly and more. On considering the tagline of the brand the difference is more prominent Nando’s focus on its signature dish where’s Grill’d be more inclined towards its burger ranges.  

3.3.3 Brand CSR initiatives and sustainable outcome

	CSR initiatives	Social Values	Environmental	Economic value
Nando’s	1. It has joined hand with the volunteer-based organization in order to provide around 25,000 chicken meals to the needy.	1. assisting the starving communitiesReducing environmental stress	1. taken initiatives of green marketing2. disposable packaging made from recycled material	1 billion million British pounds in 2019 (statista.com, 2020).
Grill’d	1. supports the local community by donating every month on the sale of each burger	1. contributing actively t the local communities	1. Initiative of using paper straws2. using grass-fed beef for burgers

Table 3: CSR initiatives

(Created by the learner)

It is analysed that Nando’s is supporting the community by serving food to the needy, however, it needs to enhance its CSR initiatives and contribute more towards the society as these tactics are used by many competing firms like KFC, Tesco and more. The company has gained market importance due to its unique flavours however, it needs to work on its CSR and marketing initiatives. On the other hand, Grill’d be supporting 3 local communities through a unique consumer interactive technique which helps the company gain the loyalty of consumers (grilld.com.au, 2020).

4. Brand associative network analysis (BANA) 

Figure 1: Network mapping of Nando’s

The above-highlighted brand concept helps in evaluating the different reaches of the firm that links to individual ideas, and influences. This map helps in understanding the way every step of the company has a certain impact on the response or outcome of the consumers (Akhundova, Pimonenko & Us, 2020). The three primary consumer responses which the ma highlights are: good conscience, self-esteem and self-empowerment. These aspects of the consumers are significant for the brand and plays a vital role in gaining a competitive edge in the market. For instance, it can be seen that the brand provide value through its promotional activities, pricing and proportion size which are linked to its products further the products are linked to quality aspects. The overall process can be easily analysed with the help of this map.

The above-mentioned network map of Nando’s helps in analysing the various processes of the company that contributes towards the decision-making process of customers towards products offered by Nando’s (Zu, Duan & Gou, 2020). The brand distributes its products as its competitors through restaurant outlets in popular locations. The company makes use of a competitive pricing strategy and offers its products at reasonable rates so that it is affordable by the majority of consumer groups, therefore, it helps in fulfilling the hunger needs of its consumers. The brand has efficiently made use of Rooster as its logo which helps in creating brand recognition ad also serves as creating familiarity with Barcelo which is beneficial for boosting cultural aspects and helps in gaining the trust of consumers and also helps consumers in feeling a sense of belonging.

The brand is offering cultural value and promise of unique taste and it can be analysed by the slogan of the brand “Flamed-Grilled Peri-peri chicken” which is its signature dish.  The company is investing in the needs and self-actualisation of the consumers by investing in healthy food options which is one of the increasing trends in the Australian public. Due to rising health issue and increasing problems of obesity majority of the public is inclined towards healthy food options, therefore, focusing on the need of the consumer is important for Nando’s (Sainsbury et al., 2020). The company tries to provide a warm and cheerful ambience for its consumers so that their dining experience can improve significantly. These delightful advertisements help in gaining the attraction of younger consumers and builds in satisfaction, trust and confidence which further increases self-esteem (Roberts, 2018).

5. Strategy recommendations

Nando’s has received immense appreciation for its marketing initiatives, however, given the fact that it is an international brand that provides its service in 35 different countries, it is necessary that the firm should take the initiative of improving its social presence. With the increasing concept of internet and smartphones, the need to maintain social image is increasing worldwide. It is noted that presently the brand is not associating much in social media especially in Australia. Therefore, it is suggested that the company should try to make use of video blogs and make videos for YouTube. The company can take advantage of this channel in order to provide consumers with information regarding the way they are preparing healthy food. In addition, attractive food pictures with trending hashtags on other social profile can help in attracting the attention of younger crowds (Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch, 2017). Furthermore, customer stories and experiences can be shared through social media which allows consumers to feel more associated with the brand. Social media is a powerful tool that helps in connecting business to consumers in a cost-effective manner therefore, the brand should make use of this tool for further growth.

`From the above discussions, it is clear that the brand is presently lacking in its CSR initiatives and it has failed to please its consumers in its context. The food providing strategy is common and is being used by the majority of its competitors, therefore, the brand needs to come up with a more innovative idea (bighospitality.co.uk, 2020). The company takes the adequate initiative of investing in its menu options ensuring that it is able to live up to the expectations of its consumers. The company has immensely focused on healthy food and is helping consumers make the right choice. The company has made use of its advertising capabilities to create awareness regarding healthy food options. Similarly, the company should try to create more appealing CSR activities for the community. It is acknowledged that presently the organisation is spending on feeding needy and is also taking the initiative of reducing environmental stress by avoiding plastics. The brand has been credited previously for its marketing initiatives, therefore, the brand should take advantage of is strengths and promote its CSR initiative so as to make the consumer awareness regarding the sustainable practices and other initiatives of the firm. For instance, the organisation can come up with a tag line like “Food worriers” which will assist the organization in capturing the attention of its potential consumers towards its community initiatives and also encourage them to donate and be a part of this initiative.  This promotional event and campaign can also allow the restaurant to strengthen its brand image in the local community.

Referencing 

Akhundova, N., Pimonenko, T., & Us, Y. (2020). Sustainable growth and country green brand: visualization and analysis of mapping knowledge. Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 234-243.

Changing Lives. (2020). Retrieved 18 November 2020, from https://www.nandos.com.au/changing-lives

Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements of strategic social media marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126.

Gajanova, L., Nadanyiova, M., & Moravcikova, D. (2019). The use of demographic and psychographic segmentation to creating marketing strategy of brand loyalty. Scientific annals of economics and business, 66(1), 65-84.

Local Matters – Grill’d Healthy Burgers. (2019). Retrieved 18 November 2020, from https://www.grilld.com.au/about/localmatters

Nando’s launches food donation and employment programme. (2020). Retrieved 18 November 2020, from https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2020/08/21/Nando-s-launches-food-donation-and-employment-programme

Nando’s profits 2010-2019 | Statista. (2020). Retrieved 18 November 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/953085/nando-s-profits-united-kingdom-uk/

Oved, O. (2017). Rethinking the place of love needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Society, 54(6), 537-538.

Roberts, Z. (2018). Dialogicality in selected Nando’s television advertisements: A multisemiotic approach.

Sainsbury, E., Magnusson, R., Thow, A. M., & Colagiuri, S. (2020). Explaining resistance to regulatory interventions to prevent obesity and improve nutrition: A case-study of a sugar-sweetened beverages tax in Australia. Food Policy, 101904.

Widaningrum, D. L., Surjandari, I., & Sudiana, D. (2020). Discovering spatial patterns of fast-food restaurants in Jakarta, Indonesia. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 1-19.

Zu, X., Duan, R., & Gou, Q. (2020, July). Visualization Research of Sichuan Liquor Brand Personality Traits Based On Big Data Analysis. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1578, No. 1, p. 012157). IOP Publishing.