Communications and Branding Strategy In the Target Markets section, we go into great detail about the two Canadian markets we feel would be best beneficial to focus on. The nature of our convenience foods is that we can successfully combine the need for quality food and the need for that food to be available whenever it is convenient for the consumer. Because of this, we have identified our target markets as aspiring families and degree seeking students. With the tendency of Canadians to prefer quality over price and the increase of Canadian citizens having to battle between work, family, and play, these two facts alone provide a solid basis of both branding White Castle in Canada and customizing our communications to successfully reach and grab our consumers. Using all of the research we conducted on Canadian lifestyles and consumer behavior, and by focusing on our desire to successfully penetrate and serve the Canadian market, we have devised the following brand positioning statement to focus on our customers and successfully articulate the promises we are making them: To the degree seeking students and aspiring families in Canada, White Castle seeks to provide many different options of convenience food that not only satisfies your desire for quality in the food you eat, but solves the day-to-day issues of fitting meal times into a sometimes unyielding schedule. In that, we will provide our signature convenience food options while also offering custom menu options to satisfy your desire for a colorful menu and the desire to have healthier food options available. In this statement we focus on certain appeals that prove to be growing trends in Canadian consumer behavior. The first is the appeal to a “colorful� menu. The term colorful simply means that the menu provides a variety of food options not typical of a fast food restaurant. We plan on using the Laughing Noodle restaurant prototype located in Springfield, Ohio as the restaurant and menu design for our Canadian restaurants. The Laughing Noodle prototype not only
provides a sleek and convenience oriented interior design, but the menu offers dishes like customized salads, creative soups, and pasta sides. This leads into our second appeal to Canadians wanting healthier food options, even as fast food. Data collected and analyzed by Massive Health, the creator of the Eatery app offered in Canada, showed that a majority of their Canadian users choose and enjoy healthy dishes and international foods1. Regarding the promotions and product aspects of the marketing mix, we plan on making several changes to the marketing plan used in the United States. First, the product offerings are going to be slightly different than what is served in the US. In addition to using the prototype of the Laughing Noodle restaurant that offers a more colorful and healthy menu, we are going to offer signature Canadian dishes like a healthier version of poutine (basically French fries, cheese, and gravy). Regarding promotions, we are going to capitalize on what White Castle marketing has already achieved in the US. By allowing their customers to self-identity as “Cravers�, they are creating a relationship between the brand and the consumer. The consumer not only loves and buys the food, but identifies as a repeat buyer of the brand. We are going to use this promotional and branding tool in Canada, as well. By focusing on the word Craver in print ads, on food packaging, and television/radio commercials, we will get the consumers in the habit of selfidentifying as a craver. Because of what we are continuing and what we are changing regarding the marketing mix, we are using a product adaptation, communication extension method to penetrate the Canadian market. With communications, following the Canadian trends of a major increase in social media usage, White Castle will rely heavily on creating and updating social media pages on Facebook and Twitter and increasing search engine optimization on the search
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The Eatery app by Massive Health is not marketed as a healthy food app, but simply an app where one can share picture and text updates on what they are eating. This fact shows that their users and the data they receive are not biased to those who only download the app for healthy food purposes.
site Google. This is a very cost efficient way of reaching our customers. Also, we plan on creating a print ad campaign focusing on metropolitan areas and the areas around college campuses. We also plan to locate restaurants in those areas. Using media research in Canada, we plan on pinpointing the times and channels those in are target market are most likely to watch television (the primary assumption would be around lunch time and after 9pm) and launching a television ad campaign to reach consumers.