White Castle Essay Example for Free

White Castle Essay White Castle is known as the original fast-food hamburger chain. The first White Castle opened its doors in Witchita, Kansas, in 1921. White Castle (WC) has since grown to 393 restaurants in 11 states (White Castle hamburger , 2004) and is now expanding internationally. By analysing White Castles internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities, and external threats, otherwise known as a SWOT analysis (Kerin, 2005), Learning Team B was able to exam market demographics, company needs, trends, and market forecast as they pertain to White Castle. During the SWOT analysis Learning Team B (LTB) discovered the primary strategic marketing issue is in order to remain profitable White Castle needs to promote its unique product(s) and adapt its menu items in order to continue to appeal to the changing desires of todays consumers. The same holds trues today as it did in 1998 when William J. McDonald stated White Castle needs to continually reassess its marketing strategy, particularly its pricing and promotional activities to determine what approach will be most effective into the future. Marketing strategy recommendations A major strategy in the element of marketing is generating and maintaining brand recognition. Attaining brand recognition in the target market is a critical milestone for any branding strategy. There are many cues in the brand recognition arsenal. Typically brand building begins with aesthetic cues, the design features in a graphic or logo meant to visually represent the brand. Color, shape, texture, style, typeface, and position are among the design attributes which can offer recognition cues, making a design visually distinctive. Its the reason why, when a new logo is evaluated, recognition factors and design uniqueness are taken into consideration. According to Kim Kelly-Bartley (2001), vice president of marketing and site development for the Columbus, Ohio-based chain, summarizes, In an effort to boost brand recognition, White Castle is revamping units for only the second time in its 80-year history. An earlier change occurred five years ago, when the nations oldest burger chain celebrated its 75th anniversary. Prior to that, the chain had not changed, other than to make sure the units were clean and in good repair. The first retrofit was introduced in late July, in an existing store in Queens, N. Y. The prototype is also being tested in Chicago, St. Louis and Columbus. The chains updated look features orange accents, wood laminates and chrome finishes. Orange neon lighting, for example, encircles the restaurants dining room and accents seating. White Castles enduring (and too many customers, endearing) color scheme had been limited to blue and white. We wanted to see if you can add a color and still uphold the look. (p. 1). The process of recognition is a core component of branding. If a brand strategy doesnt employ visual or auditory cues, establishing brand perceptions and evoking memories is a lot more difficult and complicated. Without cues, the brain has to rely solely on recall to remember a brand. Boosting brand recognition is always a combination of knowing the target audience, market(s), category competition, and distribution. In order to boost brand recognition, a company must know their brands visual equity and level of current brand recognition. Finally, a company must understand what sales have been doing in their target market(s), what their strategic business goals are for increased sales, and what the budget is for increasing sales. Generating brand recognition through exposing the market to the product and promoting it heavily as well as finding promotional partners may also be beneficial. In a special Valentines Day promotion, couples who love White Castle hamburgers can dine at any of 48 White Castle fast-food restaurants nationwide participating in a special Valentines Day promotion. In comparison with some of the pricier, more upscale events held for lovers, Valentines Day at White Castle cost just 49 cents per burger to enjoy. Hostesses dressed in elegant costumes instead of the usual White Castle uniforms seat couples at cloth-covered, candlelit tables while romantic music is played in the background. The promotion is not a new invention. It debuted in St. Louis and Minneapolis about 16 years ago but was so popular it was expanded to White Castles in other Midwestern cities last year. For duos on a budget, the evening cost a whopping $6. 05 for a 10-pack of the bite-sized burgers and a small order of fries, leaving just enough money in the bank for the requisite Valentines Day bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates. Growth in competition in the fast-food market The consumer is the driving force in any highly competitive market, with his power growing ever stronger and becoming ingrained. The fast-food market is being fueled by the generation x and echo-boomers running between work, soccer, dance and other family activities with little time to spare for cooking at home. Todays consumer has more choices in variety, nutrition and value than ever before. The minimum population growth currently being experienced in the United States means that there is little new business to be had so it must be taken from others (http://www. fmi. org/media/bg/FoodRetailing. pdf). In order to compete in the fast-food market White Castle will need to give the consumer what they want. Many customers today are demanding healthier choices on menues, as well as more family friendly surroundings. Consumers are looking for family dining experiences without losing the fast-food aspect of dining out. Restraunts are starting to offer more salads and other alternatives to red meat, like chicken and fish in order to attract the more health conscience consumer (http://www. entrepreneur. com/franzone/article/0,5847,308510,00. html) . Location, location, location has been suggested as one of the most important marketing and competitive strategies. White Castle should consider expansion into new markets in new areas of the country. Proposed marketing elements What specific price, distribution, promotion, and product elements would you propose and why? Conclusion References At long last, change. (2001, September). Chain Leader, 6(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from EBSCOhost Database. Elan, E. (2006, February). White Castle offers couples a Valentine promo with heart. Nations Restaurant News, 40(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from InfoTrac OneFile Database. Kerin, R. , Hartley, S. , Berkowitz, E. , Rudelius, W. (2005). Marketing (8th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. McDonald, W. J. , (1998). Case 6 White Castle System Inc. , UOP Eresource, Retrieved April 8, 2006, from Eresource database. White Castle hamburger chain adopts DigitalPersona fingerprint authentication technology. (2004, Decemeber). Digitalpersona. Retrieved on April 9, 2006 from http://www. digitalpersona. com/company/news/releases/120804. php http://www. whitecastle. com/ Retrieved on April 9, 2006.