Brand Perception Is Reality for Marketers
By Robert Passikoff, President, Brand Keys
President Obama finally signed the new health care legislation, which has been blessed and damned, depending upon which side of the issues you stand.
We’d like to call attention to one of the less controversial sections of the law:Â Every restaurant chain with 20 or more outlets will now be required to put calorie counts on their menus, salad and buffet bars, and drive-thru signs, thus supplying consumers with information on how many calories a healthy person should consume each day.
The measure virtually guarantees exposure of calorie information in a uniform nature in more than 200,000 restaurants across the United States.
Loyalty Rankings in Fast Food
Consumers will see all this information over the next year, but as “perception is reality” is a marketing reality, and while we don’t specifically assess calorie counts, we thought we’d take a look at our Customer Loyalty Engagement Index to see how consumers rate restaurant chains on providing healthy food.
Specific categories notwithstanding, here’s how they ranked:
1. Subway
2. McDonald’s
3. KFC
4. Domino’s/Burger King
5. Quiznos
6. Wendy’s
7. Red Lobster
8. IHOP
9. Outback
10. Hardee’s
11. Papa John’s/Olive Garden
12. TGI Friday’s/Ruby Tuesday’s
13. Applebee’s
14. Arby’s
15. Godfather’s/Taco Bell
16. Chili’s
17. Little Caesar’s
18. Roundtable
19. Chuck E. Cheese
20. Hooters
According to experts, when people eat away from home, they eat worse, sometimes because they really don’t know what’s in the food or how many calories it contains, so the theory is that the law would affect the decisions of enough consumers to actually create a public health benefit. But however it goes, while consumers are still blessed with the freedom to choose when, what, and how much they eat when they dine out, health-care professionals recommend that you not only count your blessings but you count your calories too.
60 Second Marketer Application, from the 60 Second Marketer
Robert points out a primary truth in our business.
Consumer perception is marketing reality: Be aware of how your consumers perceive your business and strive to change it or promote it, as needed. If they hold a positive view, then by all means promote the heck out of your product’s positive side. If your consumers don’t like your product, however, then you know exactly what you need to change in your marketing tactic.
Subway, McDonald’s and KFC are in a great position to promote their healthy choices. Chuck E. Cheese  and Hooters have the choice to change their marketing tactic if they feel “healthy†is primary to their target audience – which this Editor doubts is a concern for either establishment…!
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Robert Passikoff is the President of Brand Keys, the leader in consumer loyalty and engagement metrics.
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