Advantages. An icon, rather than just shoes. Nike shoes are fashionable and technologically advanced, designed specifically for the particular sport activity: running, football etc. Give consumers the feeling of freedom and winning.
Benefits. Nike shoes facilitate sports activities and give the sense of winning. Nike fashion shoes are always trendy and come in different styles, while sports ones are always based on the latest technology developments. They are comfortable to wear and can be used for several occasions.
Nike is more than just shoes, but a lifestyle. They are “designed for sport, crafted for life”. The brand targets all age categories with the mission “if you have a body you are an athlete”. Its promise is to provide the means for their customers to reveal physical abilities in full. The new marketing campaign “Secret Tournament” promotes multifaceted customer approach instead of pure advertising. Numerous campaigns with famous athletes promote the image of an achiever, support competition and winning.
KFC uses environmentally friendly packaging to emphasize sustainability efforts. Their restaurants provide a relaxing and modern atmosphere. KFC claims to use only fresh ingredients for meal preparation. They introducing several menus diversify meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. KFC specializes in chicken based food; however, it customizes the menu based on the region and consumer preferences (e.g. vegetarian). Moreover, its product line includes several healthy meals, such as Grilled Chicken.
EasyJet is a British low-cost airline company, which promotes cheap and convenient travelling opportunities. The company’s vision is to “paint Europe Orange”, thus expanding services even further. Although providing low-cost and no frills services, EasyJet emphasizes superior customer service and safety control. Unlike the main competitors, EasyJet is not limiting its operations to the private traveller, but expands the target market into business segment. It aims to expand and optimize its network, to provide more frequent connections to passengers and link all the popular destinations into their network. One of their competitive advantages is flying to the main airports, which makes it easier for the customers to get to their final destination.
While in the case of Nike and EasyJet, brand image has been clearly communicated to the customers, creating no discrepancies in perception, KFC is struggling to convey their ideas. KFC is perceived as a fast food restaurant, which provides unhealthy fried food. Although some of the current rebranding strategies attempt to change consumer perception, it is not very easily done in the short-run, especially for such a strong brand like KFC. Branding team could use the information about the difference between the communicated and perceived company image for further strategy definition. Thus, for example, it is possible to create a brand extension of KFC, similar to McCafe, which would no longer be viewed as low-quality and unhealthy. Marketing team can emphasize more the use exclusively of trans fat-free oils from 2007 and various cooking techniques, as alternatives to frying. It can print the nutrition value of the products on the packs, providing a comparison with previous rich in fat versions. Promotion campaigns can also include demonstrating the cooking methods, by inviting customers to visit KFC kitchens, making the preparation process in the restaurants visible and creating ads, demonstrating company’s commitment to healthier product design.
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