Will Wendy’s image prosper from a 99-cent cheeseburger?
I saw an interesting story today about Wendy’s planning to expand its 99-cent menu at a time when competitors like McDonald’s have been contemplating trimming their similar offerings.
So does Wendy’s know something that its competitors don’t? Or is this just a matter of one competitor deciding to zig while the others zag to see if it will work? Wendy’s is about to come under new management, maybe this is the old management’s last hurrah?
And what is the value to a brand, even a fast-food brand, to have low-priced items on its menu? In today’s market, when consumers are trading down and cutting back on seemingly almost all their spending, it would seem to make sense to cut prices and tout that fact in every marketing effort you put out there.
But the other side of that has been rising commodity prices that have squeezed franchise operators at McDonald’s, Burger King, and elsewhere that offer 99-cent items.
National quick-food parent companies really have to market to two audiences –consumers and the frachisees who operate their stores. The messages each of those groups want to hear may conflict sometimes, that’s when it gets interesting.
It’s getting interesting now. McDonald’s in recent years has done a good job in repositioning and reinvigorating its brand. Burger King seems to be all over the map, I’m not sure it really has a clear-cut marketing message right now. Wendy’s has faced marketing issues since its founder, a cornerstone of its image, died.
Personally I’d like to see Wendy’s do well again simply because I always enjoyed seeing it positioned as the upstart chain with the better burgers.
My wife (a marketer herself, by the way) and I were just discussing how in the late 1970s when Wendy’s was just starting its national expansion, going to a Wendy’s seemed like such a treat compared to going to McDonald’s or Burger King. I don’t think a bigger 99-cent menu will get me to feel that way about Wendy’s again. I hope the new owners find more long-term ways to rebuild that brand’s image.
Comments
Interesting take. I think of Fuddrucker's and similar places now when you talk about "The better burger". Funny, I was at a Burger King recently and was talking to my boyfriend about how in High School we used to even use coupons at places like Burger King, it was a more costly lunch. Taco Bell, we could always scrape together some change for taco bell.
All of these places, plus or minus a more tasty/preferred sandwhich, are a matter of convenience. I think the dollar/$.99 cents menu is important for all of them to have.
These fast food places are still a hangout for teenagers, and a fast cheap alternative to travelers and time crunched families. Regardless of the addition of "health conscious" items, I'll never think of them as high quality.
Posted by: Rebecca Levinson | September 9, 2008 1:59 PM