Franchise Money Maker

by Chris Muller
University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Everyone in the restaurant world is talking about “The Brand”—how to build one, how to nurture one, how to become one. Branding is a really sexy topic, and a whole lot more fun to discuss in public than reducing trans fats or sourcing organic chickens..

But, in reality, brand management just might be a whole lot harder to master than, say, understanding genetically modified catfish. That doesn’t seem to stop everyone from sounding like they were the ones who told McDonalds to start saying, “I’m Lovin’ It.”

A true restaurant brand is more than a great menu, cleverly designed logo, or new uniforms to match the dining room décor—even if all of these can help to create a brand in the customer’s mind. Brand equity is created inside a consumer’s head, not inside your dining room.

It’s good to remember that brand management, not unlike bio-engineering, has a theoretical basis to it. Original researchers such as professors David Aaker and Kevin Lane Keller have turned branding from an art into a practical science. Another significant writer, Jean-Noel Kapferer, in his book “The New Strategic Brand Management” (Kogan Page, 2004) offered a simple set of questions that all brand savvy managers might want to ask themselves before they jump into the next open forum on whether they have built a real restaurant brand, or are just offering a restaurant product with a good advertising campaign.

I’ve listed 10 thought-provoking issues, paraphrased from Kapferer, with follow-up questions for the restaurant brand manager. Keep in mind that this is not a “check the box” questionnaire. The discussions that these questions will create in your executive office are probably as important as the specific answers you generate. Have your team get together over coffee, and see if you feel satisfied with the responses they surface about your restaurant brand..

Restaurant Company Application of Kapferer’s Brand Identity & Building Questions

1. Why must this restaurant brand exist?
What would consumers be missing if the brand did not exist?

2. Standpoint.
From where does the brand speak (its platform)?

3. Vision.
What is the brand’s vision of the product/menu category?

4. What are our values?
What does our brand stand for, what will it do and what won’t it do?

5. Mission.
What specific mission does the brand want to carry out in its market?

6. Know-how.
What is the restaurant brand’s specific or distinctive skill set?

7. Territory.
Where can the brand legitimately carry out its mission, in which restaurant segment, which retail selling space, and what physical market location?

8. Typical products or actions.
Which menu products and actions best embody, best exemplify the brand’s values and vision?

9. Style and language.
What are the brand’s stylistic idiosyncrasies and unique competencies (trade dress, service style, logo, image, vocabulary)?

10. Reflection.
Whom are we addressing? What image do we want to render of the customers themselves? Who are we?

Chris Muller teaches on the topics of multi-unit restaurant management, branding and growth at University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. He also has worked in, created, owned or operated several restaurants over the years. His Restaurants & Institutions blog is found at www.rimag.com.

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