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May 27, 2009

Restaurant Product Naming and Branding Goes Bananas During the Recession

Restaurants are facing challenging times and are reacting by offering more for less, which results in a spin off effect on naming and branding.

USA Today reports that KFC, despite being all about "fried" chicken, has a grilled chicken option now. Pizza Hut is also offering far more than Pizza (think pasta), McDonald's is selling coffee, and Arby's now sells Roast Burgers.

Restaurants are trying to be everything to everybody. KFC's new tagline is a prime example, urging us to "Taste the unfried side of KFC," while Cheesecake Factory is selling small portions as well as "Pizzettes."

High end restaurateurs are also invading ballparks in an effort to reach customers and are all slowly coming round to using "Restaurant Marketing 2.0," appearing on food blogs, Twitter and Facebook to find hungry customers.

Sam's Chowder House even has a well named "SamCam" that shows web surfers the restaurant's view of San Francisco Bay. And brands like PF Chang's are actually surviving the recession by cutting costs and upping efficiency.

Social media, new media and marketing are the new buzz words for foodies and this means thinking outside of the box, much like Target is by selling fresh fruit and seems to be moving away from its "cheap chic" mantra.

This means that almost every single restaurant sector will be looking for new names for new products as restaurants try to enlarge their offerings and drop prices to entice customers to come en masse.

Everything we once knew about restaurant naming and branding is over. When McDonald's sells coffee, KFC grills its chicken and the guys from Nobu, an upscale restaurant that specializes in fusion cuisine, are setting up stands in ballparks, the times they are a-changing.

Technorati Tags: Restaurant Naming, Restaurant Offerings, Restaurant Branding, KFC Grilled Chicken, McDonald's Coffee, PF Chang's

Posted by William Lozito at May 27, 2009 10:53 AM
Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Food | Industry | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming | Slogans | Taglines

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