Eating out has become a real threat to your wallet, lately.
As well as a lot of concerns is raised about the quality of the food served, its source, its hidden cost such as impact on environment.
The two issues are creating serious troubles for restaurant and for restaurant chains.
In two separated posts on MPdailyfix, Ted Mininni and Andrea Learned write about McDonalds’ and Chipotle reaction to the issue.
McDonalds’ is launching, across the States, the bigger, premium burger nationwide at 4.00 usd.
On the other side Chipotle announced that it will sponsor free screenings of the newly released documentary film, Food Inc.
As written in the comments to Ted’s post, my point about McDonalds’ is
a) McDonald’s offer is unrespectful of any of the arising question about the impact of red meat on the environment
b) if Americans would reduce a little their red meat consumption, the entire world could benefit in terms of less CO2 emission
c) if you offer that amount of meat at half the price of your competitors, I suspect that we can have a lot of concerns about how cows are breed and the trend about animals fair breeding is a fast growing one.
From my point of view it may make sense for people still not into these consideration but on the other side they should move quickly to something more sustainable.
And this launch of the ‘bigger, premium’ burger nationwide” is not the answer.
It’s an old economy tactical answer to the current economic situation.
I’m not saying that all the world should turn vegetarian, but I’m saying that we must go back to a different approach to food, more responsible and consistent.
Chipotle, where personally I have never had the chance to eat, is tackling the issue from a totally different perspective: “By inviting its customers to see the ugly truth, Chiptole is walking its talk of a responsible and healthy food movement.” as Andrea write. The ugly truth is the movie Food,Inc. a movie very critic, to say the least, about the food industries. I urge you to visit the website and watch the trailer.
Where’s the benefit of this approach?
a) Acknowledging (and embracing) the fact that they are on a journey* toward a greater goal
b) Choosing to rise above the competition by being an industry educator
c) Creating a unique position from which defend better margins
My take is that if Chipotle was in Italy, there won’t be any competition between the two as my personal choice.
But, if it was up to you? What will it be your choice?
The much revered Sun-Tzu’s Art of war was the bible of business school and businessmen for the last 20 years.
The book is fascinating.
The description of strategy and tactics to implement the strategy is detailed and narrated with reference to real events of the life and career of the Chinese general.
Being a book about war, it is pervaded by a natural aggressive behaviour. As a consequence, the translation into a business book brought this behaviour along.
Target and other military terms walked with us for all these years in advertising business, too.
Until the communication was top down, from the brand to the target, fair enough, but now that we want to establish a conversation with customers, well, it’s time for diplomacy and the art of listening.
That’s why it’s time to say goodbye to Sun-Tzu, thanks him for the support given in these years, and look for Madame du Deffand, the French lady whose salon was renowned as the place which gave birth to the art of conversation.
And being able to have a conversation, required another strong effort to businessmen, used to talk and not to listen: to be informed of what’s going on outside your office, to be immersed not in the paper on your desk but in real life of your customers and prospects. You have to talk about something that really matters to people and it may not be necessarily your brand as first step. But it pays dividend.
There are words that had changed their meaning as time pass by.
And there are words that are changing it or that are just on their way to do so.
One of this may be awareness.
In marketing and advertising, awareness is the indicator of how known is a brand, a product.
Some equation:
a) The higher the adv. budget, the higher the awareness.
b) The higher the awareness, the easier to sell a good.
The quest for awareness has been the engine of the advertising world in the last, say, 30/40 years, maybe more, and the pillar of the marketing activities.
Today, I would like to suggest a new meaning in marketing for the word awareness.
Awareness as understanding, insight, knowledge.
The new awareness related to the Web 2.0 and social media that companies must develop not through massive adv. investment but through a real comprehension of their inner strenghten and weakness, of the inner nature of their brands and products, and more and more crucial the true perception and sentiment of the common people towards you, your company, your brand.
A time consuming scanning process, someone may say.
A wise investment, I would call it.
This is, to me, the awareness that companies should look for because it’s via this awareness that they can enter in markets more and more fragmented with a discerning approach.
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