Red Rooster has launched a $2.5 million campaign to boost its market position and profile in Australia’s competitive fast food market.
Red Rooster has launched a $2.5 million campaign to boost its market position and profile in Australia’s competitive fast food market.
With its market share having plateaued in recent years, Red Rooster hopes the campaign will lift its presence by more effectively communicating its brand attributes in line with current consumer sentiment, according to Australian Fast Foods general manager marketing Leonie Anderson.
“Research told us that we were aligned with fast food, and when you are selling chicken there is an association with KFC,” Ms Anderson said.
“The association with fast food brings with it the halo of fast food that is fatty.
“We are in a mature market and everyone is fighting for share, and we need to keep up with consumer trends and to remain competitive.
“It’s no surprise that fast food companies are looking for a new position; I think fast food became boring and it needed to be reinvented.
“Consumers didn’t know about our product, and it’s a terrific story that’s never been told.”
The story, that Red Roster’s chicken is oven roasted and therefore healthier to consume, forms the basis of the corporate branding campaign.
Red Rooster’s brand tag line has been changed from ‘Australia’s Favourite Chicken’ to ‘The Real Roast Taste’.
Driving the campaign are commercials introducing new products, which include new chicken pieces, salads, and vegetables.
Extensive television coverage, produced by 303 Advertising, and a million dollar women’s magazine advertorial campaign that started this week are scheduled to run until the end of September.
Providing innovative food solutions in-store was another part of the repositioning strategy, according to Ms Anderson.
Contemporary menu boards have been installed at Red Rooster’s 300 stores nationally, offering consumers the option of mix-and-match menu items. For example, consumers can choose potatoes or chips to accompany the roast chicken.
Red Rooster’s marketing has become outdated, according to 303 Advertising managing director Jim Davies.
“There has been a major shift in food marketing by the likes of McDonald’s and Subway and we’ve entered a new phase of marketing take away food,” he said.
Mr Davies said the campaign was focused on a predominately female demographic between the ages of 25 and 39.
Men over 40 currently comprise Red Rooster’s core market.
“They should be taking away KFC’s share, not losing it,” Mr Davies told WA Business News.
“Consumers think the product is no different to KFC’s, but it is; it’s oven roasted so the fat comes out. It’s not cooked in fat so that more fat is added to the food.”
Mr Davies said the new positioning was making the brand more relevant to today’s consumers.
303 Advertising was recruited to develop the Red Rooster campaign after The Brand Agency resigned from the account in controversial circumstances last month.
Australian Fast Foods also owns Chicken Treat, and according to Ms Anderson there will be some changes taking place for that brand later this year.
