Jesters Pies

The report examines an in depth analysis of the Jesters Pies and its brand equity in the market. The report also looks at the brand associations of the product through which it is being recalled by the consumer. Interviews will be taken by consumers of Jesters Pies in order to get an understanding of the brand association. This will show what consumers feel, think and do with the brand. The report will also look at the elements that make the brand up and make it was it is which includes the logo, URL , name and slogan. This is an important part of a company because if these elements aren’t used in a correct way then there is a higher chance the brand won’t be as successful. Having an effective name, logo and slogan can have a huge effect, just look at Nike and their ‘tick’ symbol. The third part of the report will focus on the Jesters marketing programme. This includes an analysis on the product, pricing, communication and distribution of the brand. This is more about how the company operates in actual business rather than what the consumers think about the brand of the company. Finally to wrap the Jesters report up recommendations will be made to the CEO of the company. These will be based on the consumer knowledge and marketing evaluation. These recommendations will be made so the company can use them in the future to help improve their business and overall brand. Company Profile Jesters are a franchising company in New Zealand who are specialist in making and selling pies. Their menu ranges from the traditional Beef Pie to the not so traditional Spud Delux. Their company motto sums them up pretty well; â€Å"serious about pies†. Jesters are New Zealand wholly owned and managed Pie Company. However the first original concept of it was started in Perth in 1997 when the idea of making the finest, healthiest pies in the market, was first created. Jesters pride their Jaffle Pie range to be of good quality, fresh, taste and health. Jesters are located in four cities nation wide which includes Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin. With the first being opened in 2002 at Lynn Mall shopping centre. The business is spreading fast with 34 stores being opened in Western Australia and many more planned. The reason for success Jesters feel is because of the niche $1 billion fast food industry, which they feel, is growing fast. Also because of the uniqueness of the brand and products for sale are new and interesting for the consumer. With over 15 varieties of pies Jesters feels there is something for everyone. The company also caters for your family or a party along with the sit in restaurant layout. The company promises to the customer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ you’ll never stop at one!† (Jesters, about Jesters, 2007) Analysis of Marketing Mix Product Jesters Pies is a unique company in the New Zealand market. Even though the product they are selling is just a pie, which can be brought from any bakery, it is the first to sell them in a fast food style restaurant. Jesters Pies offers 15 varieties of pies which appeal to a wide variety of customers. This is important because you want to cater to as many people as possible so you get more customers. Jesters also diverse their product from other pies by confidently saying that theirs are the healthiest and finest in the market. Another attribute of the pies is that the filling is low fat, lean meats and fresh vegetables, which you probably couldn’t say about your local bakery pie. The final attribute of the product is no artificial colourings, preservatives and MSG are used. This is a good look for the product as it has become so important for consumers in recent times to eat healthy, fresh food (Jesters Pies, 2007). Price Pricing is very important for a brand as it can create associations in the mind of the consumer. It can also be used to build brand equity. So a company needs to price its products correctly in order to get the most out of the consumer. Jesters’ pies are ranged from $3.50 to $4.10. With the $3.50 pies being the classic beef, mince and bacon and egg and the more expensive pies are the fancier ones with more ingredients such as the Popeye which contains spinach mushroom and feta. The pricing strategy they have I feel is good as the consumer gets what they are paying for. The pies are more expensive than the bakery, but are of much better quality and better ingredients are used. Distribution Channel Distribution can have a huge effect on the equity and success of a brand. Distribution is so important because it is the process of getting the product to the consumer. Jesters use a direct channel method to distribution where they sell their product straight to the consumer through their stores. This is probably the most effective way for a brand like Jesters .Jesters Pies stores can be found around New Zealand and in some parts of Australia. They are located in four cities in New Zealand. However all the stores in the Auckland area are found a long way out from central Auckland, with only one store being located in the CBD. However they do have stores located throughout the country so their distribution is pretty good. Promotion/Marketing Communication Promotion and marketing is very important for almost every brand in any industry. Without it you would not be able to get your product into the market and gain awareness from your potential consumers. Jesters have not done a huge amount of advertising that we could recall or find. From what we did find was mostly advertising for magazine and billboards. This could be one reason for the fact that their brand awareness amongst consumers is not very strong. Television is the strongest form of media and is the best for developing a brand image and creating awareness. However even without this the brand seems to be getting more popular which could be put down to things such as word of mouth. With a bit more promotion and marketing the brand could become very popular as it is a unique fast food outlet. Brand equity for Jester Pies Brand equity is an intangible asset that depends on associations made by the consumer. There are various perspectives from which to view brand equity. Brand equity just does not include the value of the brand, but it also includes the value of proprietary technologies, patents, trademarks and other intangibles like manufacturing know how (article 1). So in case of jesters pies, jesters jaffle pies are not oven baked like traditional pie, but they are cooked in a unique jaffle pie makers using ultra-thin light puff pastry and finest quality natural ingredients. Therefore the the difference in technical know how adds to the brand equity of the product. (article2.) Another way to measure the brand equity is the financial aspect of the brand. In this case one way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that the brand commands over a generic product. In case of jester’s pies, the pies are priced at $ 3.40 which is normally higher than most of the pies in the market place. As jesters pies have positioned itself as a quality product and people are also willing to pay more for a quality product, it commands high brand equity. Brand equity also represents the added value endowed to a particular product or a service as result of past investments in the marketing of the brand. (Article 1). In case of jesters pies it commands very good brand equity due to its advertising and promotion. Jesters pies has used three mediums of advertising that is print radio and TV. Brand equity also helps the brand to grow globally.( article 1) As jesters pies is a successful brand in Australia, it can use its good brand equity to expand further in new Zealand and other countries as well. Brand Associations These are the things that consumer relates or associate when they think about the brand. It can be how the brand makes them feel, what they think of the brand, what comes to their mind when they think of the brand or even what they do with the brand. The interviews were limited as we only interviewed four people, however the information we got back was good as all consumers had pretty similar answers. This shows that the consumers are all getting similar associations with the Jesters Pies brand. From the answers to the interviews we came up with the following brand associations. †¢ People are aware of the jesters pies because of its logo and the colours used in it. †¢ Most of the people when asked about jesters pies, they have a positive response like, ‘good quality for the price’. So they provide incredible value for money by giving fresh, quality natural ingredients. They also provide fresh vegetables, lean meats and guarantee every pie meets health standards. †¢ People are also attracted towards jesters pies are because of the variety of the pies and value meals the company provides. †¢ People associate jester’s pie as specialised pie outlet. †¢ Most people think jesters as a healthy meal which is free of artificial flavourings, colourings and MSG. †¢ People don’t associate jester’s pie with its other products like sausage rolls, wedges, or coffee. But they feel that some changes can be made by introducing chips to the menu. Recommendations This report has analysed the Jesters Company. It has looked not only the marketing programme side but also the side of the consumer. From what we have found from looking at these components the following recommendations can be made- †¢ Firstly from what was gathered in the interviews not a lot of the consumers had seen much Jesters advertising and if they had it wasn’t very effective. Jesters should start advertising through the most effective medium, TV, this will increase brand awareness. †¢ Another recommendation follows on from the previous one. Jesters need to develop more awareness amongst its target customers. From people we have spoken to a lot of them were unaware of Jesters pies and the brand itself. In order to be successful brand awareness needs to be built up amongst the potential customers. †¢ Another issue gathered from the interviews was that the people who consumed Jesters said they were limited because of the lack of restaurants in handy locations. Perhaps to get more out there in the market they could locate some stores in key areas like around universities and more locations in the CBD