Marketing Plan Essay For Oporto Development.

Examination of 5Cs of the Company

Discuss about the Marketing Plan of Oporto Development.

Oporto is a famous Australian fast food restaurant designed with the Portuguese theme. The name “Oporto” is derived from the Porto, the second largest city of the theme country. The specialty of the restaurant is its Portuguese styled chicken. The restaurant was founded in 1986 by a Portuguese immigrant, Antonio Cerqueria in North Bondi. After arriving in Australia, he founded that he cannot find the famous home-grilled Portuguese styled chicken in the country. So he started a shop serving his family and friends Portuguese chicken with special Portuguese Chilly sauce. The philosophy of the organization was to serve simple and delicious food to family and friends. It has over 140 outlets in Australia itself and plans to build more outlets in the country. In a small duration, the restaurant has achieved phenomenal growth and carved a brand name for itself due to its philosophy of serving delicious foods at low costs. The restaurant also constantly explores new ways to increase the productivity and the profitability of the stores. In this essence, it has adopted a small format shop fronts which results in low rents and high returns. Moreover, the Oporto stores can be categorized in three types, namely, Drive Thu, Shopping Centre and the Ship Stores. It is a wholly owned subsidiary company of the largest Australian restaurant Operator, namely, Quick Service Restaurant Holdings (QSRH) (Oporto, 2017).

In order to compete with other national and international restaurant chains and the fast food companies, the company implements an inclusive marketing strategy. It includes the promotion of the restaurants as beach restaurants since the first Oporto restaurant was opened near the Bondi Beach. The logo of the company is Sun and in its promotion then company uses the breach and the surfing images. The core competency of the company is its unique Portuguese style chicken and Bondi burgers. In its marketing methods, the company uses several slogans such as “Just Gotta Go!” and “Legendary Sauce with Irresistible Forces”. Currently, it is also looking for ways to expand its business outside Australia through franchising (Oporto, 2017).

Company:

Oporto has a strong brand image in Australia. It is recognized by majority of the Australian people for its distinguished menu and taste. In this section, the internal analysis of the company is conducted to examine the key strengths and weaknesses of the Oporto.

Strengths Distinguished taste and established customer base Well-recognized brand (Koehn, 016) Competent marketing (Koehn, 2016)	Weaknesses Limited products in menu
Opportunities Growth in Australian fast-food sector Opportunities in foreign market	Threats Increased health awareness of the customers High number of competitors and substitute products (Carter, 2016)

Customers

The restaurant chain targets the customers who are young and in the middle age group. In this regard, the restaurant chain strategically places its locations nearby the office premises or the college area. It also tries to attract the younger generation by using vibrant colors and attractive posters and designs. The consumer behavior in this age group is characterized by fashion-conscious and recreational preferences. Along with it, the age group is also heavily reliant on media for consumer preferences and is brand conscious (Azam, Danish and Akbar, 2012). Oporto also tries to target the health conscious customers by adapting their products into healthy diets. It includes providing fresh and grilled chicken in contrast to frozen or fried products (Piesse, 2007).

The restaurant chain with over 106 stores in Australia and New Zealand was acquired in 2007 by Quick Service Restaurant Holdings Pty Ltd. It takes control of the media, publicity, supply chain, store design and food innovation for the company (Piesse, 2007). The restaurant chain has also joined hands with MICROS Simphony for the implementation of cloud-based, self-hosted IT solutions to increase the efficiency of the organization (QSR, 2014).

Competitors:

The major competitors of the company are other fast food chains for instance, McDonald, KFC and Hungry Jack in Australia. Other than that, the local restaurants, local fast food store, coffee shops, street vendors are also categorized as the competitors of the organization.

Context:

In the external environment, there are several factors that can impact the operations of the organization. For instance, the legal system of Australia is very strict regarding the food regulatory requirements. There are several compliance laws in Australia that ensure the health and the food product safety in the country (Otago Daily Times, 2017). Moreover, it is necessary for Oporto to adopt the technological advancements in the food industry to increase its efficiency. The restaurant chain can enhance its supply chain and the delivery system with the technological equipment. Along with it, it can enhance the transparency of information with the technology.

Quick Service Restaurant Holdings Pty Ltd manages the marketing and the publicity of the restaurant. It is the largest quick service restaurant company of Australia and looks after the marketing, supply chain and other operations of three Australian brands, namely, Red Rooster, Oporto and Chicken Treat. QSRH controls the marketing operations of the company in a combined manner. In this regard, the different sections of the department are focused on the marketing strategy of different companies. In order to examine the current social trends, desire and the opportunities of the consumers, the social media strategy is frequently used (Ward, 2015). The responses and feedbacks of the customers on the social media websites are taken seriously and this information is used to adapt the product offering according to the customer’s needs. Along with it, the company also examines the competition in the industry through various online surveys and research methods.

Collaborators

Moreover, while launching a business in a new location the company has to examine the location, locality and the businesses in the nearby locations. They play a crucial role in the sales of the restaurant. In this regard, the companies have to conduct the market research regarding the property values, local real estate listings to analyze the property values and getting estimate regarding the revenue generation in that location (Xu, 2005). The restaurant can also use the local newspapers to examine the life style of the resident and their income level. In order to examine the competition in that area, the company can check the listings of the other restaurants and can conduct an online research regarding the popularity of the competitions through their Facebook and Twitter pages.

In addition to it, the company can also conduct primary research methods for the obtaining market insight. It includes the combination of methods such as interviews, surveys, questionnaire, and focus groups. The market researchers can obtain information by conducting telephonic or face-to-face interviews, questionnaires and studying focus groups. The focus group methods refer to gathering information from potential clients through their direct feedback. Along with it, the market researchers can also observe the focus group for their specific behavior, preferences and impact of marketing campaign on their behavior. It can be deduced that the largest customer segment for the fast food industry is the youth in the millennial generation in the age group 18-34 years. This age group is driven by brand image and use online blogs and reviews before making a purchase (Schawbel, 2015). In addition, several families also prefer to visit these outlets for food at weekends. Other than that, the major competitors of the company are Ali Baba, Boost Juice, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut. The recent trend of healthy eating and food has resulted people to get attracted towards Boost Juice and similar brands. The company can tap this market segment by creating healthy options in its menu (McQuarrie, 2015).

Target Market

In the present times, the customers have embraced fast food as it fits well with the everyday life style of the young generation. However, due to the increased competition in the fast-food industry of Australia, the fast food chains and the restaurants should develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to attract a large number of customers (Blackwell, 2011).

Based on the above marketing analysis, it can be identified that the major consumer section for the company or the target market is college going and office going young generation. In addition to it, the families are also potential customers of the restaurant on weekends. The college and school goers flock around Oporto outlets due at lunch hours to get their daily meals at lunch hours. This consumer segment is driven by discounts as they have low budget and brand image. In contrast to it, the working professionals and the families are driven by healthiness of the food products. They have high disposable income; therefore, they are less concerned about the products’ prices (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2008).

Competitors

Market Segments
	Young Generation	Families/working Professionals
Age	18-35	25-50
Income	Low	Medium
Life Style	Less health conscious	Highly health conscious
Consumer Behavior	Prefer to eat during lunch hours	Families prefer to eat out at weekends

It can be identified that the busiest hours at which the school goers arrive at the Oporto outlets is lunch. They also prefer the pocket-friendly products. It can be deduced in the value proposition the customers will attract towards pocket friendly popular items. In order to attract large number of customers, it can initiate loyalty bonus and discounts for the frequent customers of the eatery (Alexander, 2014).

In the marketing strategy, Oporto can establish a market segment of working professionals by introducing healthy dishes in its menu. In this regard, the company should not lose its unique taste and authenticity of Portugal taste. It can bring more local and healthier dishes in its menu from Portugal. It will attract more customers towards the eatery as well as the customers will have higher product choices. The restaurant manager should also be considerate of the local Australian taste and adapt the product recipes accordingly (Alexander, 014).

Positioning Statement

In the successful implementation of the marketing strategy, the company should drastically seek to reposition themselves. The positioning statement of the company should be inspired by its current marketing strategy.

Positioning Statement

“The best chicken with authentic Portuguese flavor and increased variety for health conscious and chicken lovers alike” (Beloved Brands, 20015).

The marketing strategy of the company can be implemented with the use of marketing tactics and methods. The marketing mix is the use of tools and technique to pursue the marketing objectives of an organization. The marketing mix refers to the 4Ps which can be modified to change the behavior of the consumers.

Product

In regard to thee marketing strategy, the restaurant has to make some changes in its product to attract more customers. In this essence, the company should introduce items which the health conscious customers can also buy. In addition to it, increasing the variety in the menu will also increase the number of customers. The company should also include popular dishes and items from Portugal to compete with oriental restaurants (Troilo, 2015).

Price

Currently, the restaurant works at a low cost strategy. The major customers of the Oporto are the young professionals and the students. They have a limited disposable income; therefore, the restaurant should also implement the low cot strategy. Along with it, the restaurant should also implement loyalty bonus and other group purchase schemes to attract the price sensitive customers.

Promotion

In order to attract the students and the millennial generation, the company should adopt a unique promotional strategy. It includes the use of broadcast media such as television and radio advertisements. The advertisements should focus on young customers, and use the Portuguese theme and vibrant colors or sports theme to attract new customers. Moreover, the company can also promote itself with the use of loyalty cards and bonus points. In this strategy, the restaurant can asks the contact numbers of customer and their family members. Subsequently, it can use the contact details to promote new schemes and offers to the customers and extended family members. It can also use the methods of social media marketing, email marketing which are comparatively low cost; however, have a wide outreach (Troilo, 2015).

Context

Place

Since the restaurant has adopted the low cost price strategy, it should develop its outlets in busy areas of the cities such as near big markets or colleges an office premises. Before launching new outlets, the restaurant should examine the current competitors in the locality, business potential of the location and commercial potential of the area (Troilo, 2015).

Conclusion

It can be concluded that Oporto is a famous restaurant chain of Australia. The restaurant was founded in 1986 by a Portuguese immigrant, Antonio Cerqueria in North Bondi when he founded that no restaurant in Australia offer the traditional Portuguese Grilled Chicken. The company was acquired in 2007 by QSRH and it manages all it media, publicity, supply chain and store design activities. In the report, the strengths of the restaurant are identified as its authentic and unique taste. In addition to it, it has a string brand image in Australia. However, the company suffers from low product variety and heightened competition between different several fast food companies. The major competitors of the company are Ali Baba, Boost Juice, McDonalds and Pizza Hut. At present, the major consumer section of the company is students, office goers and families. However, the families frequent the restaurant at Weekends only. The major consumer sections of the restaurant are driven by discounts and the brand image. Therefore, the company should implement strategies to tap the price sensitive customers with the use of attractive promotional banners. In this regard, the marketing mix of the company should be capable of attracting a large number of customers. It has been identifies that the restaurant can increase its sales by introducing the healthy diets and products in its menu. Subsequently, the restaurant should also introduce positioning statement that delivers the company’s promotional campaigns message. In its promotional strategy, the company should use broadcast media such as television and radio to promote itself. Along with it, it should also use the distribution strategy of opening the stores with large crowd. With this strategy, the restaurant can attract a large number of customers.

References

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Oporto. (2017). Home. Retrieved 29 January 2017 from: https://www.oporto.com.au/

Otago Daily Times. (2017). Food industry holds sway over public policy: study. [Retrieved 29 January 2017 from: https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/food-industry-holds-sway-over-public-policy-study

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QSR Media. (2014). Quick Service Restaurant Holdings (QSRH) will be implementing MICROS Simphony for three of its brands. Retrieved 29 January 2017 from: https://qsrmedia.com.au/vendorsuppliers/news/quick-service-restaurant-holdings-qsrh-will-be-implementing-micros-simphony-thr

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