Brand Positioning of Nando's

This essay discusses the brand positioning of Nando's, a popular restaurant with a global presence, and how it has positioned itself in the Singapore fast food market. It analyzes its marketing and branding strategies, target audience, and unique selling proposition. The essay also uses Keller's Brand Equity Model to further analyze the brand identity and positioning of Nando's.

Running head: BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
Brand positioning of Nando’s
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1BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
Brand positioning refers to the way target customers of a particular sector would
prefer a specific company over others; in other words, brand positioning implies the factors
that provide a company competitive edge over brands in the same field (Maarit Jalkala and
Keränen 2014). Essentially, the purpose of brand positioning is to ensure that all the activities
pertaining to the brand are in accordance with a common goal and that this goal takes into
account the customer’s preferences to opt for the brand in question (Sirianni et al. 2013).
There are a few components of brand positioning which must be discussed in relation to a
particular company – its uniqueness or distinctiveness, which separates it from its
competitors, how appealing it is to its niche market, the originality and the appropriateness of
the product, the sustainability of the brand, the achievement of financial goals and its
adherence to dominant geographic markets (Singh, Kalafatis and Ledden 2014). The
following essay attempts to study the brand positioning of one of the most popular restaurants
with a global presence – Nando’s.
Nando’s was founded in Johannesburg in the year 1987 by two friends Robert Brozin
and Fernando Duarte; the vision behind the company was to provide exemplary quality of
chicken to the customers, coupled with exceptional customer service. The company aims to
be one of the best chains in the world, by providing the best peri peri chicken at affordable
rates. The company has proved its sustainability through consistency in terms of flavor and
value, and is spread out over thirty five countries with seven hundred restaurants, including
one in Singapore ("Nando's Singapore" 2018). Today, Nando’s is reputed as being one of the
fastest growing chains and the house of the flamed peri peri chicken. However, Nando’s did
not come this far or achieve the success it has achieved today overnight; there are several
competitors in the Singapore fast food market, including KFC and Hard Rock Café. In order
to understand why a certain segment of people would prefer Nando’s over other brands, one
needs to understand their marketing and branding strategies.

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Nando’s prime objective is to devise a marketing and branding strategy that would
present it as a casual and unique dining restaurant, which promises an inimitable experience
at each of its outlets. The company is founded on the notion that a brand must be intrinsically
connected to the community it is catering to; for example, in Singapore, the marketing and
positioning strategy has been such that the brand image of the restaurant has an intimate
connection with the values and traditions of the local community. As a matter of fact, the
décor and the styling of the outlets are also in accordance with the surrounding communities.
Before understanding the branding strategy, it is important to have an idea of the
consumer profile, or the target market, so as to understand their buying preferences
(Solomon et al. 2014). One of the most important aspects of the branding strategy is to
understand the segmented market that each community has. It would do well to remember
that no two individuals can have the exact same tastes and interests. Thus, analysis of the
market and target audience would help Nando’s position their brand effectively (Urde and
Koch 2014). The Nando’s restaurant aims to sell its products to a males and females between
the ages of eighteen and thirty five. The Nando’s menu has dishes which have different price
rates, ranging from casual dining to even fast food rates. Thus, it would be safe to say that
Nando’s would have a branding strategy aimed at middle income groups; in other words,
the owners want to portray the restaurant as a place that would be appropriate for youngsters
or families looking to have a casual dinner with their loved ones. Also, all the dishes on the
Nando’s menu have been crafted with care and passion, so that it is the first name to come to
mind when locals in Singapore think of casual dining experiences. In addition, the dishes are
also claimed to be healthy, meaning that only nutritious items have been used in the
preparation of the dishes. This was done keeping in mind the fact that people in Singapore
tend to be conscious about the fast food they consume and would prefer to eat out at
restaurants that offer healthy food items.

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(Figure: Brand positioning of Nando’s)
(Source: Author)
The above figure shows the brand positioning map of Nando’s. Nando’s is positioned
as offering great taste at affordable prices while Hard Rock Café and KFC, its chief
competitors, are positioned as offering great tastes at extremely high rates and moderate taste
and affordable rates respectively. There are seven main factors that have helped Nando’s
position itself as one of the top names in the fast food industry in Singapore. It is positioned
as the inventor of the flamed peri peri chicken (along with other innovative dishes involving
chicken); plus, it boasts of a Mozambique or Portuguese cuisine. Moreover, Nando’s presents
itself as an affordable brand where anyone, irrespective of their income statuses, can go and
have a gala time (Kumar and Steenkamp 2013).
One, Nando’s has a very strong online presence; keeping in mind their target
audience, it was imperative for the brand to increase their marketing and advertising
strategies online. Analysis shows that very few brands have been able to effectively utilize
social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter the way Nando’s has (Smit 2017). For
instance, the brand has over three million followers on the social media platform and data

4BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
analytics show that at least 34 per cent of these followers follow their posts on a daily basis.
Moreover, Nando’s launches a number of campaigns on social media, all of which can help
lure in more audiences. For example, Nando’s recently ran a campaign titled Finger Selfies;
such campaigns ask the customers to share their own personal experiences at Nando’s while
on site itself. Such activities not only generate more revenue but also increase the brand’s
popularity; plus, they help the brand to connect with the millennial generation who form a
chunk of their target market.
Two, Nando’s’ has mastered the art of public relations; the responsibility of the PR
wing of any company is to open up lines of communication between the brand and the
general public, so as to pave the way for harmonious relations between the two parties. The
management at Nando’s has portrayed the brand as an expert storyteller; every outlet of
Nando’s has a certain story behind it. Similarly, several campaigns are organized by the
brand that strikes a chord with the public; these campaigns could be through social media,
television advertisements or on site (Roberts 2018). Irrespective of the kind of campaign in
question, they all highlight the storytelling aspect of the brand.
Three, over the course of time, Nando’s has obtained a very distinctive brand
personality, which none of its competitors have been able to achieve. There is a certain
“cheekiness” in the brand image that Nando’s has successfully created, which have been
inculcated by the owners themselves (Pritchard, Van der Waldt and Conradie 2017). This is
very different from the image portrayed by Hard Rock or even KFC. Hard Rock may even be
classified as a fine dining experience – it is sophisticated, elegant and meant for people with a
distinct taste. On the other hand, KFC has a very casual ambience, which is commonly found
in fast food outlets. On the contrary, Nando’s has a very lighthearted and humorous
atmosphere at each of its outlets (Irwin 2015). For example, the official twitter account of
Nando’s has reportedly sent out a number of witty and entertaining posts; additionally, their

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slogans, like “wipe that smile on your face”, which is printed on napkins is sure to endear the
customers instantly (Nando’s Singapore 2018). As a matter of fact, the brand has repeatedly
made of use of political satire as an effective means of going viral (Botha 2014).
Four, Nando’s has garnered the support of several brand advocates; the Nando’s
marketing team has ensured that the brand is positioned in such a way that it is repeatedly
mentioned a number of times on numerous platforms like television and radio, which
strategically etches them into the minds of the customers. Their widespread presence is
probably one of the major reasons why Nando’s happens to be the most popular fast food
chain in Singapore and across the globe. Also, the company employees act as advocates for
the brand, promoting it wherever they go. Word of mouth advertising has been found to
have a profound impact on the way brands are viewed; a customer is more likely to trust the
opinions of their friends and loved ones than advertisements on media platforms.
Five, Nando’s has an exclusive policy that creates ripples of intrigue and mystery
amongst their target audience. For example, they have introduced what is known as the black
card; holders of the black card, along with four of their friends, would be allowed to have free
chicken for an indefinite period of time. The existence of such a card is wrapped in enigma,
because the brand never confirmed it. Yet, it fuelled the customers’ interest and even some of
the celebrities have reportedly approached the brand to get hold of the black card. Such stunts
along with guerilla marketing have secured Nando’s’ brand position at the top (Behal and
Sareen 2014).
Six, Nando’s has come up with an exclusive secret menu that is reserved for their
fans and top customers; this has proved to be a great marketing tool for many companies in
the past, and Nando’s is no exception. Such a stunt immediately piques the interest of the
customers and they would be scurrying to make it to the list of exclusive customers. To sum

6BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
up, it can be said that Nando’s has certainly made a mark in the Singapore fast food market
simply through word of mouth advertising and strategically placed jokester pranks and stunts
that have hit the nail on the head as far as marketing is considered. By placing themselves on
almost every communication platform imaginable, Nando’s has presented itself as a brand
that is prominent, fun, lighthearted and also excellent in terms of taste and service.
Seven, Nando’s has earned quite a name for itself for being a people oriented
company. It must be remembered that employees form the chief assets at any company, and
any brand that takes into consideration the welfare of their employees is bound to leave a
lasting impression on their customers as well. Similarly, employees, who are satisfied with
their authority and management, would be twice as likely to experience an increase in
productivity and performance levels. Moreover, employees could form effective brand
ambassadors for the company, helping the brand advertise its services. While design,
amenities and quality attracts new customers to a restaurant, it is the quality of the service
that really helps in customer retention. The restaurant staff at Nando’s, from restaurant
managers to chefs to the cleaning staff (who are collectively referred to as Nandocas) are a
crucial aspect of the brand image. The Nandocas are expected to consider the restaurant as
their second home, and treat the customers as they would to guests in their own homes.
Naturally, promoting such a workplace culture not only facilitates positive relationships
between the authority, the staff and the customers but also creates a brand identity of being
caring and passionate towards their employees.
To further analyze the brand identity and positioning of Nando’s, the Keller’s Brand
Equity Model will be used. This particular framework is based on a simple principle that the
customer behavior should determine the course of action taken by a company (Buil, Martinez
and De Chernatony 2013). Built by Kevin Lane Keller, the model emphasizes that the
opinions of the customer, his or her feelings, beliefs, perceptions and choices should play a

7BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
critical role in establishing and analyzing brand equity (Keller and Brexendorf 2017). It
essentially has three aspects – brand identity, brand meaning and brand response (Keller
2016). Brand identity refers to the way a brand would be perceived by their target audience; it
would largely depend on the way the brand intends to position itself. This can be done with
thorough market research and market segmentation, so as to understand the unique needs of
each customer group. Brand meaning refers to what the brand is offering, or the promises it
makes. As a matter of fact, it is expected that each brand would have a USP or unique selling
proposition; this USP is what sets a brand apart from other competitors in the same field
(Payne, Frow and Eggert 2017). Brand response refers to the way a customer responds to the
campaigns and marketing strategies offered by a brand; the sole purpose of marketing and
branding strategies is to ensure that it calls for action and attracts the right target market. The
success of a branding strategy would be determined through customer response.
(Figure: Keller’s brand equity model – Nando’s)
(Source: Author)
As the diagram above shows, Nando’s has been successfully able to create a brand
image of an affordable chain which houses the best flamed peri peri chicken in the world and

8BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
also provides a fun, quirky environment for the guests to have a casual dining experience.
Moreover, the use of publicity stunts and strategically planned marketing campaigns has
positioned the brand as the premier choice in the fast food industry, simply because of its
consistent quality and excellent customer service. It must also additionally be mentioned here
that as past revenue reports show, audiences have generally been receptive and responded
well to the campaigns started by Nando’s; this is primarily because Nando’s follows a
branding strategy that is entirely based on extensive marketing research. The marketing team
at Nando’s is perfectly aware of what their customers expect out of a casual dining
experience; that is why a lighthearted, humorous ambience goes well with the customers’
mood when they visit Nando’s. Furthermore, a robust advertising strategy is what helps
establish a strong and unique brand image (Buil, Chernatony and Martinez 2013).
To conclude, it can be said that brand identity and the customers’ perception of a
particular brand forms the core of the branding strategy at any company or organization. For
a fast food chain or restaurant, it is important to present itself as a brand that is reliable,
credible and consistent, and that is just what Nando’s has done. The brand was founded with
a simple goal – to provide top quality chicken dishes to their customers, and to retain brand
loyalty. Throughout the world, Nando’s has successfully presented itself as the ultimate
choice when it comes to casual dining or fast food chains for people belonging to moderate
income statuses. Accordingly, it has formulated a branding strategy that makes the customers
feel at home when they visit the restaurant. In addition, adequate measures have been taken to
ensure that the right target audience is lured in, using a series of publicity stunts and
advertising campaigns. The brand has successfully implemented social media marketing and
has also made sure that social media platforms are an integral part of every campaign they
launch; this has enhanced the scope for word of mouth publicity and guerilla marketing, all of
which have effectively helped in creating Nando’s distinct brand personality.

9BRAND POSITIONING OF NANDO’S
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