Asaph Wutawunashe

MKT 320
Professor Levin
8/30/2020
Perceptual Positioning: Wendy’s Case Study
Wendy’s Twitter strategy was unique and surprising because Wendy’s was able
to reposition themselves in relation to McDonald’s by using marketing from McDonald’s;
which McDonald’s thought would be positive for themselves. Wendy’s then stepped up
its Twitter campaign by engaging with Twitter users to the point that memes emerged
from Wendy’s aggressiveness. Wendy’s strategy was brilliant and generated user
engagement to further its campaign.
McDonald’s seemed to not respond to Wendy’s Twitter tirade, though a few fans
of McDonald’s tried to defend the brand on Twitter, which only benefitted Wendy’s as it
replied with quick wit and garnered more engagement in its Tweet.
I would say that the four main perceptual attributes for fast food restaurants
would be: a.) Taste, b.) service, c.) cost, and d.) location/place. Fast food restaurants
can further differentiate themselves from the competition by offering other creative
solutions or offerings. An example of the former is when McDonald’s began offering all-
day breakfast, which many of its competitors still do not offer to this day. McDonald’s
has become synonymous with all-day breakfast in the fast food industry and that
continues to differentiate it from the competition. Chipotle is one brand that differentiates
itself by offering what would be considered healthier options as well as limiting the menu
options of the consumer.
McDonald’s won the Twitter burger wars as at the end of the first quarter of 2017,
as McDonald’s “… reported average same-store sales growth of 3.2%. That is 310
basis points higher than the average of the other six publicly traded, limited-service
burger chains, according to a Restaurant Business analysis. That outperformance
continued in the first quarter of the year, when McDonald’s same-store sales rose
4.5%.” (https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/mcdonalds-winning-burger-
wars-now). McDonald’s 2017 yearly report had a worldwide sales figure of $22.82bn,
which was a decline of 11% from the previous year. (https://news.mcdonalds.com/news-
releases/news-release-details/mcdonalds-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2017-
results-and. Wendy’s on the other hand had a sales figure of $622.8m for the year
ending 2017, which was about 32% less from the previous year.
(https://www.wendys.com/sites/default/files/2018-
06/Wendys_Bookmarked_Annual_Report_2017.pdf).
Both franchises were in decline at the time of the burger wars, but McDonald’s
was able to be in less of a decline than Wendy’s. I would still characterize Wendy’s
strategy as successful in the sense that it was able to garner attention on Twitter and
may have brought benefits in other aspects as “In November, Wendy's said that
customers are more aware of its fresh beef than ever.”
(https://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-vs-mcdonalds-was-fast-food-feud-2018-12).
Companies such as Chik-fil-A have benefitted well from the pandemic as far as
their positioning is concerned. Chik-fil-A used its restaurants’ infrastructure to adapt to
the closure of restaurants thereby adapting quickly to social distancing and positioning
themselves as being safe, flexible, and being available for their customers. “Chick-fil-A
was able to capitalize on its drive-thru lanes when other places had to close dining
rooms during shutdown orders.”
(https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2020/08/03/a-new-ranking-shows-
winners-and-losers-among-fast-food-companies-during-covid-19/#4f8f20130431). Fast
food restaurants have also began positioning themselves as being convenient and
being able to deliver to customer’s home as “Panda Express in June added its own
delivery service...” (https://www.wsj.com/articles/fast-food-chains-see-shifts-made-
during-pandemic-paying-off-11596032316). I believe the big winners in positioning
during COVID19 will be those that can communicate well with their customers and offer
safety measure as well as convenience.
 Works Cited

Maynard, Micheline. A New Ranking Shows Fast Food Winners And Losers During COVID-19.
3 Aug. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2020/08/03/a-new-ranking-shows-
winners-and-losers-among-fast-food-companies-during-covid-19/.

Maze, Jonathan. “McDonald's Is Winning the Burger Wars, for Now.” Restaurant Business,
Restaurant Business, 13 May 2019,
www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/mcdonalds-winning-burger-wars-now.

“McDonald's Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2017 Results And First Quarter 2018 Cash
Dividend.” McDonald's Corporation, 2017, news.mcdonalds.com/news-releases/news-
release-details/mcdonalds-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2017-results-and.

Taylor, Kate. “Wendy's and McDonald's Fought It out in a Beefy Battle That Marked the Biggest
Feud in Fast Food in 2018.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 27 Dec. 2018,
www.businessinsider.com/wendys-vs-mcdonalds-was-fast-food-feud-2018-12.

Trentmann, Nina, and Mark Maurer. “Fast-Food Chains See Shifts Made During Pandemic
Paying Off.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 29 July 2020,
www.wsj.com/articles/fast-food-chains-see-shifts-made-during-pandemic-paying-off-
11596032316.