Remember Creative

There are approximately 11.5% of Aussie’s who now identify as vegetarian/vegan (I do recognise the difference – but they were the stats I had)… and my wife happens to be one of them. And I can tell you, as a meat eating cannibal, that your vego types can be hard to cater for in a world besotted by meat.

Now, in saying that, there are some sensational vegetable dishes that even the most dedicated meat eaters would really enjoy if they were more aware of them.

But let’s face it the vego/vegan thing is in some ways still seen as an obscure sub culture by many. And so, with just 11.5% of Aussies it is easy to understand why this market is often overlooked.

But Hungry Jack’s recently launched a new Vegan Burger and the subsequent ad campaign and media coverage is for me a masterstroke and no doubt McDonalds will be closely monitoring its success if not desperately trying to conceive their own vegetarian options.

There is a tremendous lesson in this for business. Hungry Jack’s have combined product planning and marketing to effectively own a space. With Australia, the third fast growing Vegan market and them getting a run on their key competition, Hungry Jack’s get to own the space and the narrative. They get to build traction around them and for a time at least have a genuine point of difference.

There is risk in this strategy, but whilst many businesses would overlook the trend or wait to see if there was genuine interest in this vegan thing. Hungry Jack’s have taken a considered gamble that, whilst genuine vegetarians/vegans may only be 11% of the market currently, the trend for healthier choices is growing and whilst many may baulk at the idea of a vegan burger from Hungry Jack’s resembling anything like a healthy option, there may be a few out there sitting on the fringes who will see what Hungry Jack’s have done and give it a go.

And in a market where there are few alternatives (as in “healthy” or vegetarian fast food) and at a time where your key competitor isn’t even in the game yet, these are moments where businesses can redefine their market position and even gain market share by changing it up.

…your key competitor isn’t even in the game yet, these are moments where businesses can redefine their market position and even gain market share by changing it up….

And your marketing and marketing team can play a big role in this too…

Marketing is often overlooked in terms of its role in product development, but in a modern context – user or customer experience is both driven and communicated by marketing. Great marketing should reflect a genuine insight into your customer and those insights can have a tremendous influence on understanding the needs and expectations of your customers. A well-integrated marketing team should be seeing the emerging trends and opportunities for your brand across the broader market place and then suggesting ideas like improvements to service or new products.

Once these recommendations have been assessed and implemented through the various areas of the business that bring them to life – marketing then plays a huge role in communicating that to the customer.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your organisation integrating these functions of your business will better connect it to your customers’ needs, so be sure to get your marketing team or agency in on your planning for future products and service delivery changes, because it could change the way you do business.

Well done, Hungry Jack’s.