An integrated marketing communications campaign for Wagyuniku Japanese-Korean BBQ Restaurant (BF Homes Aguirre)

• Main Author: Elmenzo, Marlene H.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Wagyuniku Japanese-Korean BBQ Restaurant (Philippines) > Marketing; Restaurants > Philippines > Marketing; Marketing
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_market/16; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=etdm_market
• Institution: De La Salle University

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only claimed hundreds of lives but also crippled thousands of businesses across the Philippines, a developing Southeast Asian country with an economy primarily fueled by micro, small, and medium enterprises. The subject of this integrated marketing communications campaign, Wagyuniku BF Homes Aguirre, is not an exception. The branch of a growing unlimited Japanese-Korean BBQ restaurant opened in a famous dining hub in Southern Metro Manila during the first year of the pandemic to offer a different Asian BBQ experience to Samgyupsal lovers through its unlimited Wagyu beef. However, the relatively new restaurant has been experiencing low sales and low brand awareness which prevent it from achieving substantial revenues to withstand the pandemic. Results of the Usage, Image, and Attitude survey confirmed that Wagyuniku BF Homes Aguirre has low brand awareness among its primary target market composed of Gen Zs and Millennials. Conversely, survey positioning questions patterned after the Kano Model and a comparative analysis among its competitors showed that the restaurant’s unlimited Wagyu beef is a unique and exciting attribute of its menu, thus proving the strong potential of the restaurant’s unknown differentiator. The competitive analysis also showed that no direct competitor has completely claimed the position of being an unlimited Japanese-Korean BBQ fusion restaurant in the area. With the secondary research suggesting that Yakiniku-Samgyupsal fusion restaurants were gradually gaining popularity among Samgyupsal diners in other parts of Metro Manila before the pandemic, investing in an integrated marketing communications campaign for Wagyuniku may not only enable the restaurant to raise brand awareness that results in increased revenues, but also prepare itself for a possible boom after the pandemic. This integrated marketing communications campaign hopes to use the strengths of Wagyuniku BF Homes Aguirre and the opportunities brought by the pandemic in carving out a niche in the Asian BBQ restaurant market. The researcher proposes to position Wagyuniku BF Homes Aguirre as the only unlimited Japanese-Korean BBQ restaurant in its locality that offers authentic but affordable all-you-can eat Wagyu beef in a Samgyupsal-Yakiniku fusion dining experience. Due to limited resources and the uncertainty of the business environment brought by the pandemic, the researcher created a six-month campaign to develop awareness about the brand and increase trial among its primary, secondary, and tertiary target markets. With the AIDA model, the restaurant’s presence would be intensified throughout the stages of the markets’ consumer journey through social media marketing, public relations, direct marketing, and sales promotions. This campaign also recommends strategies to strengthen the delivery and takeout segments of Wagyuniku BF Homes Aguirre and generate a reliable source of revenue while dine-in services are still restricted by government-mandated protocols meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus in restaurants.