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CLIENT: |
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REGATTA
RESTAURANT
ACAPULCO, MEXICO |
PROJECT: |
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BRAND
DEVELOPMENT
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SERVICES: |
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VERBAL
BRAND NAME CREATION
BRAND IDENTITY DESIGN
POSITIONING TAGLINE CREATION
STRATEGIC BRAND CONSULTING
POSITIONING CONSULTING
MARKETING COLLATERAL DESIGN
BRAND IDENTITY SYSTEM DESIGN |
INDUSTRY: |
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RESTAURANT |
YEAR: |
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2007 |
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SYNOPSIS:
Regatta is a new restaurant concept located in Acapulco, Mexico. The
restaurant industry is hyper-competitive in Acapulco. There are literally
thousands of restaurants in Acapulco – all competing for the
next hungry customer. Located on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Acapulco
boasts an abundant supply of fresh seafood. Therefore, the majority
of the restaurants in Acapulco serve, if not specialize in, fresh
seafood. Regatta faced a difficult challenge – how to position
themselves “apart from the crowd”. We provided strategic
consultions to help them create an unforgettable brand name and a
market position that would allow them to prosper in a overly-saturated
restaurant market while simultaneously attracting a three-tiered target
market – Acapulqueños, Méxican tourists and tourists
from around the globe.
CHALLENGE:
Faced with a difficult challenge, we needed to create and unforgettable
brand name, a brand identity system and marketing collateral that
would appeal to both the locals and sophisticated consumers from both
México City and around the world. We also need to create a
unique market position that would attract clients looking for something
new and unique for their Acapulco dining experience.
Seafood is relatively cheap in Acapulco. However, most Mexican consumers
are very budget conscious. Mexican consumers generally have larger
families and going out to eat with the familiy is very much part of
the culture in México – especially while on vacation
in Acapulco. Many seafood restaurants offer very affordable meals.
This earns them both repeat customers and plenty of new business.
The down-side to that advantage is that it also provides them with
a lower profit margin. Many of these restaurants are family-owned
and these families end up working 14 hour days with little to show
for all of their hard work at the end of the month.
The challenge was to develop a brand that we could position as a premium
brand – offering a unique menu while attracting the widest possible
demographic for clientele. We needed to create a brand that would
attract the price-savvy consumer who was willing to pay a little more
for a unique experience. This would allow the investors to gain a
greater return on their investment and provide them with the necessary
capital to open locations in other tourist locations in coastal Mexican
cities.
Another challenge we faced was to create a brand that was highly unique
yet “corporate enough” to allow the owners and investors
the opportunity to sell franchises across Mexico in the future. The
Mexican Republic is a country that is predominanly coastline. Both
Mindandy Studios and Regatta’s investors envisioned great potential
for selling franchises in dozens of coastal cities on the Pacific
Coast, Baja California, the Gulf Coast and Mexico’s Caribbean
Coast – the Mexican states in the Yucatán Peninsula like
Campeche & Quintana Roo.
RESULTS: The brand name
“Regatta” is absolutely unforgettable. It is only three
syllables, it is easy to spell and it is a word that is used internationally.
Those who race in regattas (and own their own sailboats) are traditionally
from a higher income bracket, and are more comfortable with the “finer
things in life”. Therefore, this brand name appeals to a more
upscale market – thereby positioning itself as a premium brand.
This allows the restaurant to charge higher price for their menu items,
while keeping those prices low enough to appeal to middle-class consumers.
To help differentiate Regatta from the other seafood restaurants in
Acapulco, Mindcandy Studios provided strategic consultations to the
owners and investors of Regatta to stress the importance of a unique
market position. In addition to fresh seafood soups, fish filetes,
shrimp, ceviches, clams and oysters; Regatta also offers menu items
unique to Germany. Fresh bratwurst and weinerschnitzel (prepared in
México City); home-made coleslaw and german potato salad; and
freshly-baked, hot soft pretzels with “real” German mustard
help create an unparalleled market position.
The market position and pricing strategies fulfill two strategic objectives.
First, Regatta appeals to Acapulqueños and tourists alike looking
for a “new” and “exciting” restaurant concept.
Second, Regatta enjoys a greater profit margin than traditional seafood
restaurants in Acapulco; yet their prices remain low enough to attract
both middle class and professional class Acapulqueños.
Acapulco boasts as many cantinas as it does restaurants and beer (or
“chela”, as Mexican consumers say) is also a huge part
of the culture in México – especially in the more tropical
regions of México. During a hot summer’s day, most meals
are accompanied with the perfect complement – an ice cold Corona!
However the term “biergarten” has never been used here
in Acapulco. We advised the owners of Regatta that this word could
assist us even further to create a highly unique brand. Therefore,
we worked with Regatta’s management team to create the positioning
tagline – ”Biergarten & Oyster Bar”. This positioning
tagline reinforces the brand’s unique market position and leverages
the strength of the brand’s menu items from German cuisine –
like bratwurst, german potato salad, sauerkraut and wienerschnitzel.
Regatta’s brand identity and identity system are stylish and
contemporary. We adopted a primary color palette that is found worldwide
in the nautical flag system. We used this primary color palette to
create a powerful brand identity system, creating a multi-colored
identity system – business cards, letterhead & envelopes
This strategy is also carried over to Regatta’s menu design
and advertising campaign. Regatta offers both Acapulqueños
and world travellers a truly unique and sumptuous dining experience
– unlike any other!
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