Positioning - External

In Philip Kotler’s book Marketing: An Introduction, positioning is defined as arranging for a market offering to occupy a clear; distinctive, and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target consumers. Ultimately an effective positioning strategy differentiates a company’s product from its competitors’ products. In class we went a step further and dove into external positioning, which focuses on establishing identity for a product in the minds of the consumers and differentiating your service, product, or organization.

In the ever changing fast food market, Taco Bell has made strides to solidify its position as the nation’s leading Mexican-style fast food restaurant chain by promoting its new “Drive Thru Diet Menu.” Taco Bell also tends to separate itself from its competitors by conducting 70 percent of its business through drive thru with its available healthy, nutritious menu.

Although Taco Bell’s “Drive Thru Diet Menu” was started in 2007, it has recently received an increase in fan fare with its new promotional campaign which features Christine Daugherty, an actual customer who lost 54 pounds over two years by eating off of the “Drive Thru Diet Menu.” Taco Bell effectively establishes itself as a respected fast food restaurant with viable, healthy food options that can help consumers lose weight. Although Taco Bell clearly claims that the Drive Thru Diet Menu isn’t a weight loss program, its healthy menu acts as a substitute for other unhealthy fast food options. By creating a weight-loss spokesperson for the company, Taco Bell has begun to distance itself from its fast-food competitors with its nutritional food options and has also opened a new avenue for competition with companies that promote weight-loss claims. Taco Bell’s unique drive through approach to business and its revamped menu make it a unique company in the fast food business.



Stephen Coyle Section G