Promotional Mix as the Strategic Tool for Improving Brand Equity (A Case in Franchise Fast Food Restaurants in Sri Lanka)

Brand equity is an important concept for associating a brand and influencing customers in making purchase decisions for particular brand products. In developing the concept of brand equity, a number of factors are playing key roles and marketers are using promotional tools with the expectation of positioning their brands by creating value for the brand and increasing the ability to recall or recognize it. This study sought to analyze brand equity with perceived promotional mix strategies in franchise fast food restaurants in Sri Lanka. The present study empirically evaluated five promotional mix dimensions (advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing, public relation) and their impact on brand equity in franchise fast food restaurants in Sri Lanka. The sample consisted of 90 customers of 9 franchise fast food restaurants. Primary data were gathered through a structured questionnaire among the respondents in sample. The research findings revealed that there is a strong positive relationship between perceived promotional mix strategies and brand equity of the franchise fast food restaurants. However, advertising and direct marketing are the key factors that influence mostly on brand equity in franchise fast food restaurants. Further, almost all the consumers show their acceptance towards the prevailing promotional mix strategies adopted by fast food restaurants. In the light of the results, possible managerial implications are discussed and future research subjects are recommended. This research contributes to the growing literature on the promotional mix strategies and brand equity of the fast food business chains.