While sitting for a nice dinner between shopping trips at the mall, my sister and I decided to try out a new place called Nando's Peri Peri. We did not know what a peri peri was, but the restaurant brand had bold, pretty colors and appealed to our young and modern sensibilities.
As it turns out, peri peri is a specially spiced chicken. As vegetarians, my sister and I appreciated the other options on the menu. As natural readers, we skimmed the menu and read the small print on some of the details about the company's products, specifically, the chicken. "Nando's chickens are all-natural, fresh (never frozen), free from added hormones and preservatives, hatched and reared in the United States," which sounds great. "They also meet the strict assured standards of the National Chicken Association." Interesting... But as any slightly questioning, cynical human being in the 21st century with smartphone technology is likely to Google this boastful statement. Which is exactly what my sister Olivia decided to do.
In a quick Google search of "National Chicken Association," it is pretty easy to surmise that the National Chicken Association does not exist, especially one that is described by Nando's Peri Peri, with "strict, assured standards" of chicken farming.
In fact, everything related to a "chicken association" has to do with chicken breeding, consumer research, or trade associations providing industry resources. Basically, Nando's decided to make up a fake association in order to market their chickens as "natural" and domestically raised.
The con's of doing this heavily out-weigh the pro's. First of all, any consumer who is going to care about this issue - all natural, free range, domestically hatched, ect. - is also going to care about whether your claim is legitimate.
In marketing terms, it seems like Nando's is targeting a market of customers with a concept that is false, thereby alienated this target market. If this really is Nando's target market, i.e. consumers who care about all natural, fresh, and hormone free, they are lying to this market of consumers with false marketing and basically guaranteeing their lack of business.
More likely for Nando's, they are not targeting the organic and animal rights activist market. Their marketing team just wanted to throw out some nice, pretty, and somewhat unregulated marketing terms to may potentially attract an ignorant consumer that happens to glance at the menu. In this case, I would pose a legal argument to the company: is it worth a potential false advertising lawsuit just to have some pretty words on your menu?
If I could give advice to all the marketing departments in the world (big dreams, I know), it would be this: Don't lie in your marketing. Just don't.
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