Hard Rock’s cafe basic strategy is the philanthropic approach. The majority of ccustomers are probably mot aware of Hard Rock Café’s philanthropic approaches. Since Hard Rock Cafe was established in 1971, it participated into a wide variety of philanthropic causes and activities around the world. The most important part of Hard Rock’s cafe marketing strategy is the way it uses celebrity endorsers. Celebrities such as James Heitfield and John Bon Jovi don’t get paid for charity campaigns – they instead align themselves with a particular charity and make donations. However, if you use celebrities to promote a campaign, especially a charity campaign, can come with criticisms as some may argue that the charity is made to make the brand and the star more popular to the world. What we found out is that many big brands and corporate companies make charities as part of their marketing strategy. However, if a brand is proud about all its charitable work, the company in the long term does not use the charity for philanthropic purposes, but for their marketing and economic expansion. Hard Rock tries to support these collaborative partners to encourage raise awareness, necessary funding and educate its guests on pressing issues related to specific philanthropic programs and causes.

For Hard Rock Café, corporate social responsibility does not take place in their basic marketing strategy – it’s an approach and part of their plan in global business that helps the development of the company’s brand. Corporate social responsibility, arrange in place and donate to legitimate charities.

Marketing Mix -The four Ps

Place

The marketing mix consists in total of 4 elements (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) which are often referred to as ‘the four Ps’. One of those four Ps is “Place”: Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is usually referred to as the distribution channel through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/service provider to the user or consumer/ customer. Place can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. Nowadays, Hard Rock Cafe operates in 52 countries throughout the globe. The Café’s of the Hard Rock company’s chain are located in:

Hawaii, North America, Mexico/Central America, Caribbean, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Japan and Australia/Oceania. Hard Rock Hotels are located in the following cities throughout the world: Bali, Chicago, Orlando, Pattaya and San Diego. In the near future (2010-2012) new Hard Rock Café’s will be opened in Atlanta, Hungary, Palm Springs and Singapore. Hotels and Casinos of the Hard Rock Chain are available in: Biloxi, Hollywood (Florida), Las Vegas, Macau, Tampa and Tulsa. In 2009 and 2011 new hotels have been built in Dubai, Panama, Penang.

Promotion

The Hard Rock Café uses different types of media to promote their selves. They use billboards in crowded areas, short commercials on television, promotional events, organize meetings and auctions, a website for every store and a general one with extra information about the history and upcoming events, live concerts in the Café’s, Hotels or Casinos, actions with famous people and the most important one of all; they use the people who like to visit the Hard Rock Café, to create a worldwide known brand. They even organize weddings and parties in a Hard Rock theme. Hard Rock’s Cafe fans like the lifestyle and were the products with the brands badge on it. They want to see all the Hard Rock Cafés all around the world. Some people even go on a Hard Rock Café tour. These fans are very important and the Hard Rock Café offers them an All Access system. This system uses member cards. When a member spends money at the Hard Rock Café he/she gets points, with these points he/she can get free merchandise, drinks or food or a discount. When people spend more than $25 they always get a free gift. This gift might be a t-shirt, cups, hats, etc. 

Examples

Some upcoming events of the Hard Rock Café are the pre party for U2 and a lot of other bands and artists, a live concert of Robbie Williams and Bruce Springsteen and different CD releases. At this moment the Hard Rock Café has a collection of clothes created by Bon Jovi and The Who. As you can see the promotion marketing of the Hard Rock Café is very significant. They stay updated and through this strategy they keep the concept working effectively.

Product

There are 5 Hard Rock Hotels, Hotels/ Casinos and there working on 7 new casinos in the world. The hotels are high standards and offer a big variety of services to their customers. For example, they offer a special package for people who want to celebrate an anniversary or birthday. The Hotels / s Casino offers the same high standard rooms, but you can also find shops and spa.

There are 150 Hard Rock Cafés right now and working on 13 new cafes. The Café is offering the typical American foods and drinks. In each Hard Rock Café, you can find a store with goods (clothing etc.)

Pricing

The Hard Rock Café sells expensive clothes. When you buy a shirt or pants are expensive, but what you get back is priceless. Goods you buy there, you can use for years and after many years the goods you purchased are still good and timeless. Prices for events and concerts begin an average of $ 50 to $ 150. This is normal for concerts. Thus, the Hard Rock Café is not that expensive for concerts and events values ​​from other places where they find space.

People (staff)

How the staff sells its products (potential) to its customers and how to ensure the quality of the concepts? For a company, the staff, it is important to be able to sell their idea, their products. Very often, the company chooses to educate their people to sell their products and treat customers the way, they think it fits with their concept. This is also the Hard Rock Café. The new staff that is selected by the Hard Rock Café must be able to respond in several selected areas, such as friendliness, awareness of the companies concept and way of operation, then they are open to compliments and complaints and how they react in certain situations in the working area and environment. Everyone working for the Hard Rock Café are trained to stand for the idea (examples will follow later) and give the customer a unique life experience, which they will remember. Every visit to every Hard Rock Café is different and exciting. Whether visiting for the first time or if you visit on a monthly basis.

Example:

A man who is not familiar with Hard Rock Café, but had heard his friend talking about the friendly staff helped him to get what he was looking for. The staff helped him with a genuine smile on their face, without being annoyed that his friend looked at about 50 minutes to decide which T-shirt he wanted to purchase. 

There have been 40 years since the first Hard Rock Cafe opened its doors to the customers and during this time the company has managed to develop a very efficient marketing mix.

In order to develop an internally consistent and integrated marketing mix the company must pay a lot of attention to the four P’s. Today we live in a world that has already been damaged by the ozone hole and many recycling campaigns are in process. Due to this fact, Hard Rock can use environmental packaging for their products and with this way they will immediately influence the customer’s consciousness. Environmental groups knowing that the company uses recycled packaging will be supporting the company’s products.

In addition, even though Hard Rock Cafe has become an attraction to the most of the world and it is known by lots of people in every country, the company needs to advertise more about its cafes, hotels and casinos. In order to achieve this, they too can make advertisements that can be seen by masses of people worldwide. For example if Hard Rock becomes a sponsor of a famous football team the people will see the company’s logo on the footballer’s t-shirts not only at the field but also on the television. They can also advertise on the signs of a football field during world championships which will also be seen by many people.

Using online social network media is another way to increase business performance and customer loyalty which will facilitate business model innovation and collaboration and with it competitive advantage. Business case: Strengthen corporate culture, promote cross-media culture, make communication between marketing and sales simple.

Moreover there is also price and place which play a crucial role in the marketing mix of the company. Due to the economic crisis that has been torturing the world the last years Hard Rock might consider to lower the prices of their products. Although there is a loyalty towards Hard Rock by its consumers, in order to avoid loss, it would be wiser to do this as well as offer some kind of free gifts with purchases of a certain amount.

The cafes have to be located in convenient areas such as tourist attracted areas so tourists will not miss it for sure and most importantly they will not even get tired of searching it and ask around the locals. Being a café, customers will call for a coffee and snacks more than once. Another idea is to open cafes in big international airports worldwide to attract the travelers especially the ones who know Hard Rock but does not exist in their home country.

Having in mind all the above, the company could develop an internally consistent and integrated marketing mix but it’s our turn to admit that in the last 40 years they have managed to create a chain of so many venues, in so many countries and people now see it as a kind of lifestyle that they will not want to abandon.

Hard Rock has managed to win its customer’s trust with all the contribution that has done for the public and the recent interest to raise money for Japan who suffered the earthquake and tsunami last March 11. In a final analysis, Hard Rock is a multi-billion dollar company and people who have worked to create it did not just get lucky. They actually used the four elements of marketing mix completely right and this is the reason Hard Rock Cafe remains a successful business for nearly a half century.