BUSINESS COMMUNICATION CASE STUDY BBA 2K11 -B GROUP MEMBERS: SARAH WASIF SAJJAD IQRA JAMAL AYESHA SARAF RAO MUHAMMAD SOHAIL ZAHRA SHABBIR NIAZI
‘TEHZEEB : DID IT HAVE THE SAME IMPACT AS
RAHAT?’
Saman pulled her sweater high over her head, took a deep breath, and jogged across the wet parking lot. Keeping her head down against the relentless rain, she sighed thankfully as she ducked into what she thought was the Rahat Bakery entrance. Her mind on the project she had to complete later in the day, Saman quickly ordered the customary Sunday morning breakfast for her family, a loaf of bread, 4 donuts and croissants. The salesperson quickly processed her order, and she glanced into the basket as she took it to the checkout counter. Inside were two bakery boxes- one labelled Rahat, and the other- Tehzeeb. "Wait, so this is what Tehzeeb is?” she muttered to herself as she walked up to the counter. She had seen posters of "Tehzeeb" all over the city for the past couple of days, and yet she had always thought that it was a new clothing line, trying to incite interest in the public. What were the two boxes doing here? Her face betrayed some confusion, and the checkout person dispelled it by saying, "Yes Ma'am, Rahat Islamabad is Tehzeeb Bakers now. I think you accidentally got an old box as well." Confused and uncertain Saman glanced around to see i f anything had changed since she was last here. The décor was the same but she could see an increase in the staff members and their chef hats had changed too. The colours all around were the same yellow red and orange. Automaticall y Saman took one last round of the bakery just to see if there was something new on the menu too, but she couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. She walked over to the pizza counter, her favourite thing in Rahat Bakers, her cousins from Lahore used to come to Islamabad just t o have their pizza. She asked the person at the counter to pack a small pizza to take along too, just to check if her favourite thing had had changes like the name. Saman got home quickly to break the news to her family but before she could get to it her brother greeted her at the door and took the shoppers from her complaining that she had taken a long time at the Bakery. She went into the dining room where ever yone was gathered about to start their weekend breakfast. In the midst of the entire hustle bustle a scream rang through, ‘Saman, you know I don’t like donuts from anywhere else but Rahat. You just ruined my breakfast.’ It was Saman’s younger sister Sarah who r efused to eat donuts from anywhere else but Rahat. Before giving Saman a chance to explain Sar ah left the dining room. Her
parents glared at Saman but before she could say anything, her brother Usman came to her rescue. ‘It’s not Samans fault, Dad. Rahat has changed their name to Tehzeeb now.’ He went ahead to show his parents the two different boxes. Puzzled their Dad looked at the boxes in confusion as if the boxes themselves would explain the name change. ‘Did someone else buy the franchise of Rahat Bakers?’ asked their Dad. Usman shrugged shaking his head indicating a no. Sarah overhearing from the living room jumped into the conversation ‘You are telling me that the Rahat Bakers which has an investment of about 100 years and has been awarded the brand ambassador of Islamabad and Rawalpindi suddenly woke up one day to change its name and logo.’ Dad replied ‘I still think someone else has bought it. I remember something in the news about the Chaudhary associates selling illegal franchises to people for a large sum of money. Apparently all the five brothers owned the franchise of Rahat Bakers and no one among them can sell them off to the others. Chaudhary Arshad along with his brothers started the Chaudhary Associates in 2003 by betraying his family members. They were attempting to transfer the Trade Mark of Rahat Bakers which was owned by the family as a whole. But as far as I know they were not able to do it and they were hindered. Maybe then few people did get their hands on the franchise and to avoid the le gal complications they have changed the name.’ ‘Then that settles it this Rahat or Tehzeeb is fake,’ declared Sarah. ‘I saw it myself it seems the same except for the chef hats. Even the menu is the same. I brought the pizza to test,’ said Saman. Mom brought out the pizza with plates for everyone to eat. A moment of silence passed where everyone took a bite to test the thing they loved the most about Rahat Bakers. Recognition registered on everyone’s faces as they tasted the pizza. The sheepish look on Sarah confirmed that indeed it was the pizz a they loved, the original Rahat Bakers pizza. ‘Well, that is the pizza we love,’ said Dad. ‘Then why change the name and honestly Tehzeeb doesn’t even sound like a bakery. To me it sounds like an Islamic Centre for youth or even a grooming centre,’ said Sarah ‘Seriously you are right. I heard the advertisements on the radio and with slogans like weddings with Tehzeeb, birthdays with Tehzeeb; I thought it was a wedding or event planner.’
‘There is a jewellery store in Lahore of the same name. My friend got her wedding jewellery from there; I thought they were branching out to Islamabad.’ Usman who had been on the computer for a long time interrupted saying that apparently the Rahat Bakers in Islamabad were facing a lawsuit from the Rahat Bakers in Lahore and the Bakers in Lahore won the case. So they get to keep their name while the Rahat Bakers in Islamabad had to change their name. Tehzeeb Bakers is the original Rahat Bakers and they say that as so many bakeries by the name of Rahat had opened up to avoid confusion they went for something original. The only branches in Islamabad are the ones in Blue Ar ea, Karachi Company G-9 Markaz and a branch in F-11 is opening soon while in Rawalpindi the original are the ones in Bank Road Saddar, Chaklala Scheme 111 and Satellite Town. ‘I think it’s good that they have specified the branches because there are a lot of Rahat Bakers and now we can clearly identify which ones are the original ones. A recent branch that opened in Rawalpindi on Peshawar Road had caused a lot of popularity for all the people who live near it. It had the same boxes, menu and everything. But you can clearly see a difference in the quality of the stuff. I bought chicken sandwiches from there las t time and they were not at all like the ones we have in Rahat. I think the new name change will help differentiate,’ said Saman. ‘Yeah you are right. But couldn’t they think of a better name. The name Tehzeeb doesn’t bring a bakery to mind,’ said Sarah. Everyone agreed. REACTION TO ‘TEHZEEB’
Tehzeeb swept the twin cities by surprise. Everywhere on the radio and billboards there was Tehzeeb. Cinepax was filled with its Hoarding, Moppy displays and Standees. But nobody knew what it really meant. About 50% of the people thought it was a boutique while 26% of the people thought it was an Islamic Centre for grooming, 19% of the people thought it was a jewellery store the one which is already present in Lahore. While the rest 5 % had mixed views some relating it to the Tehzeeb restaurant in F-8 while others relating it to a sweets and diary shop. Tehzeeb launched its marketing campaign targeting audience through radio, Facebook, newspapers and billboards. Radio being the main campaigner with jingles and slogans like weddings with Tehzeeb, birthdays with Tehzeeb, while about 35% people got to know about it from the billboards as they could be seen everywhere in Islamabad. A bi g one
on the toll plaza before entering Islamabad was a n eye catcher for people who huddle their daily before going on for work. Majority of the people heard it from their friends and family where one family member might listen to radio in the morning and has c arried the information to others. Only 9 % of the people had read about Tehzeeb in the newspaper and only 6% got to know about it from Facebook where the Orange Media group highlighted Rahat’s activities. Majority of the twin cities population said that the name Tehzeeb has failed to make an impact. Some doubt the authenticity of this Rahat since it became Tehzeeb because they feel the services might have changed. People who have visited Tehzeeb have acknowledged the fact that the services have not changed in fact the staff is greater in number. But they would have liked to see a change in the menu with a change in the name. They want new things to be introduced, something that would add to the flavour of the New Year.
RECOMMENDATIONS
There have been mixed reviews about Tehzeeb majority acknowledging the services but declining the name’s impact confusing it for an Isl amic Centre, Boutique or a Wedding Planner. Tehzeeb’s main marketing was done through radio which failed to reach the people as people do not listen to radio nowadays. Tehzeeb should use television for marketing, this way targeting a greater number of people. The advertisements should specifically mention the branches of Tehzeeb in Islamabad and Rawalpindi clearly showing people which ones to shop at otherwise people would mistake it for the fake ones. The residents of the twin cities are still confused over which Rahats are the original ones as they have the same boxes, and the same logos. By changing their name Rahat may be onto something good as this would differentiate them from all the other fake bakeries that have opened up in response. It would give them a chance to try new endeavours and to grasp their customers back. Many people say that the change in name is a fresh start and it will soon grow on like Rahat. As someone said, ‘In light of the growing numerous copies this change was inevitable.’ The name should be publicized more specifically mentioning their branches. Tehzeeb should introduce something new to their menu thereby offering something new to the customers and thereby attracting them. It has also been noted that with the new trend of decorative cakes in Pakistan Tehzeeb does lack behind. They are not skilled in making decorative cakes which
are also good to taste. Their stand up cakes a re mostly dry and the cake itself is a normal black forest cake. While other bakeries like Funky bake and Buttercream cupcakes are offering more variety. Tehzeeb should improve its cakes so as to satisfy the people who go to the competitors for cakes. People are also not satisfied with the new logo. Many people think the logo represents a bank, Tehzeeb could specify a new beginning with it. To attract their attention Tehzeeb could attach special meaning to t he logo by giving a tag line that explains the logo rather than leaving it on the people to find out what it really is. While Tehzeeb is a new name if marketed in a proper manner it can grow on people as Rahat is one of the best bakeries of the twin cities. It just needs to attract the people it has lost and think about what how they want to have an upper edge above the fake Rahats that have crept all over Islamabad and Rawalpindi and even Wah.
