How Jollibee and His Friends Can Help Save Us: A look at fast food marketing, language, and a pandemic

Public Signs and Smaller Space

As cliché as it is, it can no longer be ignored that we are living in unprecedented times. If we had thought that online space had been its most pervasive in our lives during the previous years, things have taken a sharp turn towards an extreme in 2020. Globalization has largely been discussed as an overwhelming factor in the blurring of divisions in our physical space for a long time now. Couple that in with the rise of the internet and exponential advancements in technology, our world has grown smaller and smaller and the distance between individuals all around the world have become bridged by the tiny devices found in our pockets. Culture and society have been irreversibly shaped by this major development in just the past decade.

From out of nowhere, enter COVID-19. As if the world wasn’t small enough, this pandemic sweeps all across the globe and confines us all in our own homes. Our physical spaces, which for the greater part have defined the differences between us and someone halfway around the world, are now severely limited. If we didn’t spend enough time online before, now, we don’t even have a choice anymore. Work, entertainment, hobbies, school, socialization, leisure, shopping, and communication – basically everything that had mostly been done offline – have all entered this digital space, for better or worse.

In a time like this, language has played a major role. Our new reality shapes and is being shaped by language. In my studies, I have undertaken many projects of discourse and linguistic analysis. None of them, however, feel very similar to what we are tasked to do on this blog. There are always new challenges faced in the analysis of an environment that hardly exists on a physical level anymore. Nonetheless, I believe that many insights can be derived from undertaking such a task with a new understanding of public signs and language use in the time of both a pandemic and our growing digital reality.

 

A Pandemic-boosted Industry and its Priorities

One of the things that has caught my attention in these times is the increasing importance of online marketing. If the pandemic has taken away the physical space for advertising and connecting with its intended market, then it makes sense that they will place a greater emphasis to reaching their consumers over the internet. Scheduled monthy sales, viral advertising campaigns, hashtags, and more are being utilized to their full capability in order to draw homebound eyes and get add-to-cart buttons bouncing.

A benefactor of this pandemic has turned out to be the fast food industry. In a situation where dining out is still not ideal, the convenience of fast food, its mass availability and its consistency are perfect for home delivery. The same cannot be said of other providers of food, despite the fact that many other restaurants have adapted by offering take-out sets and frozen food options, and partnering with courier services. Fast food, on average, also tends to be cheaper. This makes it a better option for those who have had financial concerns in the past months. Fast food has been emphasizing convenience and price for decades, and it just makes sense that people will have them as the off-the-top-of-one’s-head choice during this pandemic.

As the priorities and worries of people during a pandemic change, how does the marketing of the fast food industry adapt? How do their social media choices now differ from before? Most importantly, how is language used in marketing for Philippine fast food restaurants changing to accommodate the different needs of a society affected by the pandemic?

 

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework to be used in analysis will be that of Scollon and Scollon in Discourses in Place, where they discuss the interpretation of public texts with respect to its social and physical context. (Scollon & Scollon, 2003)

In Geosemiotics, emphasis is greatly placed on the indexicality of a sign, which is anchored the utterer, viewer, social situation, and material world. These are all very important in answering the research question, as the fast food companies (utterer) connect with stay-at-home consumers (viewer) during a pandemic (social situation) with a lack of physical freedom and need for social distancing (material world).

Geosemiotics also makes the assertion that all semiotic systems operate socially, that choices are being made every time language is used in a public space. In looking at the public texts presented by fast food chains through their marketing materials, we see that there are deliberate decisions being made in order to present themselves positively in the era of COVID-19. There will be things that are included and even emphasized in their promotional materials now that have never been seen before, but also details that are excluded as a response to the pandemic.

Finally, in understanding this interaction between the pandemic and fast food marketing, we take a look at the kind of social action that is called for at the intersection of interaction order, visual semiotics, and place semiotics. As social media changes the dynamics between these 3, the resulting call to social action will provide valuable insight into how these elements have been utilized by fast food companies in a pandemic-affected society.

 

Data

We are looking at the fast food industry as a participant in this unprecedented landscape. Of all the online spaces, I believe that social media is the most salient when it comes to looking at all the aspects mentioned above. It is interactive as viewers can react in various ways such as commenting and liking. It is visual and allows the placement of photos and videos relevant to the message that they want to promote. It mimics material placement in how many elements work together, such as profile pictures, a chronological timeline, and pinned tweets.

To further support the importance of the fast food industry as an influence on society, a pre-pandemic survey conducted by Cint in 2018 showed that almost 65% of respondents ate fast food at least once a week on average. This is an increase from the already significant 61.35% from the year before. This means that a great majority of the Filipino population interacts with the fast food industry at a high level of frequency, and trends indicate that this majority is increasing. This means that most Filipinos are not only familiar with these establishments, but are constantly exposed to the imagery and language used by the fast food restaurants themselves.

  In my analysis, I will be looking at the linguistic landscape as shaped by the Twitter accounts of the top fast food chains in the Philippines. A survey conducted by Cint in 2018 shows that only 5 quick service restaurants are visited by a majority of the respondents. These are Jollibee (87.38%), McDonald’s (73.15%), Chowking (61.16%), Mang Inasal (58.14%) and KFC (57.36%). The analysis will be limited by public signs presented by these 5 chains, so that we can focus on the ones that are most successful in terms of reach – which is indicative of the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. Of these five, Jollibee, McDonald’s, and KFC are the most active on their Twitter accounts. Thus, these three will be the source of my analysis samples. For the purpose of analyzing only the latest trends in their social media marketing, we will also be limiting the scope of tweets to those created from November onwards.

 

 

Analysis

There are 5 main points that summarize what I have come across in the analysis of the linguistic landscape of fast food marketing.

 

1.     It That Must Not Be Named

            If you look at the timelines of the selected fast food chains, nary a mention of a certain global pandemic will you find. In their tweets, keywords like “COVID-19”, “pandemic”, “virus”, and “lockdown” are never directly mentioned. You will see pictures of people in masks, and the assurance that we will all be safe from something, but it is actually never stated. An example here is the use of “uncertain times” as the only clue that there’s a problem. The testimonials focus solely on the measures and protocols that keep us safe from an unnamed threat. What are we all facing again?

            The language used in marketing skirts the issue and only indirectly presents the presence of a pandemic. This is a deliberate choice of exclusion. What’s even more curious is that there are mentions of the recent typhoons but not COVID-19 itself. To be fair however, Rolly and Ulysses are only mentioned in the context of donating for a cause. This indicates that consumers of McDonald's are likely to have the disposable income to still be able to help those who are less fortunate.

 

 

2.     It’s Okay To Not Be Okay

            In this time, it’s reasonable to be worried about eating out and even acquiring food from an outside source. However, marketing has placed a focus on trying to assuage the fears of a concerned public and presents itself as a source of comfort. For McDonald’s, #MSAFE shows exactly what is being done in order to keep the fast food experience safe. Besides being used as their profile picture, it is used in conjunction with guidelines for containing the virus.

             The #MSAFE testimonials in the previous section also bring up their safety measures and protocols, but the assurance comes from fellow customers, not just McDonald’s.

            KFC takes a similar approach in assuring customers that necessary steps are taken in order to protect diners. Note that the goal or final step of doing so is to enjoy their KFC – something that even the pandemic cannot prevent. It's probably still not completely safe even with all these measures, but at least we have chicken.

3. Joy is Found at Home

            Notice that Jollibee has not been mentioned yet? That’s because their main marketing push is towards enjoying fast food at home with loved ones as a source of hope during this pandemic. They make use of the hashtag #JoyOfFamily to highlight a series of tweets that encourage staying at home as the ultimate safety measure during this pandemic. Everyday is bonding when you're all at home.

            Leading up to Christmas, they made a series of posts promoting a Family Activity for the Day. Spot the ready-to-cook Jollibee package on the counter. "Cook something special for the fam," right?

            For Jollibee, going out and getting drive thru are not mentioned within the scope of the tweets for analysis. This is a deliberate exclusion that suggests that the audience of these tweets are of a different socio-economic class when compared to McDonald's and KFC. This will be further discussed in the next point, when we take a look at the new concepts and processes presented by the other two. The viewership of this different socio-economic class is also hinted at through the writing of entire tweets written in Tagalog. This is something that did not occur in McDonald's and KFC tweets. It is important to call back to the fact that Jollibee also holds the largest percentage of patrons at 87% of the survey respondents.

 

4. Dictionary Pandemica

            Fast food marketing welcomes the increased use of what we can probably consider to be expansions to our vocabulary as needed by this pandemic. We see the use of terms like contactless, distancing, cashless, park-and-go, and ride-thru as necessary to describe adaptations to our new reality. All these concepts discuss new processes that are focused on safety through the reduction of physical contact between people.

            While park-and-go and ride-thru are not necessarily things that have never been done before, they are given emphasis through the coining of these terms. Park-and-go enables fast food branches with no actual drive-thru infrastructure to conveniently deliver food to drivers and passengers, while ride-thru opens up the concept of the drive-thru for motorcycle and bicycle riders. The terms themselves invite more people to stay outside of the establishments to prevent transmission, while still being able to purchase their favorite meals. It's a simple change with life saving implications.

            Looking at the use of different languages, it is apparent here that KFC and McDonald's appeal to different socio-economic classes when compared to Jollibee. It was noted that Jollibee adhered strictly to the promotion of food delivery and consumption at home, but KFC and McDonald's have included changes that are meant to appeal to vehicle owners. Another interesting parallel to note is that KFC has tweets written almost entirely in English across their timeline, while McDonald's has the tendency to employ code-switching between English and Tagalog. KFC promotes park-and-go with a video showing cars as an example, while McDonald's shows bicycles and motorcycles operated by different people, including a security guard.

5. Only a Day Away

             We have reached a point in this pandemic in which a lot of us have probably experienced losing track of time or losing a sense of direction with everything that has gone on. However, our Bestfriend Jollibee reminds us that the new year has already arrived and it is time to make our new year's resolutions. Don't forget that safety, masks, and face shields are probably going to be around even as we go into 2021.

            KFC tells us to KFCze ("seize") the new year, every day, the holidays, and maybe another piece of chicken from the bucket if we're still hungry.  Even in this pandemic, we have to take what we can and reclaim control over the situation that we're all part of. We have lost a lot, after all. This way of asserting measures of control over the chaos of a pandemic, is similar to what is explored by Cadiente and Valdez in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. (Doroja-Cadiente & Valdez, 2019)

                      Physical distance has been more than necessary for almost a year now, but McDonald's asserts that Christmas goes on with or without everyone in the family under the same roof. Tagging people can be a way of showing others that you care during the holidays.

 

            Despite everything that's happened, life goes on and tomorrow will always be just a day away. When will it all end? Who knows. But fast food social media has largely reminded its followers that we just have to keep on going, and try to keep the pandemic in our rear-view mirror as much as we can.

 

Conclusion

           
            The fast food industry has made a shift in its use of language as a way to bring together the concept of staying safe and well in a pandemic, and enjoying the convenience of fast food with the same level of frequency as before. People have multiple concerns regarding dining out that they have responded to with procedures that mirror all other establishments at this time, but also provided new terms to promote practices that are needed by fast food restaurants to maintain the high volume of consumerism that is characteristic to the industry. The use of language seems to reflect different priorities based on the different socio-economic levels that seem to be targeted by each of the three restaurants.

            Their social media choices have been significantly affected by this need to both recognize the pandemic as a part of our reality, but take special care not to put it in the spotlight. The exclusion of direct references to the pandemic and its negative effects is simply a way of achieving the goal of marketing, since mentioning the pandemic is likely to cause fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the safety and convenience of the fast food industry. While they avoid causing this negative response, they also cannot completely ignore the pandemic as that might be a reason for people to think that they are taking it lightly. That, too, will cause people to avoid a lack of safety measures that might possibly spread the virus

            Finally, the shift in the linguistic practices of fast food marketing has ultimately led to the creation of a landscape that drives people to continue with their lives in a way that recognizes the changes that the pandemic has caused but adjusts to the different markets that they target. For KFC, paired with its exclusive use of English for its social media, there is a relatively privileged call to action of "seizing the day." This seems to imply that the main problem of going on with life during the pandemic is not making the most of it. Mcdonald's, which constantly code switches, fits squarely in the middle ground of highlighting the importance of family and staying at home, but having the freedom to go out and still stay safe. Jollibee makes use of Tagalog the most, and exclusively promotes the idea of staying at home, which is the most universal of options that can be taken for safety regardless of financial status.

 

For all three, there is a constant reminder to celebrate at home and continue with our traditions, maybe over a hearty order of fast food, because we have to continue on with our lives despite not knowing how exactly this pandemic will shake out and eventually exit our realities.

 

References

Doroja-Cadiente, G., & Valdez, P. (2019). A Linguistic Landscape Analysis of Public Signs After Typhoon Haiyan. International Journal Of Asia Pacific Studies, 15(1), 33-57. doi: 10.21315/ijaps2019.15.1.2

Jollibee Twitter Account. (2021). Retrieved 8 January 2021, from https://twitter.com/Jollibee

KFC Philippines Twitter Account. (2021). Retrieved 8 January 2021, from https://twitter.com/KFCPhilippines

McDo Philippines Twitter Account. (2021). Retrieved 8 January 2021, from https://twitter.com/McDo_PH

Philippines - average fast food consumption per week 2017-2018 | Statista. (2021). Retrieved 8 January 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/921367/philippines-average-fast-food-consumption-per-week/

Philippines - visited fast food restaurants 2018 | Statista. (2021). Retrieved 8 January 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/922265/philippines-visited-fast-food-restaurants/

Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. (2003). Discourses in place. London: Routledge.