Premier Inn has successfully met the needs of its target consumers through strategic segmentation, targeting, and positioning. It identifies three main consumer segments - budget travelers, business travelers, and those staying near airports - and develops offerings tailored to each, such as affordable rooms, meeting spaces, and parking packages. Premier Inn also positions itself as the budget-friendly option through consistent branding, celebrity endorsements showcasing various uses, and a relaxing retail environment. These targeted strategies and tactics in marketing communications, products, and service delivery have contributed greatly to Premier Inn's success in the hotel market.

1. Z0952607
Assesshowthe brand’sstrategyaimsto meetthe needs/want/desireof itstargetconsumers.
Identifyandevaluatethe strategy,tacticsandpracticesthat youbelievehave contributedtoits
success.
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Andy Harrison, CEO of Whitbread, identifies Premier Inn as one of their most
successful brands. (Whitbreadplc, 2013) There are several attributes of its branding
strategy that can be seen to contribute to its success in meeting the needs of
consumers, including various marketing theories e.g. its marketing communications.
Although a SWOT analysis shows the main threat to be its competition, specifically
Travelodge, there is also evidence to show how Premier Inn combat this.
Premier Inn successfully meets the needs of the consumer by strategically
segmenting the market. By doing this, they are able to focus their brand image and
marketing communications on their target areas. Three principal segments have
been overtly identified.
Tools such as ACORN can be used to identify different segments of society
that can be targeted by businesses. In the case of Premier Inn, the fourth category,
“Financially Stretched” provides information on those who would benefit from budget
priced hotels, their principal target consumer. (acorn.caci.uk, 2015) This information
is successfully transferred into targeting this area of the market through their low-
cost hotel rooms across the country, confirmed by Eleftheriou-Smith (2012): "The
battle is on price within the UK market.” Premier Inn expanded its brand in 2007 by
creating the Premier for Business segment of the company. Methods of targeting
business people include free Wi-Fi, business meeting rooms and a corporate travel
card. (Premierinn.com, 2015a) The promotion of certain target locations meets these
needs as corporate meetings are often held in city centres, therefore a low-cost hotel
is desired by the consumer. The final area of segmentation includes people who
wish to find a package suitable for staying overnight before a vacation abroad: again
location is key in targeting these consumers as the hotel must be relatively close to
an airport. The Sleep Park Fly scheme successfully meets the needs of these
consumers, allowing customers to stay overnight and then park their car whilst they
go away.

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Assesshowthe brand’sstrategyaimsto meetthe needs/want/desireof itstargetconsumers.
Identifyandevaluatethe strategy,tacticsandpracticesthat youbelievehave contributedtoits
success.
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Premier Inn has successfully positioned itself within the market through the use of
Jobber’s Anatomy of Brand Positioning. (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013) Firstly, its
brand domain is set primarily within the budget hotel market, although as discussed
previously it has extended into other areas. The Sleep Park Fly Scheme is part of
this and an asset of the brand. It differentiates Premier Inn from its top rival,
Travelodge, by offering the consumer a service they need and cannot get from other
brands. Premier Inn also meet the needs of the consumer through its core values: it
prides itself on “a great night guaranteed” (Premierinn.com, 2015b) and therefore
combines the low cost element with a high quality product. The personality element
of brand positioning can be evaluated through Aaker’s dimensions. (Cited in Baines
et al., 2011) Premier Inn can be said to have a personality of sincerity and
competence. The consumer therefore knows that Premier Inn is a brand that they
can rely on and face a down-to-earth experience. This is successful in targeting the
needs of the consumer as they are honest in their position as a budget brand, thus
building a trustworthy relationship with the consumer.
According to Shipley and Howard (1993:60), “Competitive edge can be obtained by
using a distinctive brand name.” It is potentially the first aspect of the brand that will
be seen by the consumer and so it is essential that the brand name displays a clear
message of what it aims to achieve. In the case of Premier Inn, the name evokes
positive associations: the word premier also means “first in importance, order or
position” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015) and therefore induces the image of a market
leader. It is also easy to remember and clearly suggests the benefits of Premier Inn
over Travelodge. In seeing this brand name, the consumer has a clear
understanding that the brand is a hotel/"Inn" company that will aim to give a top
quality service. However, the name itself is not the only strategy used to meet the
needs of the consumer: the logo differentiates Premier Inn's product from other
competitors and communicates a coherent image of the brand to the consumer. The
metaphor of a sleeping moon ties in with Premier Inn's motto "a great night
guaranteed." The smiling face subliminally links feelings of happiness to the brand in
the minds of the consumer through the representativeness heuristic. (Hardman,

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Identifyandevaluatethe strategy,tacticsandpracticesthat youbelievehave contributedtoits
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2009) The three stars represent a cartoon depiction of sleeping (i.e. ‘z’s’) but also
imitate the stars given to top quality hotels - three stars would suggest that the hotel
provides "good-quality, well-presented beds and furniture, a choice of good-quality,
freshly cooked food is available" and that staff are "smartly and professionally
presented." (TheAA.com, 2015) This therefore shows that the hotel meets the needs
of the consumer as-well-as their desires to stay in a top quality hotel.
A successful integrated marketing campaign is essential in meeting the needs of the
consumer as “Communication is the process by which individuals share meaning."
(Baines et al, 2011:371) Firstly, the use of celebrity endorser Lenny Henry gives
Premier Inn's advertising a more human element. Henry is widely known for his role
in Comic Relief and is generally considered to be a wholesome, down-to-earth man:
a representation of what the brand aims to be. The brand's success can therefore
largely be put down to Henry's involvement since 2008. In terms of social marketing,
this is similar to the idea of an identifiable victim; people are more likely to donate to
a cause which shows the human effect rather than statistical facts. (Small,
Lowenstein and Slovic, 2007) In this instance, people are more willing to invest in a
hotel room because they want to enjoy it as much as Henry appears to in their
advertisements, enticing them more than the statistics proving Premier Inn to be
successful. The advert launched in 2014 also meets the needs of consumers by
identifying the various locations and reasons people may use a Premier Inn: Russell
Braterman, marketing director of the brand, states that "The ad sees Lenny in his
Premier Inn bed, on a whistle-stop tour of the UK.” (Cited in McCabe, 2014) With
images of weddings, business meetings and airports it identifies the primary needs
of the consumer.
The retail environment of Premier Inn is important in meeting the needs of the
consumer, particularly through the senses of sight and sound. As identified by a
consumer review, everything in a Premier Inn follows the same colour scheme as the
logo, purple and white. (Chi, 2009) This reinforces the brand’s image and creates a
relaxed atmosphere as colours closer to blue are less arousing. (Van Rompay et al.,

4. Z0952607
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Identifyandevaluatethe strategy,tacticsandpracticesthat youbelievehave contributedtoits
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4 | P a g e
2011) Costa, is also seen within the foyer and served in all Premier Inn restaurants:
associating Premier Inn’s brand to another UK market leader. (Hyde, 2013) Sound is
also important as a way of meeting the consumers’ needs. Premier Inn sound proof
their hotels which are located in busy areas i.e. near to airports or main roads in
order to maintain their "great night guarantee" as confirmed by various customer
reviews of one hotel. (Holidaywatchdog.com, 2015) This meets the customers’
needs of a peaceful night and maintains their image of honesty, trustworthiness and
reliability.
Premier Inn’s brand is essentially a service rather than a product, meaning it is
intangible and perishes upon use. (Baines et al., 2011b) There are several strategies
Premier Inn adopts to meet the needs of the consumer despite this: firstly, it uses
differential pricing in order to reward customers who book early or to allow customers
who are uncertain of their stay to cancel at any point (the flexible vs. saver price
scheme). It therefore meets the demands of consumers in different situations. In
addition, Premier Inn combat the issue of inseparability of production and
consumption by providing a product for sale: their bed. It therefore offers a marketing
mix of both service and product, successfully meeting the needs of consumers by
accessing the tangibility a product has. In addition, a promotion of £100 is offered on
the bed if you stay in the hotel, therefore giving loyal customers a reward.
(Premierinn.com, 2015c) Nonetheless, Premier Inn’s branding is largely intangible,
thus the service blueprint is important in identifying and therefore attempting to meet
the needs of the consumer. The example below is a typical blueprint for a hotel stay:
Premier Inn has a more basic blueprint to fit in with its budget pricing, however it is a
similar process, showing their strategy clearly reacts to customer actions and
therefore meet their needs.

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Figure 2: Service Blueprint (Baines et al., 2011:485)
In conclusion, Premier Inn has a successful brand strategy in terms of meeting the
needs of the consumer through its segmentation and targeting of different areas of
society. In addition, it is honest and consistent in its position as a low cost but
reasonable quality brand – sticking firmly to its core values. Finally, it has met the
increasing demand for transferability between a service based experience and a
product based one by offering its exclusive Hypnos bed, with a reduced charge for
loyal customers.

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