Stephanie Ericson

PRAD 585
April 22, 2015
Brand Audit: Secondary Data Analysis
I.

Introduction

Opened in 2009, and located on the furthest, east side of the West Loop, the Chicago
French Market is Chicagos first and only year-round indoor market. With 29 unique,
hand selected food and retail vendors, the market is open Monday through Saturday,
offering consumers fresh ingredients to cook at home, places to eat at the market or
prepared meals to take on-the-go, as well as an offering of gifts for any occasion.
Though the only market of its kind in Chicago, the Chicago French Market faces
challenges that are limiting its brand awareness among Chicago tourists and natives alike,
therefore limiting the success and visitor traffic. This brand audit will research secondary
data in attempts to determine opportunities in future media plans and strategy, as well as
analyze available data about current public perception by looking at previous media
coverage, both national and local to the Chicago area, Chicago French Markets social
media presence, as well as customer reviews utilizing websites such as Yelp.com and
Tripadvisor.com.
II.

Research Problem / Challenge

Though individual vendors within the market are achieving brand success, the market as
a whole is lacking brand recognition and the overall traffic that they desire. According to
Marian Jarocki, Director of Leasing, Marketing and Social Media for the Chicago French
Market, the market faces slower Saturday business, slower off-peak hours, lacks tourist
traffic, and does not attract school groups and retiree groups.
All of these issues seem to stem from the lack of brand recognition and lack of brand
awareness. Jarocki also expressed concern that there is a misconception of what the
market actually is. While the market is more of a food hall that offers a wide variety of
products, she explained that many people preconceive that it offers only French products,
and has more to offer by way of ingredients than prepared food. So the challenges
presented appear to be a lack of brand exposure, understanding, and recognition.
III.

Research Method / Secondary Data Sources

Secondary research was collected on the Chicago French Market through numerous
sources including social media, Google news searches, LexisNexis Academic, ProQuest,
the French Markets website, as well as customer reviews on sites such as
TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com.

Utilizing LexisNexis Academic, a simple search was conducted using the phrase
Chicago French Market during the timeframe of December 1, 2012, through April 20,
2015, searching all sources available. The same search parameters were mimicked on
ProQuest using the Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal databases.
Google news was used as a basic web tool as an extension of the LexisNexis and
ProQuest searches. The same Chicago French Market phrase was used, and the same
timeframe was searched.
A general overview was done of Chicago French Markets social media presence using
all of their social media accounts, which include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get
a feel for the content that they produce, customer and follower engagement, popularity,
and reviews and feedback where it was available. No specific timeframe was used in this
search, as all account information was utilized.
Reviews were researched on TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com to get a more in-depth feel
for what consumers are saying about the market. No timeframe was used for these sites as
all data was looked at in an attempt to identify trends within reviews during the life of the
market.
IV.

Results of Findings

The LexisNexis search returned 12 results, with only one result that was from outside of
Chicago. The ProQuest search returned 27 results, all with positive headlines, with 26
from the Chicago Tribune and one from the Wall Street Journal. Google news returned
numerous pages of results that included repeat hits from both the LexisNexis and
ProQuest searches, along with new results that included popular culinary sites, blogger
reviews, and articles from major news outlets. Below is a sampling of those findings.
Chicago Media
Chicago Eater
o Black Dog Gelato opening in the Chicago French Market, and is staying
open year-round, unlike other locations in the city
Chicago Magazine
o What to Eat and Drink in Chicago this Week, including Chicago French
Markets Artisan Food Fest
o Le Pain Quotidien Is Rising in Chicago: The bakery/restaurant chain will
open its first Chicago location in the West Loop later this spring
o A Raw Vegan Grab-and-Go Spot is Coming to River North
Chicagoist.com
o Meet the Maker: David Gremmels of Rogue Creamery who will be at the
Chicago French Market Pastorals Artisan Producer Festival
o Donut Milkshakes Are Coming To The Chicago French Market
o Pencil This In: Chicago French Markets Great Pumpkin Party
o The 15 Best French Fries In Chicago

o The 12 Best Bakeries In Chicago

Chicago Parent
o The Kids Guide to Chicago French Market
o Five Unique Chicagoland Egg Hunts
Chicago Tribune
o Eat This: The Original Meatball Vault
o Chicago French Market finds: Tres bien! An eating tour of Chicago French
Market
Crains Chicago Business
o Lavazza selling or closing Chicago coffee shops
o Da Lobsta rolls to Chicago French Market
o Little Goat Bread Coming to Chicago French Market
o Stephanie Izard to open Chinese spot in West Loop
The Columbia Chronicle
o Paris visits Chicago with fresh food markets
DNAinfo.com
o 4 Neighborhood Places Where You Should Eat and Drink This Weekend
o 10 Things To Do on the Near West Side This Weekend
Chicago Daily Herald
o Arlington brothers bring the meatball to new levels

Non-Chicago Media
The Philadelphia Daily News
o New Sofitel chef explores Reading Terminal to give his cooking a Philly
Accent
The Wall Street Journal
o Where The Foodies Live Americas passion for both cooking and cuisine
is reshaping residential real estate; now, the hottest neighborhoods are
built around green markets, top restaurants and celebrity chefs
Travel and Leisure
o Americas Best Food Halls
Zagat.com
o 11 Must-Visit Food Halls Across the U.S.
Social Medial
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoFrenchMarket
o 9,382 likes
o Over 14,000 people have checked in at the French Market on Facebook.
o 4.3 out 5 stars of Facebook reviews, though little insight is offered as very
few of these reviews come with comments
675 reviews
377 five stars reviews
185 four stars reviews

 88 three stars reviews

16 two stars reviews
9 one star reviews
o Mainly support for vendors and their products and accomplishments, as
well as announcements for events

Twitter- @ChiFrenchMarket
o 7,899 followers
o Many positive retweets and mentions
o Many original tweets from the French Market about events, media
mentions, awards, and new products from vendors
o There is another Twitter handle, @CHICAGOFRENCH, that is listed
under the name FRENCH MARKET, and has the French Market logo as
its profile picture. This profile has no tweets and 66 followers, but could
be misleading and confusing to followers and customers.

Instagram- chifrenchmarket
o 147 posts
o 278 followers
o Good use of hashtags to attract more followers
o Great display of diverse vendor products

TripAdvisor.com
Ranks Chicago French Market 217th of 8,474 restaurants in Chicago
Awarded Chicago French Market a Certificate of Excellence
48 reviews
o 28 excellent reviews
o 14 very good reviews
o 4 average reviews
o 0 poor reviews
o 0 terrible reviews
Many reviews say they stumbled upon the market by accident
Many reviews comment on the great variety and the wonderful, on-the-go food
Yelp.com
363 reviews
o 88 five star reviews
o 167 four star reviews
o 66 three star reviews
o 35 two star reviews
o 7 one star reviews
Many of the negative comments were upset that it was neither French nor what
they considered a market (early misconceptions seem to be from 2009-2011)

V.

Majority of negative comments are from 2009-2011, whereas most 5 star reviews
are from 2015

Conclusion

The Chicago French Market continues to have a strong presence in Chicago media, and
should continue to strengthen their current media relations and continue to build their
media contact list.
From the headlines that were collected, there was very little negative media coverage
found, with the Crians Chicago Business article on the closing of Lavazza coffee shop
being the only local Chicago article with a negative connotation, and the Philadelphia
Daily News article referencing the popularity and variety of the Reading Terminal Market
in Philadelphia in comparison to the French Market. The article from The Columbia
Chronicle, Paris visits Chicago with fresh food markets was published on Monday,
May 5, 2014, and I believe sends a confusing message to readers. The headline alone
could lead people to believe that the market is not a permanent fixture, and the article
itself feeds into the preconception that the market is solely French and sells only fresh
produce. Brand messaging and media training would be a key suggestion going forward
for all stakeholders, managers, and business owners within the market to help keep the
message on target as to what exactly the market is. Internal communication to assure that
everyone within the market knows what the markets message is will be key to the
brands success.
The use of social media is smart and should be continued. Showing vendors products and
the wide variety of offerings helps to demonstrate the food hall style atmosphere and
breaks the assumption that all vendors are French and only offer a specific type of
merchandise.
Though an analysis was done in 2011, I would recommend an updated survey of current
market customers to collect data on how they heard of the market, shopping trends,
demographic information, and visiting habits. I would also include questions concerning
the types of vendors, events, and products and customers would like to see at the market
in the future. Additional surveys should be done outside of current market customers to
gauge the general level of awareness of the market among Chicagoland natives,
accompanied by information gathering on how these individuals gather their news about
events and venues in Chicago.
I would also recommend a strategic plan for 2016 for partnerships and community
outreach. This can include outreach to Chicago schools and retirement homes for visits
and field trips, putting flyers or pamphlets in registration bags at major races that occur in
Chicago, including the Chicago Marathon which attracts 45,000 runners from all 50
states, and all over the world, not to mention their friends and family. This can also

include partnering with other Chicago tourist attractions such as museums, or possibly
tours that happen throughout the city that could start or end at the market.
Making sure that the messaging of what the market is and the brand is consistent is key,
and whether it is one of the owners of the market itself or one of the vendors, everyone
needs to know how to communicate that message.