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Burger King Revitalizing the Brand

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Burger King is a strong consumer brand. Yes, its in difficulty ... But the brand is going to survive.
... Given the fact that so many people have tried to turn it around, it will be a real badge for the ones
who can finally do it.1
Dennis Lombardi, Executive Vice President, Technomic Inc,
Food Service Consulting Firm, Chicago
Our passionate goal is to build a clear, strong and differentiated brand through a foundation of truly
excellent and consistent restaurant operations combined with highly effective advertising. This will
benefit consumers, franchisees and employees as well as our communities.2
Brad Blum, CEO, Burger King

We are not a brand that lacks fame, we are a brand that lacks emotional connection.3

INTRODUCTION

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Russ Klien, Chief, Global Marketing, Burger King

By 2003, US-based Burger King, the second largest burger chain in the country after
McDonalds, had experienced a decline in its sales for the previous five years. Burger
Kings US sales dropped to $7.75 billion in 2003 from $10.3 billion in 1998. The growing
negative attitude towards fast food, aggressive competition and anti-obesity campaigns
among others, attributed to the fall in sales. In addition, several internal factors like improper
brand management, lack of customer orientation and flaws in new product positioning led
to Burger Kings falling sales. A survey by Interbrand, a brand consulting firm, revealed
that the brand value of Burger King dropped by 22.8% from $2.7 billion in 2000 to $2.12
billion in 2003 (Annexure I). 4
Burger King that offered a variety of burgers, sandwiches and salads, had in its product
profile some of the blockbuster brands in the fast food industry like the Whopper sandwiches,
Chicken club sandwiches and TenderCrisp sandwiches. By 2002, the market share of Burger
King in the $45.4 billion fast food hamburger market in the US was 18%, compared to
McDonalds 43% market share and Wendys with 12.7%. The chain was under a threat of
being overtaken by Wendys, the third largest chain in the country, which witnessed a 4.5%
growth in its same store sales in the last quarter of 2002. Many franchisees of Burger King
went bankrupt due to the steady fall in sales.5
Reinan John, Burger Kings gopher state gurus, www.startribune.com, May 17th 2004
Burger King selects advertising agency partners to drive new strategic brand initiatives, www.hispanicbusiness.com,
April 14th 2004
Horovitz Bruce, Burger King zaps menu, image, www.usatoday.com, March 22nd 2004
New burger king shop hits the grill, www.foodservice.com, August 15th 2002
Burger Kings reign of error, www.businessweek.com, March 29th 2004

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3
4
5

This case study was written by Gayatri. D, under the direction of T. Phani Madhav, IBSCDC. It is intended
to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of
a management situation. The case was compiled from published sources.
2004, IBSCDC.
No part of this publication may be copied, stored, transmitted, reproduced or distributed in any form or
medium whatsoever without the permission of the copyright owner.

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Amid the heavy fall in sales, franchisee complaints and dropping brand value, Bradley S.
Blum took over as the CEO of the company in 2003. The major challenge that stood in the
way of Burger Kings executives was the revitalisation of the brand that was reported to
have lost the consumers attention. The brand no more delighted the customer, the new
product launches were not in tune with the market needs and the advertising campaigns
were ephemeral and ever changing. Under a new management, a major turnaround was
undertaken to help the business revive its brand image.

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Organisational restructuring, change in management culture, new alliances with advertising


agencies and menu overhaul were a few initiatives taken up by the company. In addition, to
address the growing impatience among the franchisees over the falling brand value, Burger
King attempted to revamp the brand with newer offerings, improved drive-through concepts
and improved restaurant interiors. Franchisees were also awaiting a major turnaround in
marketing plans under the new leadership. Larry Jaro, chairman and CEO of Ameriking, the
largest franchisee of Burger King, expressed the same and said, Someones going to look
like a hero here, this is a brand with a lot of potential thats been mismanaged for 15 years.
We need management with a long-term vision for the brand. People need to connect
emotionally to the product.6
BURGER KING BACKGROUND

The first Burger King restaurant was started in 1952 in Miami under the name, Insta-Burger
King. Keith Cramer launched the chain that used instant broiler that could make 400 burgers
in an hour. With quicker service as its USP, the chain became popular among the customers.
Later, in 1954, David Edgerton renamed the chain as Burger King and came out with an
improved version of the broiler the flame-broiled burger that was an instant hit. The same
year, in June, David, along with Jim McLamore, started the Burger King Inc. In 1957, Burger
King launched its Whopper sandwich for 37 cents a piece. Whopper was the first high-priced
Burger King product. It was made of ripe tomatoes, fresh crisp lettuce and drill pickles and
with its first ad campaign, Home of the Whopper developed by a Miami-based advertising
agency, Hume, Smith and Mickelberry, it was an instant hit. Burger King differentiated itself
with its self-service ordering and comfortable outdoor seating and dining rooms.

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In 1961, the company, headed by McLamore and David, obtained its first international franchisee
rights. And in 1962, opened its first international Burger King franchisee in Puerto Rico, a
Caribbean island. In 1967, identifying the need for financial liquidity, the company merged
with the flour milling company, Pillsbury. BBDO (Batten, Burton, Dustin, Osborne) came out
with the first promotional campaign for Burger King, The bigger the Burger the better the
Burger. By the early 1970s, Burger King had a market share of 4% in the hamburger category.
In 1974, BBDO launched another major campaign Have it your Way. Burger King came out
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Spethmann Betsy, Can a new marketing menu satiate consumers-and franchisees?, www.promomagazine.com, January 1st
2001

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with a new concept of letting its customers choose the recipe of their burgers. Customers
placed their customised orders which were fulfilled at all the Burger King outlets. Around
1024 combinations of orders were possible for the Whopper sandwich.
In 1975, Burger Kings European operations were started in Madrid, Spain. The same year,
Drive-through concept was introduced that catered to the on the drive, while in car customers.
Burger King named J. Walter Thompson as its advertising agency in 1976.Anew ad campaign,
Battle of Burgersand Arent you hungry for Burger King now?was launched. To emphasise
its flame-broiling, it came out with the campaign, broiling vs frying. Burger Kings market
share during this period increased from 7% in 1983 to 8.3% in 1985.

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However, some other campaigns undertaken by the chain proved to be failures. For example,
its Search for the Herb campaign that communicated a message that no person would
have ever not tasted its Whopper burger, failed to deliver the message. Advertising Age
stated the campaign as the most elaborate advertising flop of the decade. The
advertisements challenged its customers to find a herb but failed to define a herb. While the
company aimed at creating a buzz with the suspense, customers got irritated over the
confusing ad campaign.7 Such ad campaigns and price hikes undertaken by the company
dropped the market performance, raising concerns among McLamore and David.
Later, in 1987, Pillsbury was acquired by Britains Grand Metropolitan, a consumer goods
company involved in manufacturing and marketing of fast food and spirits, for $5.79 billion.
In 1989, its ad campaigns like Sometimes you got to break the rules and BK tee vee with
MTV, proved unsuccessful as customers found these advertisements loud, confusing and
irritating. However, the Whopper brand of Burger King became the flagship brand, making
around $1.7 billion annually. Many franchisees started expanding aggressively by taking
loans. Amerking, the largest franchisee in the US, built around 20 stores a year.

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In 1990, Burger King launched BK Broiler, a flame-broiled sandwich and for the
health-conscious customers, it switched to vegetable oil for frying French fries. It came out
with an improved version of its Have it your way campaign, Your Way, Right Away. By
1993, Burger Kings market share was 6.1% compared to 15.6% of McDonalds. The sales
were increasing at a slower pace compared to its rivals sales. Some of the failed advertisement
campaigns were attributed to the downside. It was felt that the chain lacked a proper mix of
products and message.8 In 1999, to compete with McDonalds in the French fries segment,
Burger King launched its crisper french fries coated with potato starch. The company
spent $70 million on the promotion of the new product. The advertisement campaign,
hotter, tastier, crisper, challenged that its product was superior to McDonalds. But, the
product failed because of its poor taste and the ad campaign was reported to have
exaggerated the superiority, which in reality was not offered.9 Burger Kings ever-changing
advertisements sometimes confused the audience as to what they intended to convey
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Wheres herb, www.geocities.com


Burger King zaps menu, image, op.cit.
JBS How strong brands, www.monitor.com, March 2003

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(Annexure II). Larry Jaro, CEO,AmerKing said, Its been one gimmick after another, different
properties to hook into. That approach doesnt work because it doesnt position the brand.
A lot of our marketing problems have to do with not having top management with vision
and strategy.10

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Franchisees who controlled around 90% of the Burger Kings system-wide sales began
complaining about the poor marketing decisions of the company. The poor service and
inconsistent food preparation added to the problems. The core product of the company,
the customised flame-broiled burger, lost its share drastically. Expansions among franchisees
were stagnant for a while, as they were reluctant to expand until Burger King improved its
brand image.11 Meanwhile, Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness, a manufacturer of
spirits and beer, in 1997, and formed a food and drink consortium called Diageo PLC. Diageo
PLC, in addition to Burger King, now had other major brands of liquor like Johnnie Walker,
Smirnoff and Guinness in its profile. In 1998, Burger King opened its 10,000th franchisee in
Sydney, Australia. The market share of the chain was 20.4% by then.
MORE TROUBLES FOR BURGER KING

By 2000, the $45 billion burger market began to mature. The compounded annual growth rate
in the market was just 2%, compared to 7% registered between 1980 and 2000.12 All the three
major players, Burger King, McDonalds and Wendys were facing tough competition from
non-burger chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). KFC came out with the thing outside
the bun campaign against burgers and Taco Bell. Pizza Hut, including other non-burger
chains, were among the growing companies in the restaurant sector in the US. The same store
sales at Burger King fell by 4%. Burger King closed all its outlets in Japan, incurring huge
losses. Sales from European divisions also fell by 9%. A major cause was the outbreak of the
foot-and-mouth disease and the growing negative attitude among consumers against fast
food. Amidst anti-obesity campaigns in the country, McDonalds and Burger King witnessed
falling sales.

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To recover from the crisis, McDonalds, the largest hamburger chain, deployed price
reduction and discounts. It launched a value menu, an assortment of eight items, two
sandwiches and other side items and desserts at $1. To compete, Burger King came out
with a 11-item menu (hamburgers, tacos, chili, and other side dishes) for 99 cents. In addition,
it repriced its premium product Whopper, to 99 cents, reducing its price drastically from its
earlier $2.99. Franchisees were against these discounts as they felt it would lead to fall in
per unit sales margins. Some felt that the price wars would damage the brand image. In
addition, the Whopper Jr., the smaller Whopper in the value menu, was considered to have
cheapened the quality image of Whopper brand name.13 Franchisees believed that
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Spethmann Betsy, Flare-up at Burger King, www.promomagazine.com, January 1st 2000


BK franchisees halt growth plans, say brand must beef up, www.entrepreneur.com, July 10th 2001
Three biggest U.S hamburger chains cope with maturation of the market, www.foodservice.com, February 26th 2002
Howard Therasa, Not so fast-brief article, Brand Week, August 21th 2000

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customers preferred Burger King for the food and service and were not attracted by cheap
food.14 Despite resistance, Burger King managed to obtain approval from 66% of the
franchisees for the discount. During the price war, Burger King was reported to have lost its
customers to McDonalds.15 Customers switched brands and, moreover, McDonalds $1
assortment offered a bigger serving than that of Burger King.

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By the end of 2000, Burger Kings share in the hamburger market fell from 19.6% in 1999 to
18.8%. McDonalds, its major competitor had a market share of 43.1%. Also, competition
was prospering with Wendys reporting an increase in its share from 12.2% in 1999 to 13.2%
in 2000.16 Other smaller players like Jack-In-The-Box and the Rallys started gaining sales.
McDonalds built its niche with speed, while Wendys, on the other hand, positioned itself
as a high-quality, high-service product. In contrast, it was felt that the Burger King brand
was never properly marketed in Burger Kings advertisements. Burger King, in spite of its
heavy ad budget of $320 million, was considered to have failed in establishing a unique
brand image of itself. Burger King promoted only its product and competing with McDonalds
which was considered a master of branding, required a focused communication strategy.
Moreover, Burger King constantly changed its advertising agencies. Burger King was
criticised for selecting its ad agencies on the basis of ideas rather than strategies. Sometimes,
the retail offer did not match the message delivered in the ad campaigns.17 Its US campaign,
we have got it was launched in the UK, but many felt that the same strategy might not
work in all countries. While the campaign promised menu variety, the actual menu did not
offer the variety.

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Meanwhile, franchisees also expressed dissatisfaction over the initiatives taken by the
company. National Franchisee Association (NFA) proposed a split of Burger King from
Diageo for increased control. It was felt that under a foreign ownership, after a series of
acquisitions, the chain was left as a small business unit of a big conglomerate, struggling
for monetary and operational attention. Some felt that the company failed to respond fast
and lacked a leader to take charge of the situation. Some felt that the high franchisee fees
added to the franchisees problems. Burger King charged a franchisee fee of $50,000 as
against its earlier $40,000 and 8.5% commission on sales, while McDonalds charged $45,000
with an 8% sales percentage.18 Many franchisees accused the company of improper
management of the brand. Around 13 franchisees that operated 167 restaurants went bankrupt
because of the huge debts they had accumulated over their expansions. Meanwhile, in
June 2000, Diageo declared its intention to spin off Burger King.
To initiate the split, Burger King appointed John Dasburg from Northwest Airlines, as its
new CEO and chairman in April 2001. He was the seventh CEO of the company in the past
13 years. Dasburg identified that revival of the brand was essential for the planned separation
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Gibson Richard, Wounded Burger King franchisees mull a 99c whopper, www.licenseenews.com, November 21st 2002
Leung Shirley, Fast food slows down, Wall Street Journal, December 2002
Whos winning the burger wars, www.entrepreneur.com May 14th 2002
Howard Theresa, BK aims to cook up winning ads, www.usatoday.com, June 18th 2001
Kruger Daniel, Carrying the flame, www.forbes.com, December 24th 2001

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of Burger King as an independent business. Within months of his taking over, Dasburg
came out with a turnaround plan for Burger King. Under his leadership, Burger King added
sixteen new products to its menu to add to the product variety (Annexure III). Chicken
Whopper was launched, which was the first ever line extension of Burger King. The aim
was to leverage on the strong brand value of Whopper brand, which was a bigger brand
than Burger King. At the same time, unsuccessful products were eliminated from the menu.
A new ad campaign was launched, @ Burger King You got it! replacing the Have it
your Way campaign. The new positioning was expected to support the falling brand image
by emphasising on the brands commitment to quality and service.

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Marketing alliances were formed withAOLTime Warner, Universal and DreamWorks. Movie
tie-ups with DreamWorks for films like Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron, and promotional
campaigns like buy one, get one free coupon for videos of DreamWorks along with
purchase of Big kids meal, were launched. Similarly, a campaign called Burger King rewards
in association with AOL Time Warner was launched, as part of which, customers who
purchased at Burger King outlets could win rewards with the codes on their food packs.
AOL members could download free music with their codes. Dasburg aimed at elevating
average sales at the outlet by 23%, achieving a market share of 22.8% by 2005. Expressing
his confidence, Dasburg said, Our underlying customer base has been eroding
precipitously, our task is to turn around top-line [revenue] by bringing more customers into
our restaurants. If that was so easy, it would have been done before.19
New product development, marketing and operations were the key areas that Dasburg
focused on. His first major task was to obtain the franchisees approval for new marketing
initiatives and was successful in obtaining franchisee support as the franchisees expressed
confidence over the centralised marketing initiatives, contrary to the decentralised and
cluttered approach in which the franchisees independently took decisions. According to
Chris Muller, professor, University of Florida, who was working on the turnaround plan of
the company, Dasburg was a better choice than franchisees ever expected. Franchisees
need to believe theres a central voice and be willing to be led. Burger Kings woes on a
decentralization strategy, begun in 1995, were a sin in brand marketing.20

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WITH BRAD BLUM THE BRAND REVIVES


In 2002, Burger King was sold to a US-based conglomerate of venture capitalist firms, Texas
Pacific Investment Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Bain Capital. Diageo sold
the chain for $1.5 billion. While the initial deal was for $2.26 billion, subject to Burger King
meeting a set target in sales, steady decline resulted in a fall in the value offered for the
purchase. Immediately after taking over, the new owners appointed Bradley S. Blum as the
new CEO of the company, succeeding Dasburg in January 2003. He was the eighth CEO of
the company. Dasburg remained the chairman of the company. Robert Nilsen, who was the
19
20

Spethmann Betsy, Cooking with gas, www.promomagazine.com, April 1st 2002


Ibid.

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chief operating officer at Taco Bell, was appointed as president of Burger King. Franchisees
expressed worries over so many internal changes but also felt relieved under the new
management. The company had been changing hands constantly and had five CEOs in the
past 10 years (Annexure IV).

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Some felt that franchisee complaints had led to so many shifts in CEOs, with the changing
CEOs in turn changing the advertising agencies frequently. Franchisees complained, Theres
a new person in charge so often, they have strategic cacophony and a lack of good people.
Their only consistency is the Whopper.21 Blum had a big task on hand. He had to regain
customer footfall as well as the franchisees confidence, support financially distressed
franchisees and rebuild the brand that was losing relevance. Young & Rubicam (Y&R)
advertising agency was chosen to take over the advertising activities of the company.
Meanwhile, Nilsen, within a year of his arrival, left the company, adding to the growing
anxiety among franchisees. Amerking, the largest franchisee finally sold all its 364 outlets.
Another major franchisee, Carrols, that operated 351 units in 13 states reported a drop in its
net income by 66%. It attributed poor product and marketing initiatives by the company to
its falling sales. Burger Kings overall profits continued to fall and dropped to $7.75 billion
in 2003, a 6.6% fall from the previous year.

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Again in 2003, Blum changed its advertising agency from Y&R to Crispin Porter+Bogusky
(CP+B). Blum felt that an immediate shift was necessary for improving the brand image and
recovering the franchisee relationships. Y&R, according to him, failed to do that. He said,
There is an urgency to build brand momentum to drive traffic and get results, the creative
team at Young & Rubicam failed to produce ads that would turn around decreasing sales
during the agencys nine-month run with Burger King.22 To revive its promotional
campaigns, Blum announced that its advertisements would focus on the quality and value
proposition rather than on price. Blum confirmed that price reductions and discounts would
not happen any more and the number of items in its 99 cents value menu would be reduced.
Stating that the discounts hurt the brand image, he said, Long-term, indiscriminate price
wars are a bad thing bad for quality, bad for innovation, bad for reinvestment in the
business, bad for everyones profits and ultimately bad for the consumer.23 Instead, a
consistent price was to be charged at all the outlets. The decision reflected the results of a
focus group interview undertaken by the company. The price thus decided was $1.99 below
its usual price of $2.99 and above the discount price, and was promoted under the new
campaign, Everyday right pricing.
Reviving the financially distressed franchisees was the next major task for Blum. Many felt
that the top-down approach deployed by Diageo, whereby a single franchisee was allowed
to operate more than 200 restaurants sometimes, led to aggressive expansions, causing the
franchisees to accumulate huge debts. This also resulted in financial distress while deviating
their attention from operational performance. 24
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23
24

Flare up at Burger King, op.cit.


Cipolla Lorin, Burger King ousts Young & Rubicam, www.promomagazine.com, January 27th 2004
Pain John, Burger King refocusing advertising on quality instead of price, www.detnews.com, May 10th 2003
Can a new marketing menu satiate consumers-and franchisees?, op.cit.

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REJUVENATING DISTRESSED FRANCHISEES

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Burger King came out with an initiative to help its debt-ridden franchisees revive their
business by offering financial aid. As part of it, Burger King announced Franchisee
Restructuring Initiative in February 2003. Through this programme, Burger King aimed at
assisting the franchisees in repaying debts, concentrating on the restaurants operation
and profitability. Blum believed that financial overhauling would help the company to
strengthen its product and service offerings at the restaurants. The company hired Trinity
Capital, a LosAngeles-based financial services firm to facilitate this renewal. The intermediary
would deal with the franchisees, the company and the creditors to gain common terms.
Trinity was paid administrative fees by Burger King. Blum remarked, Franchisees must
reinvest in their restaurants to keep them fresh and relevant for our customers. We must
significantly improve the quality and the consistency of what we offer the consumer, as
well as upgrade the appearance of our restaurants in order to be successful. The aim of this
program is to help franchisees with financial restructuring so they can meet their obligations
and become profitable again. 25

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At the same time, Blum also decided to shut down all the underperforming franchisees in
the country. Around 120 restaurants were closed since the begining of the turnaround. It
was however felt that, closing down the Burger King restaurants at some locations would
benefit McDonalds and Wendys. Most of the companys outlets that were being closed
operated within a short distance from their competitors stores, adding to at least 1% of
their sales from the Burger King customers. However, franchisees were relieved that amid
the changing leadership in the company, the chain finally found a person who had prior
knowledge of the restaurant industry. The company gave three years to Blum for achieving
the turnaround and the owners expressed satisfaction over Blums strategies. Burger King
aimed at becoming the best franchiser in the quick service restaurant industry and accordingly
renamed its world headquarters in Miami as Restaurant Support Center that would cater
to the needs of franchisees spread all over the world. Blum started a new campaign called
listen and learnas part of which, he travelled to 12 cities to meet and discuss the companys
plans with the franchisees. Expressing his confidence over the plans being undertaken at
Burger King, Josephson, chairman, National Franchisee Association, said, I find the new
leaderships approach refreshing and invigorating, they are in touch with reality and they
really do have experience that will make a difference in the restaurant industry. The next few
months and years should be refreshment, renewal and growth for the Burger King brand.26
Blum reinforced the objective among its franchisees to become the best burger-makers in
the country and encouraged them to participate towards building the brands image.

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26

Burger King launches franchisee financial restructuring initiative, www.bison1.com, February 3rd 2003
Burger King Corporation Unveils Strategic Plan to Redefine Company and Fuel Brand Growth-BURGER KING(R)
Brand to Focus on consumers tastes, Fire Grilled, best in category burgers and new innovative great tasting healthier
alternatives., Business Wire, May 9th 2003

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VIRAL MARKETING

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On April 7th 2004, to promote its new product range of TenderCrisp chicken sandwich,
Burger King launched a web portal www.subservientchicken.com. The portal was launched
by CP+B. A character disguised as a chicken explained to the audience the Have it your
Way concept of customisation without any reference to the Burger King. Within three
days of the launch of the portal, the store traffic increased to 407,000, a Nielsen Net rating
stated. The campaign emphasised on the customisation concept and did not promote the
brand. Moreover, the company also confirmed that using the promotional campaign for the
in-store promotion was not being considered. However, at the same time, the company
planned to use the image in its ads. Market analysts felt that the company took the right
decision not to use the image for its in-store promotions as it could hurt the brand image.
The sales of TenderCrisp sandwiches considerably increased after the launch of the site.
RE-BRANDING BURGER KING

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Burger King came out with a new campaign positioning its burgers as fire grilled replacing
its popular flame-broiled campaign. Fire grilling, according to the company, would help it
differentiate itself from the competition and place itself better in consumer minds. Open fry
cooking was a totally new concept in the fast food industry. Answering the growing
confusion about what the brand delivered, the company launched Come on over, the fires
ready campaign. Explaining the essence of brand repositioning, Blum said, We are Burger
King and we will have the best burgers in the business, as well as healthier alternatives
cooked over an open fire, we have a reputation for being number two. The only place we
will accept being second is to consumers grilling in their own backyards.27 With at least
three-quarters of the US consumers owning an open grill, frying sandwiches over open
grills was a common practice. The grilled sandwiches and burgers of Burger King were
aimed at providing an alternative to the homemade ones. To cater to the growing health
consciousness among the customers, a healthier menu with low-fat chicken baguettes and
several new products were launched. Innovation, according to Blum, would be the
cornerstone of the company and would be used to delight customers. However, Blum
confirmed that during his tenure, new product launches would be lesser in number and
more focused through market research and better advertising.28 TenderCrisp Chicken, Veggie
burger and Great American Burger were launched the same year.
Burger King, under Blum, was planning a long-term branding initiative that included revival
of its marketing campaigns and advertising. The new ad campaigns would position the fire
grilling through a mix of humour and taste appeals by showing food shots. A 30-second
27

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Burger King Corporation Unveils Strategic Plan to Redefine Company and Fuel Brand Growth-BURGER KING(R)
Brand to Focus on consumers tastes, Fire Grilled, best in category burgers and new innovative great tasting healthier
alternatives, op.cit.
Garber Amy, BK eyes healthier profits with new menu item focus on flame-broiling, National Restaurant News, April
28th 2003

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radio advertising campaign and a 60-second TV advertising campaign were being planned.
Emotional appeal that was missing in the past advertisements of Burger King was being
achieved with the change in advertising campaigns. Network television was being used for
aggressive advertisement, in contrast to the past.

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In addition, the 30-year-old Have it your way campaign was re-launched by Crispin Porter+
Bogusky (CP+B). The agency took over the entire job of reviving the brand. It planned for
an innovative campaign that customised everything in Burger Kings restaurants, including
the way the door opened, Push or Pull, Have it your way. Two television advertisements
were launched that emphasised the customisation of Whopper sandwich. In these ads,
employees gathered for lunch and one of the restaurateurs offered everyone their order
while reciting their orders. However, CP+B decided that more than advertising, it would
concentrate on in-store promotions to regain customers loyalty. To strike an emotional
chord, the ad agency re-launched the brand with a Burger King lingo on all the cups and the
bags in the restaurant. A Virtual Fun Center for kids was started that offered educational
games in the restaurants. All the restaurants were remodelled to accommodate these centers.
A promotional campaign that awarded free gifts to customers who responded to short
surveys, was launched. The interiors of the restaurants were renovated with new colour
schemes and uniforms. Service and cleanliness at the restaurants was also assured to
improve guest experience. By improving the ambience at the restaurant, Burger King aimed
at word-of-mouth advertising through its satisfied customers.
Burger King carefully selected and trained people at the restaurants to ensure best customer
service and order processing. To better understand the consumer perception and improve
service by obtaining their feedback, Burger King launched GuestTrac, a programme that
would be used by restaurant owners and managers to keep track of their progress. With the
use of GuestTrac and by continuously monitoring the consumer satisfaction index, restaurants
reported an increase in the speed of services. Around 30% of the customers were served
within 150 seconds of the order placed. In addition, a high rating was recorded in all other
lists, including overall visits by a customer. Drive-throughs were renovated and equipped
with order confirmation screens, bigger visible menus and better sound systems. Assembly
line manufacturing was replaced with a single worker one to quicken the service. One person
would handle the custom-made order from any customer from the beginning to the end.29

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In May 2004, Burger King reported a 10.6% sales increase in its company-owned restaurants
and 7.6% increase in its franchisees over the previous months sales. The new products like
TenderCrisp and chicken sandwiches, reported high sales and a consumer survey revealed
that they were preferred by most of the customers over Wendys chicken sandwiches. The
initial market testing also revealed that fire-grilled salads were preferred by most of the
customers and they rated them either more or equal to the competitors salads.30 Reiterating
29
30

Devis Lea, The fix-it man, www.qsrmagazine.com, May 5th 2004


Burger King corporation chief executive officer Blad Blum reports progress at annual franchisee meeting, http://
biz.yahoo.com, May 5th 2004

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the companys vision for the future, Blum said, The Burger King vision is to delight our
guests with the best burgers in the business and a variety of great tasting, healthier foods
that are cooked over an open fire. We must serve the best burgers in the business. Its our
name. Its our promise. Its our obligation.31

Annexure I
Brand Value of Burger King and McDonalds
Rank
2001

2001
2000
Percent
2002
Rank
2003
Brand
Brand
change
Brand 2003 Brand
Value ($ Value ($ (2002 over Value ($
Value ($
billions) billions) 2001) billions)
billions)

No
tC

Company

Percent Country
Change
of
(2003 owner
over
ship
2002)

Burger King

80

2.47

2.70

-10

2.163

94

2.12

-2

US

McDonalds

25.29

27.89

-9

26.37

24.69

-6

US

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Source: Interbrand Survey, www.businessweek.com

31

Burger King introduces its juiciest burger ever the great American Burger, Business Wire, June 20th 2003

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Annexure II
Changing Advertisements of Burger King
Global Market:
1958-68

1958

Burger King, HOME OF THE WHOPPER


Hume, Smith and Mickelberry (based in Miami)

1968-76

1968

The Bigger The Burger The Better The Burger

1974

HAVE IT YOUR WAY


Batten, Burton, Durstine and Osborne (BBDO)

1976

America Loves Burgers and Were Americas Burger King

1978

Best Darn Burger

1979

Make It Special, Make It Burger King

1982

ARENT YOU HUNGRY?


Battle of the Burgers

1985

Herb

1986

Burger King Town

1987

Best Food for Fast Times


J. Walter Thompson

1987-89

1987

We Do It Like You Do It
NW Ayer

1989-93

1989

Sometimes Youve Gotta Break The Rules (w/ Saatchi)

1991

Your Way, Right Away

1992

BK Tee Vee
Darcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B)

1994

No
tC

1976-87

1994-2001

Back to Basics General Market


UniWorld Group, Inc.

1994

Get Your Burgers Worth

1996

Food & Music Campaign It Just Tastes Better

1999

Going the Distance Campaign When You Have It Your


Way It Just Tastes Better

2000

Seductive Food Campaign Got The Urge?


Lowe, Lintas & Partners General Market and Kids Club

2001

The WHOPPER SaysSM


McCann Erickson

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2001-2002

Contd...

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2002-2003

AT BK, YOU GOT IT!


(@ BK, YOU GOT IT!)
Cookin over an Open Fire
AMOEBA

September 2002

National Burger King Value Menu Launch


Deutsch, Inc.

2003-2004

THE FIRES READYSM


Young & Rubicam, Inc.

2004-Present

HAVE IT YOUR WAY


Crispin Porter & Bogusky

No
tC

African American Market:


1983-present

African-American agency of record


UniWorld Group, Inc.

Hispanic agency of record


Bromley Communications

1989-1994

Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, New York

1994-2001

Lowe, Lintas & Partners, New York

2001-Present

Campbell Mithun

Hispanic Market:
1989-present

Burger King Kids Club:

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Source: www.burgerking.com

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Annexure III
New Product Launches in 2001

Item

What

Old-fashioned shakes

more butterfat

4Q 2001

King Supreme

attacks Big Mac

4Q 2001

BK 1/4-lb. burger

a Quarter Pounder clone

4Q 2001

Onion rings

with zesty sauce

4Q 2001

Eggwich Muffin

mimics Egg McMuffin

4Q 2001

No
tC

More Menu
Product Launches

When

Heritage Whopper

the flagship, upgraded

March 4

Hot Fudge Brownie Royale

frosted in plastic cups

March 18

Veggie Burger

grain-based, flame-broiled, no soy

March 18

Chicken Whopper/Whopper Jr.

flame-broiled breast w/fixings

April 1

Nestl Tollhouse cookies

two per package

by summer

Salads

mixed greens; 3+ varieties

mid-summer

Source: www.promomagazine.com

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Annexure IV
Changing CEOs at Burger King

McLamore James W., Founder, President and Chairman

1970 1976

Rosewall Arthur, President and Chief Executive Officer

1976 1977

Paszat Leslie W., President and Chief Executive Officer

1977 1980

Smith Donald, President and Chief Executive Officer

1980 1982

Neeb Lou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1982 1983

Brinker Norman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

No
tC

1954 1970

1982 1983

Ruenheck Jerry, President

1983 1985

Campbell J. Jeffrey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1985 1986

Darling Jay, President BK System (USA Division phased out)

1986 1988

Olcott Charles, President

1989 1989

Levin Jerry, Chief Executive Officer

1989 1993

Gibbons Barry J., Chief Executive Officer

1993 1995

Adamson James B., Chief Executive Officer

1995 1995

Nash David, Chief Executive Officer

1995 1997

Lowes Robert C., Chief Executive Officer

1997 2000

N. Malamatinas Dennis, Chief Executive Officer

1997 1999

Clayton Paul, President, Burger King North America

2000 2001

Storm Colin, Chief Executive Officer


Mikel Durham, President, Burger King North America

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2001 2002

Dasburg John H., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President

2003

Nilsen Robert T., President, Burger King Corporation

2003

Blum Bradley, CEO, Burger King

Source: www.burgerking.com

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