Burger King - Branding & Marketing strategy [Case Study]

Burger King is a very familiar name to Indians and even the whole world. This chain of hamburger fast food restaurants that operates in many countries have their headquarters in Florida. Burger King was launched in 1953 as Insta – Burger King. It was a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain. After the business ran into financial problems two of their Miami-based franchisees James McLamore and David Edgerton bought the company in 1954 and renamed it as "Burger King”.

From then on Burger King has had four different owners till the next 50 years. During this bumpy ride it has had its own highs and lows where in the 1970s were known as the golden age as far as the Burger King was concerned.

The growth of Burger King is something that all of us should closely study. From offering a basic menu of burgers, sodas, milkshakes and French fries, today it has an extremely elaborate menu with the Whopper being the first major addition in 1957.

Since then they have continued to incorporate more and more dishes into the menu, some of them being successful and others not. Today they have 11 million guests every day across the world. It has become the world's second-largest fast-food hamburger chain. They have an estimated 13,000 outlets in more than 79 countries across the globe. Out of these 66% of the outlets are situated in the US with nearly 99% of them being owned and operated privately.

Their commitment to providing the best recipes, premium ingredients and cordial dining experience is what they claim to be the secret of their success in the last 50 years. This article will look at their branding and marketing strategy which is keeping them at the top throughout thick and thin.

Rebranding of Burger King
Burger King Campaigns that Changed the Game
Burger King's Advertisement Strategy
Burger King's Concern for Humanity
FAQ

Rebranding of Burger King

Burger King as mentioned earlier was and still is one of the most famous fast-food chains in the world. It was rebranded after 20 years in 2020 with the revamped logo, unique uniforms and innovative packaging which were designed by Johns Knowles Ritchie - a creative agency. The one thing that they have done differently here is that they were constantly going back to their roots.

With regard to the change in the logo as well they were in fact paying homage to the heritage of the brand. And they hope that this redefined design will be indicative of the confident, funny and simple firm that they are.

Their simple rebranding techniques like the new logo, packaging that has the item names written onto it, the font of their text are well thought and researched decisions.

They are aware that nobody is in fact looking forward to anybody's campaigns and what they have to do is to pitch in their product amidst the things that people are doing. For this creativity is a very important factor and Burger King emphasises this like nobody else.

Burger King Campaigns that Changed the Game

If you have noticed all of their campaigns the one thing that they try to project is the credibility of the firm. They try to put it across to people that Burger King cares about its customers. For example, their award-winning advertisement in 2020 which was the “Moldy Whopper” campaign garnered a lot of attention across the globe.

The idea was to prove to its customers that their food does not contain any preservatives. In this case, they took advantage of the very popular secret which accuses McDonald's of their eternal burgers.

Burger King really knows how to make use of the competition in the industry for their advantage. For example, there was another campaign titled ‘Whopper Detour’ that gave its customers their signature “Whopper” for one cent when they reach within 600 feet of any McDonald's location.

The campaign was such a hit that there were over 4 million downloads within October and December 2019. Exactly what they wanted. They not only took advantage of their competition but were also very quick to adapt to any kind of challenges, even the pandemic.

When Covid 19 struck all industries, Burger King did not wait even a minute to launch their touchless technology in its restaurants.

Another was a very daring step where they released an open request to McDonald's asking for a collaboration of both of their dishes. As expected McDonald's turned down their offer. But Burger King had nothing to lose and everything went as planned. As the news spread the sale of the company increased manifold times during that time.

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Burger King's Advertisement Strategy

Burger King is not just concerned about the kind of advertisements and campaigns that they launch, they are also very careful about where these advertisements go. They concentrate immensely on local advertising such as roadside ads, hoardings, billboards etc.

They make sure that each and every initiative that they plan for the customers are out there in public right in front of them. This is a brilliant way to encourage local customers to visit Burger King without even them realising that.

They also ensure that the menu and all other possible details are appropriated to fit into the local desires and likings of the people. They have a highly differentiated targeting strategy to address the locally specific needs of the company.

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Burger King's Concern for Humanity

Burger King has also contributed towards improving the plight of people who are not privileged. They have launched various campaigns in this regard which have also led to their popularity.

"Have it your way foundation “ is one such campaign that mainly focuses on preventing diseases and eradicating hunger from every household. Their utmost care for people around them was widely appreciated.

Along with it came the "McLamore Foundation” which gives scholarships to students who are interested and are also deserving. These campaigns have definitely added to the human side of the company which has also immensely helped in maintaining and even escalating its brand image.

Conclusion

There is no doubt about the increasing competition in the fast-food market at national and international levels. Despite that Burger King has successfully placed itself at the top of the market by being the second largest. Careful product placement, efficient advertisement, excellent customer relations and explicit humanitarian concerns are the main reasons why Burger King has been able to maintain its position in the last 50 years.

If there is one thing that we can learn from Burger King’s marketing and branding strategy, it would be creativity and consistency.

FAQ

Who is the CMO of Burger King?

Ellie Doty is the Chief Marketing Officer of Burger King.

What is Burger King's new slogan?

The new slogan unveiled by Burger King is “Be Your Way”.

Who is the founder of Burger King?

Burger King was founded by James McLamore, David Edgerton in 1954.