Marketing and Action Case:
Just because you’re the biggest contender, doesn’t mean you’ll win every fight. Burger king as the “little guy” com- pared to market leader McDonald’s has established an appeal- ing reputation through social media marketing.
In 1954, James Mclamore and David edgerton founded the Burger king Corporation in Miami, Florida. From its begin- nings, the burger chain followed a simple concept of provid- ing “reasonably-priced, broiled burgers served quickly.” After early challenges, the entrepreneurs were able to expand their five-store chain into a national success story of more than 250 locations making it the third-largest fast-food company in the U.S. This achievement brought the company to the at- tention of Pillsbury, who in 1967 purchased the company. In all, the company has changed ownership five times. In 2014, in a $12.5 billion deal, Burger king merged with Tim Hortons, a Canadian-based donut coffee chain, to form Restaurant Brands International.
Burger king has an advertising budget only one-fourth the size of McDonald’s. As a result, Bk has followed the advice of Allen Adamso, of branding firm landor Associates, who be- lieves that social media can minimize the advantages of size. Adamso says, “good content travels so powerfully that every year the playing field gets more level.” And that’s exactly what Burger king has done.
As you read in the vignette of Sara Bamossy at The Pitch Agency at the beginning Chapter 13, there was a surprise for the record 4.4 million pay-per-view audience for the Floyd Mayweather–Manny Pacquiao fight in 2015.70 entering with the Mayweather entourage was the king, the Burger king chain’s robed mascot. The millions of people worldwide who viewed the fight (and the king) turned to social media and created a huge buzz on Twitter and Facebook. The $1 million that Burger king paid for the stunt was minuscule compared to what the company would have had to spend for a 30-sec- ond Super Bowl ad and much more effective in terms of publicity. The king’s busy schedule was not complete. He was seen at the Belmont Stakes horse race with the famous racing
trainer Bob Baffert. Bob’s horse, American Pharoah, became the first Triple Crown winner in almost 40 years. The appear- ance fee was $200,000 and once again put Burger king in the spotlight of pop culture.
Recently, Burger king gained the attention of the me- dia by asking its rival McDonald’s to join together to make a McWhopper in support of World Peace Day. The new ham- burger would consist of six ingredients from each burger and be sold exclusively for one day at a pop-up shop in Atlanta. Proceeds would go to charity, and the theme of the event would have been: “What does peace taste like?” Television outlets focused on the proposal, and the story went viral on social media. However, the offer was not warmly received by McDonald’s, and the event never took place. Nevertheless, the McWhopper buzz generated $182 million in earned media exposure and 8.9 billion media impressions for Burger king.
Although gaining customers’ attention is vital to brand success, that success can be fleeting. Burger king will continue to be limited by its smaller promotion budget. Competition for customers’ thoughts in the world of social media is fierce. And there’s no guarantee of buzz turning into revenue growth.
What is the decision facing Burger king? What factors are important in understanding this deci- sion situation? What are the alternatives? What decision(s) do you recommend? What are some ways to implement your recommenda