Name: Manan Mehta

Course: Level 5 BABM6

Student ID: st20132115

Subject: BSP5062 Integrated Marketing Communications

Module Leader: Dr. Prashant Gupta

Topic: IMC Campaign of “Burger King”

 INTRODUCTION TO “BURGER
KING”
In a world where the mass audience prefer eating fast-food meals, “Burger King”
has made a sparkling reputation of itself. Founded in 1953 with the early initial
name of “Insta Burger King”, it later renamed itself to “Burger King” in 1954 and
became an instant hit in the American culture. Headquartered in Miami, the
company now stands as a globally recognized fast food restaurant chain which
continues to lure people over its extravagant and wide range of hamburgers,
chicken, French fries, soft drinks and desserts. It was founded by David Edgerton
and James McLamore, has over 15000 outlets across the world, and employs in
about 34,000 people working under its wing. Withstanding as a cut-throat
competitor to other fast-food franchises like McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut,
Burger King continues to be a favourite for all age groups. (BURGER KING®, 2019)
 PROMOTIONAL MIX TOOLS
CHOSEN BY “BURGER KING”

ADVERTISING :
The brand does ad campaigns both online (social networking on Facebook,
YouTube, Twitter, etc.) and via print media like TVs, newspapers, magazines and
mostly banners and billboards to capture mass attention.

“Burger King” has recently launched a new ad campaign which is created entirely
by artificial intelligence. It has developed a new BETA version of the “Burger
King” app which gives a glimpse what future of marketing and communications
could look like. By tapping into A.I. to create a new advertising campaign, the
brand is developing an innovative business model called Project: AOR, moving
from the traditional Agency of Record to an Agency of Robots. (QSR magazine, 2019)

The company has also launched mini-

campaigns such as “Eat like Andy” and
the famous “Subservient Chicken”
which blasted viral on every possible
platform. “The Subservient Chicken”
pay-per view highlights a man dressed
in a chicken suit which seems so absurd
to look at, but eventually it generated a
lot of response coming towards Burger
King’s popularity. It promoted the
“TenderCrisp Chicken” sandwich and also their “Have it your Way” campaign.

“Burger King” also partnered with “Lucasfilm Ltd.” to promote the Hollywood
blockbuster “Star Wars: A New Hope” in 1977. It is also believed that Burger
King’s robust and growing collaborations with certain film production houses
overshadowed McDonalds’ name and fame. Even in 1994, it was Walt Disney
Studios which replaced McDonalds with Burger King as their brand ambassador
and signed off a 10-movie promotional contract which included evergreen
blockbuster hits like “Aladdin”, “The Lion King”, “Toy Story”, etc.

PERSONAL SELLING:
The company has systematically
organized its “door to door” approach
and knows how to carry out processes in
their target locations. Even sometimes
the firm’s restaurant personnel typically
use their own strategy to encourage
customers to try out more products from
the menu, thus elevating sales in one
way. Normally, such happens when
consumers purchase food at their
locations whether it be in the drive-thru or
in-store, and the company’s personnel ask
questions to customers whether if they
want to buy additional items or not. This
following communication engages in making good customer relations and elevate
sales on the other hand too.

SALES PROMOTION:
The company is more inclined towards customer-oriented sales promotion
strategy, which means they believe in constant flow of discounts and vouchers. It
gives multiple offers through its website and has developed a mobile app which
helps one order meals online. “Burger King” also hosts price deals and contests
in order to elevate sales and invite more customers, thus this process has been
well efficient for the company.

PUBLIC RELATIONS:
The “Burger King McLamore Foundation” has been a financial support for many
students as it helps them get scholarships for various educational programs. The
company also has a partnership with “Public Relations Firm Coltrin &
Associates”, which helps people learn about effective communication, leadership
skills, and consumer messaging. Tasin, Tasin and profile, 2019)
 SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES
ASSOCIATED WITH IMC CAMPAIGN
The company has also come across many negative reviews in accordance with
their advertisements, as some highlighted public disdain and anger from certain
sources. Social and Ethical Issues are prevalent as far as advertising campaigns
are concerned, and one must take care of how such advertisements are conveyed
towards the audience.

Ethical issues in the “Burger King” advertisement could be collective social

responsibility of towards culture and require itself in the code to inspire diversity
among employees, business sources and avoid insight within the company. Ethics
are broadly defined as “Moral principles and values that govern the actions and
decisions of an individual or group”. Ethics are based on demographic factors
which could include age, income level and occupation of people. Mostly,
advertisements are launched to lure attention
of consumers but sometimes ends up
offending the consumers’ values and beliefs.
Ethical principles are questioned in this way,
thus defaming the product or company’s
reputation.

One such advertisement of “Burger King”

includes the caption saying, “It’ll Blow Your
Mind Away”, which was misinterpreted by
many people and was eventually tagged as an
offensive and obscene attempt of shooting an
advertisement. In the following advertisement, a woman is seen with her mouth
open next to a burger. It did allow the emergence of misconceptions and was
treated as severely offensive. In the company’s defence, “Burger King” stated
that it was a case of shock advertising and where they didn’t mean to offend
anybody with the aforementioned. The company also stated they had to showcase
nudity, sexual suggestiveness, or other startling images because they demanded
consumer’s attention. In the end, it will always be foretold that the advertisement
had ethical issues and wasn’t highlighted before consumers’ eyes properly.
As far as social issues are concerned, the company must reflect the beliefs,
lifestyle, behaviour and social values of people. Taking an instance of New
Zealand, “Burger King” restaurants don’t serve eggs and meat in certain places,
thus taking account of the people there. As New Zealand is a diverse country, it
has got people with distinct culture, norms and values. Their promotional
campaigns also make sure that they don’t advertise chicken and meat much in
those areas where Hindus and Sikhs reside, as mostly they are vegetarians.

In 2012, Burger King launched “Black

Burger with Bamboo Charcoal Cheese
and Squid Ink Sauce” in Japan and which
became an instant hit in the country.
However, it didn’t receive much of social
acceptance when it was introduced in
other Asian countries and the United
States as most of the population there
don’t prefer eating Squid Sauce. (The

Independent, 2019)
In terms of lifestyle, Burger King will have to take care as to what people want
to see themselves as. Some like eating for satisfaction while some care for
maintaining good health. In terms of behaviour, some people prefer good quality
food rather than quantity. Some people prefer buying products which could
ensure safety and would provide durability. Burger King will also have to keep
people’s purchasing power and gender differences in account. Now, these
following factors will cause a major impact as purchasing power determines
whether the person or family can initiate the purchase or not. On the other hand,
taste differences also vary from male to female, thus sometimes influencing the
purchase of a burger.
 MEDIA PLANNING STRATEGY
ADOPTED BY “BURGER KING”
The common steps while adopting any media planning include the media mix,
target market coverage, geographic coverage, scheduling, reach vs frequency,
creative aspects and mood, flexibility, and budget allocations.

Burger King, being a renowned fast food restaurant chain, applies media planning
strategy with extraordinary creativity and immense skill. Having spent more than
60 years in the fast food business, it has been a favourite for the consumers and
has been generating loads of sales for this prospective brand. (Bartleby.com, 2019)

Under these media planning strategies, Burger King aims to generate humungous
sales and win prospective customers;
• Media Mix: Burger King usually uses advertising campaigns on TV and
Internet, does telemarketing and sends Direct Mails. It also endorses itself
by launching billboard ads, and on newspapers and magazines.

• Target Market Coverage:

Burger King usually targets
people falling in the age group
18-35 and is especially meant
for people who are desirous
about fast-food. A survey was
done in Miami, Florida and it
concluded that males there
consume fast food in about 9/16 times a week. (QSR magazine, 2019)
• Geographic Coverage: Geographic Coverage showcases about the brand
or a category’s impact in terms of location. It could either be a well
renowned brand in a metropolitan city, or an underperforming underdog in
the same area. It comprises of BDI (Brand Development Index) and CDI
(Category Development Index). Likewise, Burger King focuses to
establish their outlets in the downtowns of cities and regions where the
maximum population reside by. One can’t find Burger King in an
underdeveloped place or a rural area, as the brand would also have to
ensure that their target consumers are living close to them.

Brand Development Index (BDI): Percentage of a brand's sales in an area

in relation to the percentage of the country's population in that area.
 Category Development Index (CDI): Percentage of a specific category’s
sales in an area in relation to the percentage of the country’s population in
that area.

• Scheduling: With a huge budget allocation, it falls as a simple task for

“Burger King” to schedule ads the whole round year. They are advertised
on TV and newspapers everywhere, irrespective of the running length and
the costs per ad. Since the company knows they could bear high costs of
running these sumptuous ads, that is why one could observe such
“Continuity” of these ads. The main advantage here is reminding about
your products to the customers continuously. This model helps maintain a
continuous and complete purchase cycle. This is a best model for the
products having continuous demand all the year round.

• Reach and Frequency:

Reach is the number of audience members exposed at least once in a time
period. When Burger King’s “Google Home of the Whopper”
advertisement was launched, it generated lots of traffic on all platforms.
Arguably coined as the “Campaign of the Year” in 2017, it tempted every
child and adult when the advertisement was shown before their naked eyes.
The following advertisement won the Grand Prix award in Cannes and
earned an estimated annual revenue of $135 million. (Marketing Dive, 2019)
Frequency determines the amount of times the receiver is exposed to the
media vehicle in a time period. Ads like the famous “Subservient Chicken”
and “Google Home of the Whopper” didn’t only invite a huge crowd but
particularly focused on each consumer as it made each of them watch the
advertisement over and over. An idle person sitting on YouTube or
watching TV would watch this repeatedly as the magnificence of this ad
just intimidates everybody before it. Bhasin, H. (2019).
 USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR
PROMOTION OF THE BRAND
In order to compete against McDonalds in the duopoly market, Burger King
established a 600-foot perimeter around McDonald’s properties and triggered a
coupon for a one cent Whopper and directions to the nearest location. Ultimately,
they used McDonald’s real estate asset against them. This is the concept of geo-
conquesting, or the act of overtaking a competitor’s location. The underdog
“innovated” to get ahead. The technology to make this happen, however, has been
around for several years. (Carder and Carder, 2019)
According to my perspective, “Burger King” could launch a new social
networking platform where people could buy healthcare products, and which will
be endorsed under Burger King’s name. One could also buy sports apparels like
smart sneakers and a smart wristwatch which will help them calculate the distance
they walk by putting these gears on. “Burger King” could decide to launch
sneakers with a motive of maintaining good health rate and could also ensure that
people take exercise as a necessary activity of life. It will comprise of an in-built
tech application which will directly sync the owner’s e-wallet with the number of
“Steps” taken. For e.g.; One could be rewarded $200 after completing a certain
milestone of 5 km. We’ll call these steps as “Digital Currency” and which will be
transferred to the person’s wallet through Burger King’s online portal. People
could only use these digital currencies to buy healthcare products and Burger
King’s apparels which are available on the platform.
Consequently, Burger King’s brand identity could reach summits and the
company’s name could also be mass targeted in this way. The online portal of
“Burger King” will also have an option of “Comparing and Competing”, through
which one could compare their weight and BMI level with their friends and
colleagues. It will also provide diet plans and workout plans for those who are
desperate to lead a healthy and nutritious lifestyle.

As ironic as it may sound but even though being a fast food chain, “Burger King”
will continue to spread awareness about healthy lifestyle and would even acquire
a good customer base through this strategy. Another promotional strategy what
the company might consider doing is to update the app with more alternatives.
One of them might include an option where people could get instant notifications
about Burger King’s awareness campaigns, new advertisements, offers and
discounts, and product portfolio, etc.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Tasin, Z., Tasin, Z. and profile, V. (2019). The "Whopper Sacrifice" - IMC
campaign by Burger King. [online] Thewhoppersacrifice.blogspot.com.
Available at: http://thewhoppersacrifice.blogspot.com/ [Accessed 28 Feb.
2019].
• QSR magazine. (2019). Long Live the King. [online] Available at:
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/long-live-king [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• BURGER KING®. (2019). BURGER KING®. [online] Available at:
http://www.burgerkingindia.in/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• QSR magazine. (2019). Burger King Creates Ad Campaign Powered by
Artificial Intelligence. [online] Available at:
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/burger-king-creates-ad-campaign-
powered-artificial-intelligence [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• Size, F., Size, F. and WIRE, B. (2019). The BURGER KING® Brand
Launches a New Advertising Campaign Created Entirely by Artificial
Intelligence. [online] Businesswire.com. Available at:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180927005162/en/BURGE
R-KING%C2%AE-Brand-Launches-New-Advertising-Campaign
[Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• Bartleby.com. (2019). Media Strategy Burger King - 1588 Words |
Bartleby. [online] Available at: https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Media-
Strategy-Burger-King-P3NJJ2936YYA [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• The Independent. (2019). Burger King's black burger - with bamboo
charcoal cheese. [online] Available at:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/burger-
king-releases-black-burger-with-bamboo-charcoal-cheese-and-squid-ink-
sauce-in-japan-9724429.html [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• Carder, J. and Carder, J. (2019). What Marketers Can Learn From Burger
King's Geo-Conquesting Strategy Against McDonald's. [online]
Adweek.com. Available at: https://www.adweek.com/brand-
marketing/what-marketers-can-learn-from-burger-kings-geo-conquesting-
strategy-against-mcdonalds/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• Marketing Dive. (2019). Campaign of the Year: Burger King's 'Google
Home of the Whopper'. [online] Available at:
https://www.marketingdive.com/news/campaign-of-the-year-burger-
kings-google-home-of-the-whopper/510770/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].
• Bhasin, H. (2019). Marketing Strategy of Burger King - Burger King
Marketing Analysis. [online] Marketing91. Available at:
https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-burger-king/
[Accessed 28 Feb. 2019].