Wk-14 - CH-18 CASE-5 - BURGER KING Total Grade: 100 (of possible 100 points)

FIRST, read the BURGER KING case study for CHAPTER-18 in the MODULES section of the course web
page.

THEN, after reading the BURGER KING case study for CHAPTER-18 in the MODULES section of
the course web page, respond to the case study questions located in the ASSIGNMENTS, TESTS
AND SURVEYS section of the course web page.

Question 1 of 4 (worth 25 points)

SLO18-1.1 - BURGER KING CASE STUDY

After reading the case in the MODULES section of the course, respond to the questions, below.

a) - How did Burger King manage the negative publicity it received over the content of
its Coq Roq Web site?

b) - How successful was this approach?

c) - What do you think about the "suggestive" content of the campaign?

Answer

a)- Russ Klein took the position of President of Global Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation at Burger
King Corporation (―BKC‖) in 2003. It was a difficult time for the company. Sales and profits were down.
Franchisees were unhappy. The BURGER KING®* brand had lost its edge; the vast majority of
consumers were aware of the Burger King brand but no longer found it interesting or compelling. BKC
as a company needed a turnaround, and had just been purchased by a private equity group. In order to
improve image of company in 2003 Burger King hired the advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky,
which brought on some major brand changes for the fast food franchise. Crispin Porter + Bogusky was
setting Burger King apart, and sales began to improve.

b)­ The King has since been featured in many of Burger King’s recent campaigns, such as their “Waking
up with the King” feature in which a confused young man wakes up to find the King in bed right next to
him. The King then gives him a breakfast sandwich. In 2007, Burger King launched its “Whopper

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 Freakout” hoax campaign, where they pulled the Whopper off the menu at a couple of select Burger
King locations and filmed customers’ reactions on hidden cameras.

c)-In late 2008, Burger King advertisers stoked further controversy with their “Whopper Virgins”
commercials. The campaign focused around taste tests between the Whopper and McDonald’s Big Mac
similar to Pepsi-Cola’s “Pepsi Challenge” against Coca-Cola, but as ever, Burger King added a twist.
Their ad firm hired an independent research team to perform the tests among three separate people
groups (the Inuit tribes of Iceland, the Hmong on Thailand, and a group of rural farmers in
Transylvania) who they identified as having no exposure to either the McDonald’s or Burger King
brands or marketing (or fast food at all). The taste testers appeared in their traditional garb, and
according to the filming by the research team, the majority choose the Whopper. And while the
research team and the advertisers at Crispin claimed that the project was undertaken with the utmost
care and respect for the people and their cultures, the ads (again) set off a flurry of controversy with
accusations that Burger King’s campaign was exploitative and culturally degrading.

Question 2 of 4 (worth 25 points)

SLO18-2.1 - BURGER KING CASE STUDY

After reading the case in the MODULES section of the course, respond to the questions, below.

a) - If Burger King’s advertising is not exactly unethical, do you think it is a bit too "suggestive"
for it's target group of 18-34 yr old males?

b) - Explain why you feel this way.

c)- What is your feeling about the so-called "food porn" advertising that is currently the
rage?

Answer

a)-BK's advertising,however,has just relied on sex to sell its product.While it has

established the 18-34 to year old male as a major target demographic, many of BK's
latest advertising campaigns have been simply designed to surprise customers and
shake things up.

b)- Because they made a conscience decision to target young males. And it has worked. The ads,
backed by a refocused menu have moved the sales curve dramatically over the past few years. The
major players in the fast food industry fought fiercely for customers, but had distinct
primary customer target segments. McDonald‘s brand was focused on children and
promised older people the nostalgia of experiencing their childhood again. Wendy‘s
targeted adults with a promise of a ―classic‖ hamburger dining experience. BKC
traditionally focused its marketing on teenagers and young adults.

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 c)- The concept of food porn — aka spectacular looking meals and dishes — has become something
of a cultural phenomenon, with people taking cellphone pictures of their food and posting them to
Instagram and Twitter literally hundreds of thousands of times a day.

Question 3 of 4 (worth 25 points)

SLO18-3.1 - BURGER KING CASE STUDY

After reading the case in the MODULES section of the course, respond to the questions, below.

a) - Do you think Burger King should continue the advertising tactics that appeal to the "physical
side" of it's targeted market?

b) - Explain your position on this issue.

c) - Would you suggest a more humorous theme with topics that appeal to the 18-34 year
old males?

d) - Explain why you take this position?

Answer

a)- Yes, I think in order to appeal to the physical side of it's targeted market the Burger
King should continue advertising tactics.

b)- In my opinion about this issue is that success, CP+B found they could use the King‘s
character and visage broadly to communicate with the target market. From 2004
through 2006, the King appeared in 24 television spots.

c)- Yes, I suggest more humorous theme with topics appeal to 18-34 year old males as
for the previous campaign, featuring the now-retired King, was in some ways a fitting
symbol of the chain’s recent history: aggressively geared toward young males, the
mascot wore the forced smile of a restaurant owner who is watching another
dissatisfied customer leave his restaurant in favor of a competitor.

d)- Because the ads wacky approach gave the company a great deal of unintended
exposure to the public. Formerly, the King represented a friendly King of Hamburgers,
but the new incarnation of the King seemed to portray a darker image. Unlike Ronald

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 McDonald, who had a warm and friendly image for children, the King‘s plastic facial
expression did not change, giving him a somewhat confusing and sometimes creepy
image that seemed to resonate with teenagers and young adults.

Question 4 of 4 (worth 25 points)

SLO18-4.1 - BURGER KING CASE STUDY

After reading the case in the MODULES section of the course, respond to the questions, below.

a) - What is your opinion of the Burger King strategy to attract new customers while alienating
others through it's use of the Facebook media?

b) - Do you recommend Burger King continue this strategy?

c) - Explain why you make this recommendation.

Answer

a)- Burger King caught significant attention as well with its latest stunt, titled “Whopper Sacrifice.” The
campaign, featuring the tagline “Friendship is strong, but the Whopper is stronger” was run on
Facebook, where the company created an application that would send out a message every time the
user defriended someone.

b)- Yes, I would recommend Burger King continue this strategy because Whether their advertising
crosses the line or not, BK’s promotions have certainly been successful.

c)- The company approached the way it invested in media from a new and different perspective.
Instead of taking a traditional approach of allowing media channels such as television and print to
dominate campaign investment decisions, the company generated what Jeff Hicks called ―media
agnostic ideas.‖ He said, ―We start the creative process with ideas and ignore the media.‖ These new
ideas were intended to move away from the traditional model of interrupting customers during their
media consumption and move towards Burger King campaigns that are entertainment on their own.
Instead of trying to force a customer to watch a Burger King ad for a movie tie-in during his or her
favorite television show, the new campaign would be intended to attract customers looking to be
entertained, and to attract them in any media channel they were engaged.

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