Introduction
Tracing its history back to 1954, Burger King has successfully developed its franchises throughout the United States and worldwide. One of the major American fast-food restaurants, it has 19,247 locations around the world as of 2021. The company’s reported revenue as of 2021 is $1.81 billion and increasing, partly thanks to the recent rebranding program.
Discussion
Burger King has traditionally focused on serving fast food more suitable for an afternoon family meal, targeting primarily middle-aged male demographics. In recent years, the company began introducing new menu items and moving away from a male-oriented program. Developing a more diverse menu, adding low-fat positions, and embracing regional tastes in its international markets have helped fight the controversies the company faced from 2002 to 2010 that resulted in decreasing public interest.
Currently, the company puts effort into popularizing its new daily available breakfasts competing with other major brands like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Starbucks for consumer’ appeal. According to the NPD Group, fast-food consumption has increased by more than 30% during the recent pandemic, with more people preferring take-out meals on their way to other locations, mostly in the morning. Tailoring to new consumer demands requires focusing on more diverse breakfasts available for a more extended period of the day than usual, convenience being the major attractive factor for consumers. As a part of its rebranding campaign, Burger King is trying to follow the consumers’ needs, particularly by introducing updated packaging suitable for such a format.
Burger King has traditionally positioned itself as an affordable fast-food chain. The competing fast food brands target primarily the same audience, use similar marketing strategies, and have an advantage over already established and well-known breakfast menus. In marketing, Burger King has traditionally utilized significant cultural phenomena in advertising, including videogame franchises, Lucas Films, Disney, and famous artists and musicians.
Conclusion
In the wake of the rise of movie franchises like Marvel and Disney and emerging social media pop stars and influencers, it would be beneficial for the company to embrace the benefits of social media marketing. The wide presence of social media in the life of the target age demographic (18 – 34 years old) allows for efficient targeted advertisement without focusing on a specific time or day of the week.