Burger King, a popular fast food joint, has recently become
bold in their sharing of opinions and developing a stronger sense of purpose,
especially when it comes to laws on regulations through its marketing. They are
not afraid to announce their opinion and stance on certain subjects – like how
they asked customers to assist in the Net Neutrality uproar by signing the “Save
Net Neutrality” petition on Change.org. A study done by Kantar Consulting shows
that brands with a sense of purpose can grow up to 2xs faster than those without
one.
On March 25th of this year, the country Peru released
a law regarding movie theaters and the snacks allowed inside. In most theaters
in America, outside food is generally not permitted – they want the customer to
pay their ridiculously high concession stand prices and consume the food and
beverages they produce there. This law that was passed in Peru, however, states
that moviegoers are now allowed to bring their own snacks into the cinema under
the stipulation that they are snacks similar to those typically sold in movie
theaters. Popcorn, pretzels, soda, candy – all the usual refreshments.
Burger King, when they heard of this, decided to “hack”
their popular menu item, the Whopper, into movie theaters by cleverly selling a
new food item that consists of a Whopper and fries in a popcorn-like container
with a layer of popcorn on top. This way, the burger is hidden and the food
item looks nothing more than an innocent bag of popcorn – perfectly acceptable
for movie time.
Taking to social media and sharing their creative new way to
get around this law, the hashtag “King Popcorn” was trending and featured on
news stations around Peru. It didn’t take long for movie theaters to catch on
to the stunt, banning the product, but it still gave Burger King a 40% raise in
sales during its brief stint in action.
This stunt shows that sly marketing techniques can not only
raise awareness for worthy causes, but it can deliver positive results in terms
of sales and brand image. Selling these hidden Whoppers increased the Burger
King image among customers and created a higher trust and loyalty with them. It
also brought the fast-food chain into the spotlight through social media, which
is never a bad thing when paired with something good and wholesome.
Do you think Burger King’s attempt to create a more distinct
personality in the fast-food business is working?
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