Fast food restaurants need to keep up with changing trends, but in recent years, business
hasn't been smooth sailing for Burger King.
The fast food chain is definitely having some trouble.
Why are they in a tough spot?
Well, it's a bit complicated...
In November 2018, CNN revealed how Burger King had fallen behind some of its biggest
competitors.
Part of the problem may have been that the chain was focusing on the wrong thing entirely.
Instead of adding new menu items to stoke people's interest, Burger King was relying
chiefly on gimmickry.
Take 2018's Halloween stunt, for example.
That's when BK released its altogether creepy burger, The Nightmare King.
"Well Burger King says it's got something new for you if you dare try it.
It's their new creation and it is called The Nightmare King."
The ad campaign claimed that this limited-time burger offered a combination of proteins and
ingredients that would interfere with sleep patterns and cause nightmares.
Does that whet your appetite?
"Someone in my dream turned into the burger.
The burger then transformed into the figure of a snake."
Of course, the actual science was a little questionable, but here's the thing: The promotion
undoubtedly got people in the door wanting to give this Nightmare King a try, but it
wasn't something that would necessarily keep people coming back.
Customers stopped in and purchased their weird burger, but what reason did they have to return
to Burger King once the promotion came to an end?
Once The Nightmare King was no more, momentum slowed down and sales once again declined.
Ultimately, the gimmicky promotion didn't work as well as, say, creating a brand new
Whopper variation that could become a menu staple.
Gimmicks are great, but the novelty eventually wears off.
What Burger King needs is long-term, devoted customers who love their products and keep
coming back for them.
Many customers were excited when Burger King announced a partnership with Impossible Foods
to develop the plant-based Impossible Whopper.
Finally, a vegetarian and vegan option for fast-food lunches on the go!
"Tastes like a Whopper."
"Tastes like a Beef Burger."
"It's made of f---in’ beef right here, see that?
It's beef."
"We swear, it's not beef."
At first glance, the product was a win, but there was a major catch.
According to Inc., one huge mistake had the potential to alienate a whole bunch of people:
Burger King acknowledged that the plant-based Impossible Whoppers would be cooked on the
same equipment used for beef and chicken.
Of course, this was a major bummer.
It meant that the meat-free burger wasn't actually vegetarian or vegan after all.
Of course, there's also the problem that the Impossible Whopper is topped with egg-based
mayonnaise.
That's not vegan at all, but at least you can ask for it to be left off.
This was potentially quite a swing-and-a-miss for Burger King.
The fast-food giant presumably got lots of vegans and vegetarians excited about a product
only to get it wrong in a way that could be viewed as insulting.
Needless to say, some customers weren't pleased.
"A vegan man is suing Burger King because of the company's wildly popular Impossible
Burger."
"Yes, he says the ads for the burger are all lies."
Ad campaigns are supposed to make people want to buy your product, not feel totally creeped
out.
Over the years, several Burger King ad campaigns have managed to alienate customers, and no
wonder: The biggest offenders certainly aren't appetizing, to say the least.
Take, for example, a 2009 ad from Burger King Singapore for the BK Super Seven Incher.
It's not subtle and it's definitely not tasteful - particularly with that wince-inducing tagline.
And if you squint, you might be able to make out the copy at the bottom of the ad, which
reads:
"Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN
INCHER."
The model - who was never publicly named - reportedly didn't consent to appearing in the ad.
And she certainly wasn't happy about it.
According to Fox News, she railed against the campaign in a YouTube video that has since
been deleted, claiming:
"Burger King found my photo online from a series I did, and with no due regard to me
as a person, profited off reducing me to an orifice [...] publicly humiliating me in the
process.
Friends, family, coworkers, prospective employers who saw it assume I was a willing player."
Meanwhile, the Russian branch of Burger King also made a rather serious blunder.
In a 2018 tweet, Burger King Russia promised free food for life and a cash prize for women
who took advantage of the World Cup - but there was one serious catch.
Deadspin translated the since-deleted tweet to read,
"Burger King [...] has appointed a reward for girls who get pregnant from the stars
of world football.
Each will receive 3 million rubles, and a lifelong supply of Whoppers.
For these girls, it will be possible to get the best football genes, and will lay down
the success of the Russian national team on several generations ahead."
Has the chain learned anything at all from these misfires?
Perhaps not - because their ad campaigns keep getting them in trouble.
In 2019, CNN reported that Burger King New Zealand was under fire.
That's because of an ad campaign that was hocking the Vietnamese Sweet Chili Tendercrisp
burger.
As Eater reports, Burger King New Zealand removed the ad from its Instagram account,
but you can still watch it on Twitter if you know where to look.
As you can see, the insensitive commercial features people trying to eat burgers with
chopsticks.
Not good.
Then again, sometimes Burger King's risks pay off rather fabulously - particularly their
sassy social media presence.
Take, for instance, this Twitter exchange between Burger King UK and Kanye West:
"Kanye West tweets, 'McDonald's is my favorite restaurant.'
Burger King with the troll move says, 'Explains a lot.'"
In early 2019, Burger King made a rather bold move: The fast-food chain took on McDonald's
Happy Meals.
That's not a risky move in and of itself, it's how they went about it.
Burger King's "Real Meals" were a moody satire of Mickey D's Happy Meals that heartily embraced
the fact that
"No one is happy all the time.
And that's OK."
The promotion included items like the Salty Meal and the DGAF Meal.
And though their tongue was firmly planted in cheek, Burger King's campaign was nevertheless
designed in partnership with Mental Health America, in honor of Mental Health Awareness
Month.
As CNBC reported, the promotion upset people for a number of reasons.
Some accused the chain of using mental illness to take a swing at a competitor and to turn
a profit.
Others pointed out that moods aren't the same thing as mental illness.
Even as some folks applauded Burger King's efforts to start an important conversation,
others condemned the chain for not going far enough.
For example, why not offer resources for people living with mental illness?
Why make it a one-off gimmick instead of a legitimate ongoing effort?
Whatever your thoughts on the campaign, it was no doubt a controversial move on Burger
King's part:
"Some people will say, 'Hey, Burger King doesn't belong in this conversation.
Hey this is private.'
But keeping these things private is where we get into trouble in the first place."
Ari Lightman, a professor who specializes in digital media and marketing at Carnegie
Mellon's Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, had this to say about the
campaign:
"If the general public finds out that your actions don't coincide with your messaging,
then that can be potentially very damaging for a company."
When was the last time you went to Burger King for breakfast?
It's been awhile, right?
Sure, the Croissan'wich is great, but the coffee could certainly be better, and none
of it is enough to keep you coming back, unless you happen to be this excitable young lady:
"Burger King's got a delicious new way to say good morning.
The Croissan'wich!"
"Cruh…?"
"Croi-ssan-wich!"
It sounds like Burger King is looking for new ways to win over a solid breakfast crowd.
The fast food restaurant clearly wants people to be thrilled about their early morning options,
like this guy:
"It's morning / I'm hungry / Gonna go to Burger King / Burger King for breakfast?
/ Yes, there's such a thing!”
Well, that ad is evidently rather deceptive.
You see, according to Restaurant Business, breakfast is a huge weak spot in Burger King's
business plan.
When you look at the numbers, an average Burger King makes about half as much as an average
McDonald's when it comes to the most important meal of the day.
Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King in the Americas, seems to know that the chain
hasn't effectively created a reason for people to make BK breakfast part of their morning
routine.
In May 2019, he told Restaurant Business:
"Breakfast has been an opportunity for us for a long time.
We haven’t been as successful as we could be."
Execs at Burger King seem well aware that they need to improve their coffee game.
As Restaurant Business reports,
"[Burger King] started a coffee subscription program, [...] giving customers the opportunity
to get unlimited coffee for $5 a month.
It also started the BK Cafe, a platform with upgraded beverages important to morning commuters."
The chain really needs to get folks excited about those Croissan'wiches if they want to
get anywhere near McDonald's and their Egg McMuffins.
Wooing a crowd away from Mickey D's will be hard, but it sounds like Burger King is really
going to give it a shot.
Millennials get blamed for pretty much everything these days, but they're obviously an important
demographic that's shaping the way that companies do business.
As Forbes reports, that's certainly true of the fast food landscape, but Burger King hasn't
found new ways to appeal to the millennial generation.
Some of their ad campaigns certainly seem to be trying, though:
"This might be my new go-to."
"That's fantastic."
"I have to catch my train."
“I don't so I'm gonna get another dip.
You feel me?"
"Do it!"
Here's an interesting, and rather telling, statistic.
From 2007 to 2014, Burger King saw a four percent increase in their traffic.
That's great!
What's not so great is that during the same period, they saw a five percent drop in traffic
in the category of low-income millennials.
As for high-income millennials, the change was even more drastic: A 16 percent drop.
Burger King isn't the only chain that's been struggling to reach millennials and get them
through the door, but the generation's disinterest in the Burger King brand is something that
really needs to be addressed if it wants to stay relevant.
In May 2019, Burger King made an announcement.
According to the publication Restaurant Business,
"[The chain] wants to add more locations in the U.S. and narrow its wide unit count gap
with rival McDonald’s.
So it’s closing restaurants."
It's an interesting tactical move on Burger King's part.
At the time of the announcement, the fast food chain had around 7,300 locations in the
United States.
Compare that to the roughly 13,900 U.S. locations that McDonald's had at the time.
To get closer to McDonald's numbers, Burger King was going to close between 200 and 250
locations.
That's a huge jump in closures, since Burger King typically averaged about a 100 to 130-store
closure rate every year in the lead-up to the announcement.
So, what gives?
First, these closures aren't all going to be happening at once.
Burger King says that, for the most part, the restaurants will close on a rolling basis
as it comes time for franchisee contracts to be renewed or terminated.
On average, Burger King stores slated for closure make around $1 million a year in sales.
That doesn't sound too shabby at first, but when you consider that newer and more profitacvble
BK restaurants average about $1.5 million annually, that really puts things in perspective,
doesn't it?
Chris Finazzo, President of Burger King in the Americas, put it this way:
"Closing low-volume restaurants creates a virtual cycle of improved profitability."
Don't fret, Burger King fans - it's not all bad news.
There are plans to open new stores in place of the locations that are closing.
And one person is particularly busy injecting new life into the decades-old brand.
His name is Daniel Schwartz.
He was just 29 years old when he became Burger King's CFO.
By the time he was 32, he was named a chief executive.
Now he's the executive chairman of Burger King's parent company.
Essentially, his job is to make Burger King cool again.
According to Forbes, he's doing everything right.
He's streamlined food prep, sold off the corporate jet, and encouraged employees to make free
international business calls via Skype.
He's making smart moves left and right.
"The big transition in finance, you kind of manage the business, in a company you have
to manage the people who then manage the business."
Schwartz seems to have achieved the impossible: In 2018, BK's parent company, Restaurant Brands,
saw a 17 percent increase in revenue.
Meanwhile, Burger King stock has reportedly been skyrocketing - and Schwartz has has been
giving plenty of middle managers their fair share of them.
As Forbes reports:
"Nearly all 300 middle managers (average age: 37) own shares; at least 100 have become millionaires.
Schwartz is sitting on about $100 million in stock and options."
So, don't despair: It's not all doom and gloom over at Burger King.
They may be closing stores and facing some struggles, but don't write them off just yet.
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