Burger King Final Media Plan

Pennsylvania State University Comm 422

Leah Baumgarten, Victoria Donaldson, Alyssa Santaniello,

Emily Yang, Qingyang Yu

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Executive Summary​………………………………………………………..….3
II. Situation Analysis​………………………………………………………….......4
A. Current Marketing Factors………………………………………….….4
B. Advertising/Creative History…………………………………………12
C. Competitive Considerations…………………………………………..17
D. Target Audience……………………………………………………....22
E. Timing/Purchase Cycle……………………………………………….25
III. Creative Brief​………………………………………………………………...28
IV. Promotions​…………………………………………………………………....34
V. Media objectives/Rationales/Strategies​……………………………………..35
A. Target Audience………………………………………………………35
B. Reach/Frequency Objective…………………………………………..36
C. Media Budget Objective……………………………………………...37
D. Geographical Objective……………………………………………....39
E. Scheduling/Timing Objective………………………………...………40
VI. Appendix​……………………………………………………………...………42
VII. References​………………………………………………………….…………43

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 Part I: Executive Summary
Burger King is one of the top fast-food chains in the United States and around the world. With over
19,000 restaurants in 100 countries, Burger King is known for its distinctive, delicious taste and
convenience.

This media plan was constructed towards the target audience of men and women ages 35-44. This
demographic is family-oriented, has 1-3 children, and works a full-time job. They lead busy lives and are
in the car quickly going from place to place between work, school, and extracurricular activities. They use
radio and television for their main sources of entertainment. The majority of the budget will be allocated
towards these two mediums. Additionally, money will be spent on outdoor advertising as well as digital.
The money spent on the digital aspect of this campaign will be primarily spent on social media and
mobile advertising. Our target is health-conscious and is aware of the foods that they are putting in their
body. They are likely to try new diet “fads” and healthy recipes. On the contrary, men and women ages
35-44 allow themselves to indulge. They enjoy flavor-filled foods with different seasonings to satisfy
their tastebuds. This will be the theme of our campaign.

Looking at what we know about our target, we wanted to focus our campaign on indulgence and
alleviating stress. While our target is very health conscious, we know that fast food is not. However, fast
food is a treat that our target is willing to indulge in from time to time. Our campaign is called “Burger
King Oasis.” Our creative strategy is to create a stressful environment that men and women ages 35-44
can relate to and picture themselves in. Then, we will offer a solution to their stress and chaos: a
delicious, perfectly seasoned burger from Burger King.

Our strategic goals were very closely met each month of our campaign. We created reach, frequency,
GRP, and cost goals for each month during the duration of our campaign. This was a pulsing campaign,
where there was always advertising but some months were advertised in more heavily than others. The
total GRPs for this campaign are 9,107. We came in under budget at our total expenditure being
$59,401,000. This includes the $1.9 million that was allocated to promotions.

For this campaign, we achieved 3,311,396,270 gross impressions, with a CPP of $6,323.1 and a CPM of
$1.74 by using $59,401,000 out of the $60,000,000 budget given to us by our client.

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 Part II (Situation Analysis)
Burger King
I. Current Marketing Factors
● “4 P’s” of Burger King
○ Product: Burger King provides fast food products in a quick service restaurant business
setting to people on-the-go
■ The Burger King brand offers an assortment of foods including (BK.com)
● Main dishes such as burgers, chicken, hot dogs, fish, salads, and veggies
● Sides such as fries, nuggets, onion rings, and hash browns
● Discounted products such as value meals and kid’s meals
● Healthy options such as salads and “satisfries”
○ Satisfries are fries with 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories than
Burger King’s original fries
● Beverages and desserts
■ The differing products are separated by time of day, offering multiple options
depending on the meal such as breakfast, lunch or dinner
● Breakfast includes burritos and sandwiches on croissant buns with
gluten-free options
● Lunch and dinner promote value meals such as the 2 for $10 whopper meal
and the 2 for $5 long sandwiches meal
■ The brand’s slogan is “Have it your way!” emphasizing the customer’s ability to
individualize each order with multiple options and preferences
■ Burger King has a licensing deal with ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston that offers
microwaveable Burger King french fries at select retailers such as Wal-Mart
■ The coffee offered at select Burger King restaurants is a custom blend by Seattle’s
Best Coffee which is owned by Starbucks
■ With select options of salads and veggies, Burger King does not promote their
fresh ingredients compared to their competitors emphasis on being nutritionally
satisfying
○ Price: Burger King uses two pricing strategies to appeal to their target audience and
differentiate from their competitors
■ Market-Oriented Pricing Strategy
● This is Burger King’s primary pricing strategy which allows them to set
prices based on the market conditions
● This could be affected by supply and demand factors as well as the pricing
of competing firms
● Burger King has been known to focus on setting their prices high enough so
that doubts are not raised about the quality of the products being sold but
low enough that loyal customers as well as new customers will continue to
pay for it
■ Bundle Pricing Strategy

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 ● The extensively low prices that can be found on Burger King’s constant
value meals resonate with the target audience and affect competitors
attempts to competitively price their products
● These offers are for a limited amount of time which pushes the customer to
purchase while they are available and to look forward to Burger King’s next
promotion
● Ex: 2 for $10 whopper meal which gives the customer two Burger King
signature cheeseburgers for $10
● Ex: 2 for $4 croissanwich which allows the customer to mix two types of
croissant sandwiches for $4
○ Place:
■ As a franchise, Burger King has restaurants available worldwide (Marketing
Mixx)
● 66% of these outlets are within the United States and of those 99% are
operated and owned privately
■ Products have the ability to be distributed on the Burger King mobile application
as well
● Customers are able to order food off of the application and obtain coupons
and special offers
○ Promotion:
■ Burger King relies primarily on their advertising to promote their brand especially
through their “Have it your way” campaign and the face of the brand, “the Burger
King”
■ On the Burger King website, they advertise the BK App, meal deals, new low
prices, and additional menu updates
● For example, the 2 for $10 value meal is showcased on the homepage of the
website with a visual image letting the customer see what is being offered.
● Also, cheesy tots are an additional menu item that is offered for a limited
amount of time. There is an image of the product and a link to aid the
customer in gathering more information about the food.
■ According to the McLamore Foundation site, the Burger King McLamore
Foundation is a non-profit organization looking to build brighter futures and to
further American, Canadian, and Puerto Rican high school seniors education
through a scholarship program
● Created in the memory of Burger King Co-founder James W. McLamore
● This program has awarded over $28.3 million to 26,800 students
● Brand History (BK.com)
○ Insta-Burger Era
■ In 1953, the original Burger King was founded as Insta-Burger King in
Jacksonville Florida
■ After a faltering of the business in 1959, a corporate restructure of the chain was
made which renamed the entire brand as Burger King
○ Pillsbury Company Era

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 ■ Sold to Pillsbury Company in 1967, Burger King eventually hired a McDonald’s
executive Donald N. Smith to change the company’s image once again which
included updates to franchise agreements, a broader menu and standardized
restaurant designs.
■ Over the next twenty years, Burger King struggled to maintain a strong net income
of sales
○ Diageo Era
■ Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form the company Diageo which
put stress on the BK franchise because of the neglect caused by the liquor business
of Guiness
○ TPG Capital Era
■ In 2002, TPG Capital purchased BK from Diageo for $1.5 billion and renamed the
BK parent as Burger King Brands
■ It was taken public in 2006
■ The Whopper Bar concept was formed to change the BK image into a high end
fast casual dining experience
○ 3G Capital Era
■ In September 2010, 31 % of TPG’s stake in Burger King was sold to the private
equity company of 3G Capital
■ Burger King acquired Tim Hortons in 2014, making the combined company the
third-largest international chain of fast food restaurants
● Burger King is different from its competitors
○ Burger King’s merger with Tim Hortons is considered a bold initiate in the fast-restaurant
market
■ According to Burger King’s investor site, Tim Hortons comp store sales are up by
5.9% in constant currency and Burger King’s are ahead by 4.8%
○ Burger King has teamed up in the past with other fast-food restaurants to gain positive
attention for exciting causes
■ Burger King and Denny’s, Wayback Burgers, Krystal, and Giraffas: This group
has teamed up to raise awareness of Peace Day on September 21st by creating The
Peace Day Burger including signature ingredients from each chain
■ Burger King and Pokemon: at the height of this franchise's popularity BK sold
Pokemon toys that sold at a tremendous rate
■ Burger King and Starbucks: selling the Starbuck’s brands custom coffee blend by
Seattle’s Best Coffee
■ Burger King and Scootsy: in Mumbai, a thirty minutes delivery service has been
created for two chain outlets
○ Burger King attempts to repackage and rebrand old items to keep things simple and
familiar for their customers compared to elaborate menu items competitors invent
○ The management philosophy of Burger King is very different, focusing on a private
equity mentality

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 ■Burger King’s vision statement is “​to be the most profitable QSR business,
through a strong franchise system and great people, serving the best burgers in
the world.”
● Total Size of Burger King’s Market (Dosomething.org)
○ At least 1 in 4 people eat some type of fast food every day
○ 20% of all American meals are eaten in the car
○ Americans spend 10% of their disposable income on fast food every year
○ In 2015, 34.3% of children and adolescents consumed a significant portion of their daily
nutrition from fast food restaurants according to the National Center for Health Statistics
○ Fast food restaurants in America serve fifty million customers per day
○ According to the American Beverage Association, American consumers on average drink
over fifty-four gallons of carbonated soft drinks a year
○ 44% of people report eating out at least once a week

○ Lower fast food prices are associated with higher consumption of the product
○ Burgers make up the largest dine-out segment in the United States
■ Generated $53 billion in sales among the top three burger chains in 2014

Frequency of Eating Fast Food, Among Select Groups, according to Gallup

At least weekly Once or twice a month A few times a year or never

18 to 29 years old 57% 33% 8%

30 to 49 years old 47% 33% 21%

Men 53% 27% 16%

Female 42% 34% 23%

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● Burger King’s current sales, market share, awareness etc. Goals?
○ Total Revenues of $1,040.2 million (Restaurant Brands International)
○ Tim Hortons (“TH”) comparable sales increased 2.7% and Burger King (“BK”)
comparable sales increased 0.6% in constant currency
○ Restaurant count increased 3.3% at TH and 3.9% at BK year-over-year
○ The estimated market share of Burger King is 3.7%
○ The newly combined company comprises of over 19,000 restaurants in about 100
countries that employ 450,000 employees
○ Burger King’s goals
■ Aims to expand internationally, while defending its favorable position in Canada
and aggressively competing in the saturated US market
● Significant menu overhauls, introducing premium products, and
extending its brand reach in urban areas through nontraditional formats

● Brand in Life Cycle

○ “The (fast food) industry will remain highly competitive, forcing fast food chains to
compete on price, which will ultimately restrict the industry’s revenue and profit growth.
As a result, industry revenue growth is expected to be flat, increasing at an average
annual rate of just 1.8% to $248.0 billion over the five years to 2021.” (IBISWorld)
○ Burger King is in the maturity stage of its life cycle; competition of market share is
fierce. (IBISWorld)
■ Burger King estimated market share: 3.7%
■ Wendy’s estimated market share: 3.9%
■ McDonald’s estimated market share: 16.1%
● In order to increase its sales, ​Burger King merged with coffee and doughnut chain, Tim
Hortons. Sales grew for both chains; 6.7% for Burger King and 5.5% for Tim Hortons.
(Fortune)
● Although sales of Burger King dropped in 2013 compared to 2012, since 2013 it has
stayed constant and has even risen in 2015. (Statista)

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● Geographic Breakdown
○ Over 15,000 ​Burger King restaurants​ are operating world wide.
○ About 52 percent of Burger King’s restaurants are ​located in the United States and
Canada​. (Statista)
○ According to the chart from Simmons:
■ 18.3% of Burger King users live in the Northeast
■ 23.4% of Burger King users live in the Midwest
■ 38.5% ​of Burger King users live in the ​South

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 ■ 19.8% of Burger King users live in the West

● Level of consumer involvement?

○ Burger King consumers are happy with the service and food provided. Burger King
received an ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) score of 76 in 2015, as
opposed to McDonald’s who received a 69.

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 ○ Restaurants dominated social media SOV (share of voice) with a 33.4% share, as the
top-3 brands generated at least 2.3 million mentions each (​Starbucks​ 2.4M, ​Burger King
2.3M, ​McDonalds​ 2.3M (ProQuest)
○ Followers on Twitter:
■ Burger King: 1.43 Mil
■ McDonald’s: 3.3 Mil
■ Wendy’s: 969K
■ Starbucks: 11.8 Mil
● Methods used to sell the product
○ Similar to McDonald’s and Wendy’s, Burger King has adjusted its menu to focus on
value deals such as the $1.29 Whopper Jr., as well as its recently-introduced “5 for $4”
menu. (IBISWorld)
○ Burger King also introduced hot dogs to the menu, making it the largest restaurant chain
to offer it. (IBISWorld)
○ As of right now, BK has been promoting the 2 for $10 Whopper meal. ​The promotion
features two Whoppers, two small fries, and two small drinks for $10. This order would
normally cost more than $14 in most markets. (Business Insider)
● SWOT
○ Strength: “Have it your way” campaign, promotes ​the customer’s ability to individualize
each order.
○ Weakness: Market share is rather low compared to competitors.
○ Opportunity: BK has the opportunity to expand its menu with healthier options for
consumers. This in turn will increase revenues for the company.
○ Threats: Competitors are promoting similar meal deals.

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II. Advertising/creative history

● Burger King Positioning: Background

Founded in 1954, Burger King now is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. Inspired
by McDonald’s efficiency in food preparation, delivery and architectural layout, Keith J. Kramer and
Matthew Burns originally founded the restaurant chain as Insta-Burger King in Jacksonville, Florida. The
company was later purchased by its franchisees James McLamore and David R.Edgerton and renamed it
Burger King. The company expanded to over 250 locations in the United States till it was sold to the
prepared foods giant Pillsbury Company in 1967. From 1977 to 1980, Burger King hired McDonald’s
executive Donald Smith to revamp the company, which effectively boosted the increase in customer
traffic by 15% and in ownership by 8%, and the successful access to UK market. By 1985, the company
faced inconsistency in operations and downfall in sales. In 1988, Burger King plans to market as
independent entity and in consequent bought by Grand Metropolitan and its successor Diageo in 1989,
which lead to the sales up by 19%. In 1990, Burger King launched its Kids Club program and gained sales
up by $6 million. During 1991 to 1995, the Burger King continued expand in international countries and
gained worldwide recognition. In 2002, Texas Pacific Group Capital bought the company for $1.5 billion
and then sold to 3G Capital for $3.26 billion in 2010. The new owners merged with the Canadian-based
doughnut chain Tim Hortons, and named Restaurant Brands International. By 2015, Burger King had over
15,000 outlets in 100 countries, 47.5% of them were in the United States and 99.5% are privately owned
and operated.

● Burger King Positioning: Slogans, Themes, Campaigns

○ 1953: ​The first Burger King logo used text and was introduced in 1953.

○ 1954-present:​ after the establishment of company, Burger King launched its signature
product “Whopper” and created brand images as “Home of the Whopper”
■ The first restaurant was named “Insta Burger King”.
■ In 1955, they dropped the “Insta” tag to become Burger King.
■ In 1957, Burger King introduced their signature meal, the Whopper sandwich.
■ The Whopper has been Burger King’s signature product, and was promoted by
many advertising campaigns:
● Home of the Whopper (1960-1970)
● The one and only Whopper (1978)
● It takes two hands to handle a Whopper
● In the land of burgers, Whopper is king (March–August 2001)
● Eat Like a Man, Man (2006–2008)

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 ● "The Whopper says:" (2001)
○ 1957-1969: ​the “sitting king” logo was the first graphical representation of the Burger
King character, and had been used from 1957 to 1969.

○ 1958: ​Burger King developed the “Burger King, Home of The Whopper” campaign
■ The campaign was supported by local television advertising and gained huge
success.
○ 1968: ​BBDO, as the new signed advertising agency of Burger King, was appointed to
launch its first national ad campaign, which the slogan was “The Bigger The Burger The
Better The Burger”.
○ 1969-1994: ​the “bun halves” logo was introduced and it resembled a hamburger

○ 1970s: ​the “Golden Age” of Burger King advertising.

○ 1970-1980:​ burger king launched its “Kids’ Club” program, which gave kids coupons,
toys and a surprise on their birthday.
■ The original “Kids’Club” advertising portrayed a small, animated king character
named “Kurger Bing”, who visit a Burger King store and gave children small
gifts. The tagline was: “Burger King: Where Kids are King!”
■ In 1976, Burger King replaced the original “Kurger Bing” character with the
“Marvelous Magical Burger King”, who was a red-bearded and played by Fred
Barton. He ruled a Burger King Kingdom and performed magic tricks.
○ 1974-present: ​the debut of the “Have It Your Way” campaign.
■ The idea is to offering customers the opportunity to build their own burger, rather
than accept the standard menu offered by McDonald's.
■ ​The Burger King jingle was in response to McDonald’s Big Mac song,
according to its slogan: “Have it your way, and that it would happily do so.” The
lyric was: "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce. Special orders don't upset us. All
we ask is that you let us serve it your way!"
■ The campaign has been continue use till today, some of the campaign’s slogan:
● Your Way Right Away (1991–1992)
● ​If you ask us, it just tastes better (March–August 1998)

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 ● When you have it your way, it just tastes better (August 1998 – 1999)
● Burger King, where you're the boss!
● Be Your Way (2014–present)
○ 1975:​ Burger King opened its first international store, in Madrid, Spain. The introduction
of Drive-thru service in the United State leaded to some important menu innovations of
Burger King.
○ 1977:​ Burger King’s 1​st​ successful cross-promotional campaign. The campaign tied in
with The Star Wars, offered several collectible items that featured scenes and characters
from Star Wars.
○ 1982: ​The controversial television advertising campaign featured Sarah Michelle Gellar,
who was directly attack the competitor McDonald’s by saying McDonald’s burgers were
20% smaller than Burger King’s.
○ 1983:​ Burger King introduced a non-product oriented advertisement that emphasized
value of its opening hours after midnight
○ 1985: ​Burger King released the “Where’s Herb?” advertising campaign.
■ The campaign asked customer to recognize a man named Herb, who had never
eaten a Whopper among all American.
○ 1986:​ “This is a Burger King town” campaign
○ 1989: ​Burger King re-launched the children’s meal program
■ A multi ethnic group called “The Burger King Kids Club Gang” was created for
the promotion of the new children’s meal.
○ 1991:​ the company released its new dinner offering “dinner baskets and table service”
with the “BK Tee Vee” campaign.
■ It used the taglines: “BK Tee Bee… I Love this Place!” and “Your Way Right
Away!”.
■ The campaign featured Dan Cortese as “Dan: The Whopper Man.”
○ 1999-present:​ the “blue crescent” changed the color of the company’s name from red to
burgundy. It portraits two semi-circular “buns” surrounding the name with a blue crescent
wrapped the burger.

○ 2002-2010: ​Burger King aggressively targeted the 18-34 male demographic with larger
products.
○ 2002: ​Burger King released the 99¢ Value Menu in order to respond to Wendy’s 99¢
Value Menu.
■ The TV commercial featured the comedian Adam Carolla as the voice of BK’s
drive thru

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 ○ 2002: ​the company introduced the new brand slogan “Have it Your Way”.
■ The company update its image by printing its logo on cups, bags, and in-store
promotion.
■ The release of the “Bill of Rights” campaign with the slogan Have it Your Way.
○ 2004: ​Burger King unveiled a new slogan, “Be Your Way,” along with a marketing
campaign targeted at the Millennial generation.
■ The new tagline is similar to the brand’s longstanding, iconic “Have It Your
Way” slogan. It reflects a new focus on customers’ way of life rather than the
chain’s food and service.
○ 2005-2007: ​Burger King changed the old Kids Club Gong characters to the “Honbatz”
characters and focused on the preteen market.
■ Each of the group members has distinct personality and they appeared in lots of
advertisements.
■ September 2007, the company joined The Council of Better Business Bureaus
and restricted its advertising aimed at kids under 12. They started to promote
healthy lifestyle and dietary choices in advertisements for children.
○ January 2009:​ Burger King ran a promotion called the “Whopper Sacrifice”, which
asked people to unfriend 10 people on Facebook in order to gain a coupon for one free
Whopper.
○ August 2011:​ the company’s new advertising agency introduced the first advertising
campaign for the California Whopper sandwich.
○ 2014: ​Burger King introduces the BK XXL bacon double cheeseburger with the tagline
of “Its awful being a vegetarian, right?”
○ June 2015:​ in order to attract hipper, younger, predominantly male consumer, Burger
King introduced a sinister version of the King character. The character was re-emerge
after five years, speaking to the pop culture.
○ August 2015:​ Burger King asked McDonald's to make burger together by posting a
full-page advertisements in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.
■ The company came up with the idea of a limited product called “McWhopper”.
The campaign was in response to the National Peace Day.
■ Although McDonald’s turned down the proposal, it won other partnership’s
support and gained international awareness of the brand.
○ February 2016: ​Burger King posted full-page cover ads on several major media outlets
to advertise its new Grilled Dogs. The post featured the King with text reads: “THE
KING’S GOT A WHOPPER… and we’re not talking about burgers.”

● Promotions

Burger King has done series of promotional events that helped to build brand awareness and drive traffic
into the stores. Since the company has been focus the SuperFan target group, it voice is speaking loud to
all the SuperFan. In 2010, Burger King sold $3.99 Xbox games with value meal that featured the King
character as the voice of the brand, and eventually sold more than 3.2 million copies of the games. In the
same year, the company created a TV campaign called BK Wallet Drop, which was a street stunt
activation to effectively connect with consumers by gifting people free gift cards and money. The

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program gained millions of social media posts and garnered significant coverage on different media.
Another big promotion during the company's history was during Dec.6-9 , 2012. Burger King offered the
signature Whopper sandwich for 55 cents each in order to celebrate the Whopper’s 55 years anniversary.

● Benefits/ Differentiation

Burger King has focus on to differentiate itself with competitors as positioning itself as a brand that offers
consumers opportunities to chose what they want and be themselves. For example, the brand’s most
famous advertising campaign “Have it Your Way” has been introduced since 1974. The campaign
provides consumers chance to build their own burgers, which differentiate the brand from its rival
McDonald's and Wendy’s rigid menu and elevate the notion to a new focus on customer’s way of life
rather than the chain’s food and service. Freshness is another important advantage that Burger King
promotes. The company sets up a new concept called “Make fresh only for you” to promise consumers
fresh-made foods for every customer’s order. Burger King also makes continuous improvement in their
products by increase the nutrition in foods, such as reducing salt levels and saturated fats in its core menu
item.

● Brand’s Media Mix

○ Start from January 1​st​ to July 31 of 2016, Burger King spent $161,629,600 on advertising.
Burger King spent 61.8% of their advertising budget on cable TV, 30.1% on network TV,
5.7% on radio, 1.95% on outdoor advertisements, 0.4% on newspaper advertising, 0.08%
on Internet displays.
○ In 2015 Burger King spent $212,450,500 on advertising. Burger King spent 59.1% of
their advertising budget on cable TV, 36.0% on network TV, 2.9% on radio, 1.7% on
outdoor advertisements, 0.3% on Internet displays, 0.08% on newspaper advertising.
○ In 2014 Burger King spent $197,007,600 on advertising. Burger King spent 56.4% of
their advertising budget on cable TV, 39.1% on network TV, 3.7% on outdoor
advertisements, 0.38% on radio, 0.2% on Internet displays, 0.12% on newspaper
advertising.
○ Burger King’s advertising budget has increased annually. They continue to spend the
biggest proportion of money on cable TV and network TV advertising, which occupied
average 93.5% of the total advertising budget each year. They have begun to increase the
amount of money allocated toward radio, and decreased the amount of money allocated
toward outdoor advertising. Burger King spent the least money on newspaper advertising
and Internet displays. They slightly increased the amount spent of newspaper advertising
while decreasing the amount spent toward internet displace.

● Current Perception:

Burger King is the world’s second-largest fast food hamburger chain after McDonald's. The brand is
trying hard to maintain its position as the second-largest hamburger chain behind McDonald's while
fighting off Wendy’s.

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One of Burger King’s biggest challenges is to reduce the gap between McDonald’s, The largest
hamburger chain that has 25% share of market compare with 5% of Burger King’s. They have different
management philosophies. McDonald’s is far more corporate than Burger King’s private equity mentality.
Also, McDonald’s store ratio is far more than Burger Kings, which the ratio is about 2.5:1. McDonald’s
does offer better breakfast menu than both Burger King and Wendy’s.

Other competitors such as Wendy’s and Subway are taking turns to passing Burger King. The healthy
living trend pushes customers to more fresh, healthy options instead of Burger King since its limited
healthy options. Burger King now face the lacking area of healthy foods like less fat and calories French
fries which McDonald’s offers.

● SWOT:
○ Strengths:
■ Burger King has well established their “​Have it Your Way” motto that is more
valuable than its competitors in that they elevate the notion to a new lifestyle
rather than just food and service. Burger King has relatively long history and a
wider international reputation than some of its competitors since it is the
second-largest hamburger chain in the world.
○ Weaknesses:
■ Difficult to construct unity due to its ​private equity management structure. Their
lack of healthy foods choice cannot attract a big proportion of potential
customers who pursue the healthy living trend.
○ Opportunities:
■ Advertising budget continues and steadily increase annually. The company has
potential to allocate more funds to reach wider audience through its relatively
weak part in the media mix.
○ Threats:
■ McDonald’s is the number one in the market, and Burger King’s biggest rival.
McDonald’s has more market share and store locations than Burger King.

III. Competitive Considerations

Major competitors of Burger King are restaurant chains that offer a similar product with the same
benefits. Burger King’s main competitors are: McDonald’s, Yum! Brands Inc., Subway, Wendy’s, and
Chick-Fil-A. These are listed in order from highest market share to lowest market share.

The following information was sourced from:

http://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/majorcompanies.aspx?indid=1980

1. Sales, Market Share, Positioning, and Product Attributes

A. McDonald’s

McDonald’s has the largest market share and brand awareness in this industry. With a market share of
over 16%, it is well positioned and top of mind for consumers. However, McDonald’s is having a
hard time bringing in new customers. Their retention rates of already existing customers are good but
according to IBIS World, they believe their sales come from mostly existing customers. IBIS World
states that many of McDonald's’ sales come from already existing customers. This gives Burger King

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an opportunity to see why McDonald’s may not be bringing in new customers, and assess their own
situation on how to market to new customers. However, McDonald’s offers a wider variety of
products than Burger King with an array of dessert options as well as McCafe, which is very well
known. This allows McDonald’s to appeal to all audiences, at all times of day. While Burger King has
partnered with Starbucks to provide coffee for their customers, they have not marketed it well enough
for people to think of Burger King as a place to get coffee.

● Highest market share in industry ​(16.1%)

● Previously were positioned as a burger/French fry/milkshake joint
● Has changed its philosophy on food and introduced healthier, antibiotic and hormone-free
options
● Expanded its brand from just food and now offers McCafe, pairing well with all day
breakfast to satisfy any craving throughout the day
● Believes in quality food- 100% real beef, freshly cracked eggs, and 100% white meat
chicken with no artificial flavors or antibiotics added
● Website is modern, sleek, and clean. Appears to be changing their brand image from the
negative connotation of “fast-food” being unhealthy to convenient food that contains
wholesome ingredients
● https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-our-food/our-food-philosophy.html
● Sales are best in Asia, Africa, and Middle East

Sales information: IBIS World

Year Sales ($ million) Revenue ($ Operating Income

million) ($ million)
2013 35,856.0 8851.3 3779.3
2014 35,447.0 8651.0 3522.5
2015 35,837.0 8559.0 3612.0

Sales saw a -1.1% change in 2014, but recovered and increased by 1.1% in 2015. Although
sales are on an upward trend, it is believed that this is a short-term win for McDonald’s and it
could result in long-term loss. With McDonald’s taking on more than what they can handle,
their sales may be increasing but their quality of service is decreasing. This is the perfect
opportunity for Burger King to tighten up their customer service in store, and create a
memorable experience that customers are not getting with McDonald’s. Additionally, IBIS
World states that 70% of the customers that eat at McDonald’s get their food via the drive
thru. The company would like to see this number change and have more people dining in.

Issues Facing McDonald’s

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 ● Implementing all-day breakfast menu has increased sales and earnings short-term, but
could result in a plummet of sales long-term due to poor customer service (IBIS
World)
● While sales have increased with all day breakfast, foot traffic has decreased by 3%
● This means that their retention of loyal customers is good, but they are not
successfully gaining new customers
● More menu options have led to a decrease in timely and quality service→ increase of
incorrect orders
● Many people no longer dine in→ 70% of sales come from drive thru
● Lower prices from competitors have resulted in McDonald’s dependency on loss
leaders, ultimately decreasing revenue
B. Yum! Brands Inc.
Yum! Brands are a power player in the fast-food industry. They come in second for their market
share, and have an advantage over all other in the market: diversified brands. With Chicken,
Pizza, and Mexican-style foods they have a product for almost anyone. This gives them a leg-up
over Burger King because of their food diversity.
● Market share: ​9%

The following information has been sourced from: ​www.yum.com/company/

● Owns and operates the following fast food chains: Taco Bell, KFC, & Pizza Hut
● Over 43,000 restaurants across 140 countries throughout the world
● Global leaders of chicken, pizza, and Mexican-style food categories
● Leader in global retail development→ opens an average of six new restaurants every day
● Focused on positioning their three brands as “caring, engaged, and connected”
● Concentration in more product customization, transparency, and engagement via social
media

Sales Information: IBIS World

Year Sales ($ million) Revenue ($ million) Operating Income ($

million)
2013 21,466 2,953 3,622
2014 20,903 2,937 3,031
2015 20,335 2,875 3,260

Yum! Brands have expected a decrease in sales through 2016. This is a strategic plan by the company to
increase the franchising of stores.Additionally, consumers are wanting more bang for their buck with fast
food, and Yum! Brands has had to come up with their own spin on value menus in order to meet
consumer needs. This will result in a decrease in sales, but will ultimately benefit them because customers
will not seek fast-food elsewhere. Part of revenue for Yum! Brands are the franchise fees that the
franchise owners pay. They are pushing an influx of KFC stores to open throughout China to increase
revenue.

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 C. Subway
● Market Share:​ 5%

Subway offers a different experience than the other fast-food restaurants. With the logo “eat fresh,”
Subway strives to give their customers fresh, healthy options while they are on the go. The food is
prepared in front of customers, making their business model different than its competitors. This makes
them a competitor for Burger King specifically because Burger King has limited healthy options. Healthy
and wholesome foods are a major trend in the U.S. and Subway is able to meet these needs for consumers
and that is an area that Burger King is lacking. However, due to the PR disaster with their “Jared” as well
as a price increase, Subway is not performing as well as it did between 2002-2010.

The following information is from ​www.subway.com

● They promote “Stay Fresh” by sourcing their vegetables locally

● They have a network of over 200 growers and most are family owned
● Found typo on website→ unprofessional and embarrassing for brand as a whole
● No antibiotics, preservatives, or food coloring in any of their meat EXCEPT turkey
● Feature family farms that they source vegetables from on their website
● Position themselves as a way to assist people in their weight-loss because of the healthy
choices that they offer consumers
● In 2005, they went away from their “healthy” mantra and started hitting the marketing
hard with the five-dollar foot long (this worked well when the recession hit around 2009)

Sales Information: IBIS World

● Serves 2,800 sandwiches every 60 seconds

● 40,000 restaurants in 109 countries
● They have recently increased the prices of their sandwiches because sales have been on a
downward trend within the past 5 years
● Slowed expansion in the United States because of a 6.2% sales drop between 2014 and 2015
● Planning to expand more in Russia and United Arab Emirates

Year Sales ($ million) Operating Income ($ million)

2013 12,700 1,321
2014 11,900 1,250
2015 11,486 1,187

As shown in the chart above, Subway’s sales are suffering greatly. This is believed to be partly because
its competitors have made a “fresh, healthy” marketing push leading Subway to not be the only healthy
fast-food option. Its brand image is outdated, as is their website. The “fresh” ingredients are not marketed
as well as competitors like Chipotle or even McDonald’s. This could be an opportunity for Burger King to
break into the “fresh” market, by putting new salads on their menu and marketing in such a way that it
comes across as sleek, clean, and healthy.

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 D. Wendy’s

Wendy’s is just above Burger King in market share, and is a major competitor with both McDonald’s
and Burger King because of similar product offerings. If consumers are choosing to eat a burger and
fries, they have three major choices: McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s. These each offer a
similar burger with a drive-thru option and minimal wait time.

Wendy’s, like Burger King, has not done an immense marketing push for their salads and healthy
options. Wendy’s store count in the United States has declined within the past five years, and their
menu prices have gone up. Wendy’s is struggling with overall sales (see below,) and this could be an
opportunity for Burger King to fill the gap that Wendy’s is unable to fill.

Revenue:

2013 2.42 billion

2014 2 billion

2015 1.87 billion

2. Share of Voice and Media Mix

This is a report run through Kantar media, on the money spent in different advertising mediums for
Burger King’s competitors. The data compiled is from January 2015-July 2016. These are the dollars
allocated to different mediums in advertising throughout the 18 month period.

Analysis of Share of Voice:

Overall, Yum! Brands spends the most money on advertising each year. McDonald’s spends the most
amount of money on Network TV, while Yum Brand spends a lower amount in Network TV but an
exorbitant amount in cable tv. These brands spend the least amount of money in National Newspaper
advertising, while Wendy’s and Yum did not spend any money in this medium. McDonald’s and Subway
do very little in Network Radio. Subway and Wendy’s do significantly less spending in Internet display
advertising than Yum and McDonald’s.

SWOT:

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 ● Strengths: McDonald’s is doing a large amount of marketing with healthy options and adding
more options to their menu. Yum! Brands has a diverse product offering that no other fast-food
company offers.
● Weaknesses: Subway and Wendy’s are struggling with sales, and McDonald’s is having a hard
time gaining new customers. Overall, Subway has an “outdated” brand and need to do a serious
overhaul in order to keep up with its competitors. Wendy’s website is sleek as is McDonald’s.
● Opportunities: Burger King can fill the “fresh” gap that Wendy’s and Subway are currently
unable to fill. Wendy’s is not giving a big enough push on their salads, and Subway is in decline.
● Threats: Burger King does much lower in sales than its competitors.

IV. Current Target Audience

● Superfan: Purchasers & Users

○ Young adult males who have a penchant for fast food.
○ Between 18 and 35 years old who visits BK five times a month, but eats out 43 times a
month.
○ These consumers will go to a fast food restaurant other than BK 11 times a month. While
they represent just 18% of the chain's customers, they account for about half of all visits
to the stores.
○ The Superfan is a frequent user of the internet and likes to play computer games, he loves
irreverent humor, does not take himself too seriously and is open to new forms of
promotion, preferring his marketing risqué but honest.
○ (Data from Burger King case study)
■ 37.1% of them very busy and frequently eats on the run; eats frozen food because
it’s a convenient alternative to preparing meals with fresh ingredients;rarely plan
ahead for their meals; expresses interest in gourmet food as long as it fits in their
budget
■ 15.1% wants food that is fast, convenient and easy to prepare and/or eat; shows
little interest in cooking, healthy eating or nutritional value
■ 38.1% are image shapers-health and image are allied together for them;looking
good means being healthy; convenience and healthy choices can and do go
together for this group
■ 29.1% are the invincible: unconcerned about their health and eat what they want;
almost never get sick but use OTC meds to solve all of their problems if needed
■ 44.9% go for the bargains; internet helps them find discounts so they don’t pay
full price (data from simmons oneview)

● Non-superfan: Purchasers/Influencers & Users

○ Family with Children
○ Parents/ Purchasers & Users
■ neutral attitudes toward TV product placement; disengaged when it comes to
noticing or remembering products placed in television shows
■ Among family has one or more children, 76.5% non-hispanic, 23.5% hispanic

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 ● Race: 68.2% are white
● 31.1% of them very busy and frequently eats on the run; eats frozen food
because it’s a convenient alternative to preparing meals with fresh
ingredients;rarely plan ahead for their meals; expresses interest in
gourmet food as long as it fits in their budget
● 25.7% realizes they should make healthier choices in food rather than
letting convenience be the guiding force; no qualms about buying fresh
food; knows their ingredients should have nutritional value
● 45.8% visit social media website 3 or more times a day(data based on
simmons oneview)
○ Children/ Influencer & Users
■ 52% of US teen internet users used Instagram(data from emarketer
article-targeting teens?get on instagram)
■ some children having enough disposable income to eat out on occasion.

● Useful Segmentation Strategies

○ Psychographics
■ Media involvement | Internet activity | Family values
○ Lifestyle
■ Media usage | Opinions about cell phones | Opinions about advertisements

Media Usage

● Superfan media consumption:

○ 18-35 male:(data from simmons oneview)
■ 34.1%-Mobirati:represent the mobile generation; grew up with cell phones and
cannot imagine life without them; cell phones are a central part of their everyday
lives
■ 27.2%-Mobile Professionals: multiple feature users; cell phones help them keep
up with their professional life in addition to their personal life; more likely to
own a smart phone; cell phone has become their all-in-one device for their
communication and information needs.
■ 53.3% can’t live without the internet or imagine life without new electronic
gadgets; want more from technology and their desire helps to move the industry
forward ; hunger for new technology fuels a future potential new features,
benefits and devices
■ 45.6% Strong connection to branded goods or services placed into the context of
movies; engaged and aware of product placement; try and purchase brands or
services they have seen in a movie
■ TV stations most likely to be watched:
● Adult Swim/BBC America/Bet(Black Entertainment)/Biography
Channel/Cartoon Network/Cinemax/Clod/Comedy Central/Discovery
Channel/Discovery Fit&Health/Disney Channel/Disney

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 XD/DIY/ESPN/ESPN Classic/ESPN News/Fox Soccer
Channel/Fuse/FX/GAC/GSN/HBO/MTV/MTV2
■ Websites most likely to go:
● accuweather.com/Amazon.com/Americangreetings.com/Apple.com/Auto
trader.com/BBC.com/Bestbuy.com/Blockbuster.ccom/Cars.com/Cbsspor
ts.com/citysearch.com/cnet.com/cnn.com/download.com/ea.com/ebay.co
m/hulu.com/kayak.com/monster.com
■ Magazine most likely to be read:
● American rifleman/automobile/bassmaster/bloomberg
businessweek/brides/arthur fommer’s budget/Car and driver/car
craft/discover/ESPN the magazine/Field & Stream/
Fitness/Forbes/Fortune/Four wheeler/Game information
● Non-superfan media consumption:
○ Statements about media that households with one or more child are likely to agree with:
■ Three-quarters of online parents use Facebook, as do 70% of non-parents.
Mothers are more likely to use Facebook than fathers, with 81% of moms and
66% of dads using the platform.
■ I use social media a lot during a day
■ TV stations most likely to be watched:
● ABC family/Bet/Bravo/Cartoon Network/Disney Channel/Disney
XD/E!/HBO/Investigation Discovery/MTV/Nick at
Nite/Nickelodeon/Oxygen/Spike/Sprout/style/TLC/TV one/VH1/WE TV
■ Websites most likely to go:
● 1800Flowers.com/ABC.com/About.com/Accuweather.com/Allrecipes.co
m/Amazon.com/Americagreetings.com/Angieslist.com/Cbssports.com/C
net.com/Columbiahouse.com/Coolsavings.com/Coupons.com/Craigslist.
org/Disney.com/Drudgereport.com/ebay.com/equifax.com
■ Magazine most likely to be read:
● All you/Allure/American Baby/Babytalk/Harper’s Bazaar/Black
Enterprise/Brides/Cooking Club/Cosmopolitan/discover/elle/espn the
magazine/essence/Familyfun
● Children's media consumption:
○ teenagers (ages 13-18) use an average of nine hours of entertainment media per day and
that tweens (ages 8-12) use an average of six hours a day, not including time spent using
media for school or homework.
■ teen boys average 56 minutes a day playing video games, compared to girls' 7
minutes and teen girls spend 40 minutes more a day than boys on social media
(1:32 vs. 52 minutes).
■ On average among teens 39% of digital screen time (computers, tablets, and
smartphones) is devoted to passive consumption (watching, listening, or reading),
25% to interactive content (playing games, browsing the web), 26% to
communication (social media, video-chatting), and 3% to content creation
(writing, coding, or making digital art or music).
■ TV is the media activity tweens engage in most often (62% do so “every day”);
teens listen to music most often (66% “every day”).

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 ■ Social media is an integral part of most teens' lives (45% use “every day”), but it
lags behind use of music (66%) and TV (58%). Only 36% of teens say they enjoy
using social media "a lot" compared to 73% who enjoy listening to music “a lot,”
and 45% watching TV.
■ Black youth report spending substantially more time with media than white or
Hispanic youth
■ (source from Landmark Report: U.S. Teens Use an Average of Nine Hours of
Media Per Day, Tweens Use Six Hours​ ​)
● SWOT
○ Strengths
■ Clear target audience and detailed profile with deep understanding of the
superfan profile. Strong market position and brand recognition signifying
customer acceptance
■ Great use of mixed media
○ Weaknesses
■ Lack detailed profile and strategies toward non-superfan customers. Concentrated
operations and dependence on selected segmentation
○ Opportunities
■ Growing foodservice industry in the US
■ Business expansion initiatives
■ Product launches targeting health conscious customers
○ Threats
■ Competition from well-established
■ foodservice companies, like other fast food brand has better tastier and healthier
products.
■ Growing foodservice industry in the US.

V. Timing and Purchase Cycle

● Where/when/how is buying decision made?

○ The buying decision is made when the consumer has a want or need- for Burger King,
this could be either because while food is a need, fast food is normally a want or a
craving unless you are talking about the efficiency of buying the fast food
○ According to the USDA, timing plays a vital role in the purchase decision for fast-food
○ The buying decision is made when they decide that they need to do something quickly-
they are in a rush and decide that fast food is the most practical option
○ However, their purchase decision depends on what they WANT- they don’t need a
burger, they WANT a burger. Once they view the menu, it becomes a want.

● What is brand’s purchase cycle?

○ Burger King’s purchase cycle is very short, in just a few seconds -- customers don't
make plans a week in advance to eat there. And the product cycle is permanent: the
Whopper, and Chicken Sandwich are always on the menu.

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 ○ Sometimes it wills takes a longer period of purchase cycle in terms of advertising
establish audience awareness of the new-released products.

● Time of day/week/month/year, etc. matter?

○ According to Google, Sundays are the least popular day for people to eat at Burger King.
Fridays appear to be the most popular based on the graph. The most popular times people
eat Burger King are from 11am-3pm -- lunch is their busiest time.

● According to the Restaurant Brands International 2015 quarterly reports, the revenues of Burger
King are as follows:
○ Q1 Jan-March: 249.6 Mil
○ Q2 April-June: 278.2 Mil
○ Q3 July-September: 282 Mil
○ Q4 October- December: 285.5 Mil
● From the quarterly reports, October, November, and December are the most popular months of
the year that consumers are eating at Burger King.

● When is advertising/promotion heaviest (brand & competition)?

○ Burger King

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 ● Based on the information from AdSpender, when looking at Burger King’s
advertisement spending on a month to month basis, from October to March (with
the exception of February) over $20,000,000 is invested, a majority towards
cable television dollars, with networld television close behind
● The month of March is very popular for Burger King, focusing on television
commercials and network radio, spending over a combined $36,034,700
○ Spending compared to competitors

■ This information obtained by AdSpender data base showcases how much money
each brand spends per quarter
● In 2015, McDonalds and Burger King both spent the most money in the
4th quarter focused mostly in network television advertisements
● Wendy’s spending throughout the entire year of 2015 stayed consistent
through each quarter between $53,085,500 and $55,810,500
○ A majority of their advertisements were focused in cable
television rather than network television

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 ● Magazine advertisements had declined immensely with very little
spending in all four brands including Burger King spending nothing over
the past eighteen months
■ The first quarter of 2015 seemed to be a time when all brands promoted heavily
across all mediums
● Do sales/usage peak at certain times? In certain areas? Etc?
○ According to the monthly report on Burger King’s website, there is not much differences
of the revenue among the whole year. even though they spend more on advertising during
March, November,and December-some holiday periods.
● SWOT!
○ Strengths
■ Targets strong media outlets such as network and cable television
○ Weaknesses
■ Spends more money in the winter but the revenue does not change drastically
○ Opportunities
■ Changing tactics and spending more money during summer months towards
media spending
■ Wendy’s spent the same amount in each quarter during 2015. There is room to
target their audience since their exposure does not fluctuate
○ Threats
■ Timing is everything, so they must be ahead of the game and understand when is
a good time to capitalize on spending

Part III (Creative Brief)

Situation: Since 1954, Burger King has become the second-largest hamburger chain in the world. With its
relatively long history and a wider international reputation, Burger King has established a trusted brand
image that committed to bring freshness and happiness to consumer’s lives. Burger King not only
provides tasty foods, we elevate the notion “Have it Your Way” to a brand new lifestyle. Keep our brand
mission in mind, we served customers with our reasonable priced quality food and attentive service to
become the best quick service restaurant in the global fast food industry.

Cultural Fuel: Our culture is filled with fast-paced lifestyles and long, stressful days at work.
Convenience is key when it comes to working parents, as they are constantly in the car driving from one
place to another. Parents today have a lot of responsibility, with work, kids, paying bills, and taking care
of their home.

28
Marketing Communications Purpose: The purpose for our Market Communications is to position Burger
King as the right place for our customers to take a moment off from busy life, with delicious customized
food and delightful environment. Burger King is not only a restaurant that provides tasty food, it is also
the relaxed place where by spending a little money, our customers can take a rest and enjoy themselves.
To better satisfy our customers, we offer the discretionary choice of meal to complement our reasonable
price.

Target Audience: Our target audience consists of working American men and women age 35-44, whose
annual income ranges from $50,000-$59,000. Furthermore, there is no specific location, rather the
location of the target audience is countrywide.

Consumer Insight: The age group between 35-44 year olds is a wide range of adults. The majority of
these consumers have kids, the others may be married without children or single. Either way, they are
busy, hardworking men and women that need a break from their stressful lives. Burger King is a way to
“de-stress” through delicious comfort food.

Competition: Burger King’s main competitors are McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Yum Brands Inc., which
include Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. Burger King’s also competes with other fast food establishments
like Subway, Chick-Fil-A, Domino’s, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts.

Communication Problem:​ The communication problem among target market could be the misunderstood
characteristic that Burger King’s products are plain and not full of flavor, and have no difference from
other fast food restaurant’s products. However, our brand’s slogan is “Have it your way!” emphasizing
the customer’s ability to individualize each order with multiple options and preferences. Burger King
elevates the notion to a new focus on customer’s way of life rather than the chain’s food and service.
Burger King also makes continuous improvements in their products by increase the nutrition in foods,
such as reducing salt levels and saturated fats in its core menu item. Burger King strives to provide
customers more personal, fresh, healthier food with low price.

Bottom Line
Focus of Sale: The focus of sale is to convince our target market that having meals in Burger King is like
having a break and escaping a while from your busy life, you only have to spend a little to gain a lot at
Burger King. 1`
Support: With the estimated market share-3.7%, Burger King has became the second-largest hamburger
chain in the world. It offers customers high quality fast food products in a quick service.

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Tone and Manner: The tone of our ads is light-hearted and relaxed, offering people a relaxing period from
their busy schedule.
Brand Personality: Our brand personality promotes a relaxing experience, allowing customers to enter an
oasis when they bite into the delicious, flavor-filled food at Burger King. Burger King is a stress-free, fun
environment.
Tag line/slogan: comfort food for your craziest days

Radio Advertisement:
Client/Brand​: Burger King
Title​: Crazy Day Comfort Food
Time​: 30 seconds

SFX​: Ringing sound of phone and pick up sound

WOMAN (FRIEND): ​Hey Christine, how are ya!
SFX​: Child crying continuously, dog barking, sound of lawn mower, sirens (extra random noises)
SFX​: Woman sighing
WOMAN​: Ugh, I need a break. I am so stressed out.
WOMAN (FRIEND): ​No worries, I’ll grab us some Whoppers from Burger King and be right over
SFX​: Hang up noise
SFX​: Quick ticking sound with noises still in background
SFX​: Knock at the door, opening door noise
WOMAN (FRIEND):​ I brought the Burger King!
SFX​: Unwrapping sound
SFX​: Angelic noise and all other noises stop
SFX​: Peaceful noises play with voice over (waves crashing/fire crackling/wind chimes)
WOMAN: ​Mmm...this Burger King Whopper is just what I needed today, I feel so much better
WVO​: Burger King. Comfort food for your craziest days.

TV Advertisement:
Client/Brand: Burger King
Title: Earn BK points, treat yourself on us
Slogan: Comfort food for your craziest days
Time: 15 seconds

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31
32
Billboard Advertisement:
Client/Brand: Burger King
Title: Take your first bite to Aspen
Slogan: Comfort food for your craziest days

Part IV (Promotions)

Promotional Strategies
Due to the fact that we want to advertise Burger King as a convenience and comforting food, we want to
do promotions that follow this trend. We are targeting both men and women age 35-44, and we will use
two promotional strategies. The first promotion is a contest that we pick four people to enjoy all-inclusive
getaway in Aspen, which will be held in Q1, which is the lowest sales season in a year.The second
promotion is during Q2, which is the second lowest sale period of the year. It is a point earning promotion
cooperates with local stores. Our promotion will connect to our target audience who are men and women
from age 35-44. Their incomes are between $50,000-$59,000, with or without children. The goal of both
promotion is for increasing over sales and driving more traffic to the store. Our brand personality
promotes Burger King as a relaxing experience, allowing customers to enter an oasis when they bite into
the delicious, flavor-filled food. The first promotion is for getting along with the theme of relaxation in
our campaign strategy, cooperated with seasonal and holiday trends. The second promotion goes
hand-in-hand with our “Burger King Oasis” theme because we want to allow our customers to treat

33
themselves with something special, on us. We want to show that we care about our target audience by
providing extra points they could spend at their favorite stores by cooperating with local business. Due to
our target audience characteristics, we pick local business such as nail salons and spas aiming at women
from age 35-44. We choose outdoor stores for men age 35-44 since they may enjoy hunting or fishing
during weekend or holiday.

#AspenGetawayFor4
Promotion #1 will be a contest to win an all-inclusive winter getaway in Aspen for four people. This is to
go along with the theme of relaxation in our campaign strategy. They can enter to win using a code put on
their receipt after they make a purchase at any Burger King store across the nation. There will be 5
winners randomly chosen. Each winner will receive an all-inclusive trip for themselves and three other
people. People will be able to enter to win from December 2016 through Valentine’s Day 2017 (February
14th.) This is during Q1, where Burger King sales are the lowest. Running a winter getaway promotion
during this time will both go well with seasonal and holiday trends, as well as increase foot-traffic and
sales to Burger King stores. We will pick the 5 winners on Valentine’s Day to give them time to prepare
for an early March trip.

#BKPoints
​Promotion #2 will be during the months of May and June. This is during Q2. We chose to run the
promotion during Q2 because this is the second lowest time of the year for Burger King sales. This will
be a day-to-day promotion. For every $10.00 you spend at Burger King, you receive 3 points. You earn
Burger King “points” and then spend these at one of two local store options. Your points will be at the
bottom of your receipt, and every 5 points earns you $1.00 off. This promotion will last for two months
(the duration of May and June.) It will be a national campaign. In order to do this, we would have to
partner with local businesses such as outdoor stores and nail salons or spas. We chose to have each of
these as an option to cater to the men and women in our target, and give them an opportunity to treat
themselves. Men can visit an outdoor store and get a discount supplies for his favorite outdoor activity,
while women can get a manicure or pedicure before their summer vacation. As a loss leader promotion,
we will be relying on this to increase overall sales and drive more foot traffic to the store. This goes
hand-in-hand with our “Burger King Oasis” theme because we want to allow our customers to treat
themselves to something special, on us.

Part V (Media Objectives, Rationale, Strategy)

I. Target Audience

Our target audience consists of men and women ages 35-44. More specifically, we are
focusing on this demographic with between 1-3 children based on the findings in Simmons OneView’s
index value of 190 of adults ages 35-44 having 1-3 children. Another demographic we are choosing to
fragment is families with a household income of $50,000-59,000. This is because when women and men
with the income of $50,000-59,000 tend to feel uncomfortable with the amount of money they are making
and do not feel financially secure. This makes them more likely to seek out lower price food options.
One Simmons OneView, men and women between the ages of 35-44 have an index level of 124 when it

34
comes to treating themselves with foods that are technically unhealthy. Burger King does not value its
health but it does value giving young adults a place to leave their worries behind and have a meal based
on comfort food.

Types of Medias and Departments

According to Simmons OneView, our target market has high interests in television and radio media
vehicles while outdoor, digital, movies and magazines follow closely behind. To correlate these findings
with our creative strategy, we have chosen to advertise our promotions through solely television, radio,
and digital nationally and incorporate outdoor advertisements for spot promotions.

II. Reach/Frequency Objective

Our reach and frequency objectives for this media campaign differ from month to month. We calculated
our monthly goals based on promotional strategies, Burger King’s past quarterly revenues, and spot
markets. Our campaign is going to start in December 2016, because this is the month before we are
running our first promotion. We want to begin pushing the promotion in order to inform customers of the
upcoming offer. We used the Ostrow Model to determine our frequency goals. We determined that our
reach should not go between 2.9, according to this model. This is a pulsing campaign. We use primetime
television spots and morning and evening drive spots in every month of our campaign, but the GRPs for
each of these mediums differ from month to month. Below is a month-to-month description. Note that
cost is in (000).

Our campaign begins in December 2016 because the first promotion will start in January 2017. The
promotion will begin January 1st, 2017 and end February 14th, 2017. The numbers achieved for these
months are as follows:

December- Reach=93.0; Frequency= 11.4; GRPs= 1057; Cost= $6709.3

January- Reach=93.3; Frequency= 11.4; GRPs= 1211; Cost= $7118.1
February- Reach- 89.9; Frequency= 7.9; GRPs= 712; Cost= $5506.8

Notice that December has high GRPs, but they spike in January because this is bulk of our promotion #1
advertising. We decreased spending and GRPs in February because the campaign will come to an end on
February 14th. In order to increase GRPs in these months we chose primetime television spots and
morning and evening drive radio spots. In order to stay within budget we did :15 commercial time slots
and :30 radio time slots. To increase our reach, frequency, and GRPs even more we decided to do digital
advertising for the months of December and January.

During the months of March and April our advertising decreases and during this time spot markets will be
targeted. We chose to decrease advertising during these months because it is the time period between our
two promotions, but we still wanted to have a share of voice during this time. We are still using primetime
TV and radio, but our GRPs in each of these mediums were cut down drastically and our frequency is half
of what it was in December and January. However, we chose to begin outdoor advertising in April to

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promote the upcoming promotion in June. We are still using primetime television spots as well as
morning and evening drive radio spots, but at a lesser GRP level.

March- Reach= 86.4; Frequency= 5.9; GRPs= 510; Cost= $3355.1

April- Reach= 88.3; Frequency= 5.8; GRPs= 510; Cost= $3299.2

The months of May and June is when advertising picks up again because our second promotion will run
during the duration of the month of June. We increased GRPs in
May- Reach= 93.3; Frequency= 13.6; GRPs= 1271; Cost= $6977.0
June- Reach= 93.4; Frequency= 13.2; GRPs= 1231; Cost= $7186.5
Our GRPs are high during both months because May is the month before the promotion and we want to
create awareness about the promotion that will be running for the duration of June. We increased our
GRPs for commercial and radio advertising. We incorporated digital into May and June in order to
increase our GRPs and reach and drive customers with promotion #2.

During July and August advertising decreases. This is because we had just had a big push before and
during promotion number two. We wanted to spend the bulk of our budget before and during our
promotions to make the largest impact. Just as we had done in April, we decided to incorporate outdoor
into the month of August to begin increasing our reach before advertising picks up again in the fall. We
continued spending money on primetime television and morning/evening drive radio but at a lower GRP
level.
July- Reach= 86.4; Frequency= 5.9; GRPs= 510; Cost= $3355.1
August- Reach= 87.3; Frequency= 5.8; GRPs= 510; Cost= $2921.1

During the month of September we incorporated digital and continued outdoor from August. The digital
advertising continues through the month of October but stops in November. We chose to increase
advertising in October and November because this is a time when Burger King has done well in the past,
according to our situation analysis. We want to continue to increase sales during this time which is why
we chose to continue advertising when we know that people are more inclined to buy the product. We
continued our primetime television and radio spots, but slowly increased GRPs for each of these from
September-November.
September- Reach= 84.6; Frequency= 4.2; GRPs= 351; Cost= $2122.0
October- Reach= 87.3; Frequency= 6.0; GRPs= 521; Cost= $3444.4
November- Reach= 89.9; Frequency= 7.9; GRPs= 712; Cost= $5506.8

The total GRPs in the Burger King campaign are 9,107

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III. Media Budget Objective

Outdoor Spot
Outdoor is also utilized because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, people within the ages of 35-44
spend an average of 25.5 minutes commuting everyday. It will be used only in spot markets during
certain months to gain traction in largely populated areas towards the Burger King brand.

Digital
The internet, through mobile and tablets is a great opportunity to communicate with our target audience.
Although this is not the most popular way that 35-44 year olds interact with their brands, they still utilize
this vehicle occasionally. They were found to talk about things they have seen on social media in face to
face conversations so digital social media will be targeted.

Net Radio Morning Drive/Daytime/Evening Drive

The vehicle is our second highest used media, which is focused on different times throughout the day.
Depending on specific high priority month's, some advertising spending will go towards solely net radio
in the morning and evening and other low priority months will be centered around midday. According to
our research, our target audience uses radio as their main source of entertainment and relies on radio to
keep themselves informed. This is beneficial to Burger King because our promotions are a fun,
entertaining opportunity to get involved in the Burger King lifestyle. Also, a majority of people listen to
the radio in the car, making a Burger King store more easily accessible if they hear an advertisement.

Net TV Early Morning/Early News/Prime

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Considering our specific target market, television has the most popular media usage that leads our
consumers towards spending. According to our research, our target audience finds TV advertisements
very interesting and gives them something to talk about. Not only will our customers be excited about the
advertisements but will also use them as a topic of conversation, spreading Burger King’s news and
promotions. It will be spread throughout all three net television time slots; early morning, early news, and
prime time because our target audience spends the most time watching TV at these times of day.

The months that are considered higher are the winter months (December, January) and the late spring,
early summer months (May. June). Although this strategy may be similar to flighting, a constant stream
of advertisements will be airing year round, so it is actually pulsing because there is extra spending in
certain months.

The total budget allocated for the Burger King campaign was $60 million. First, we set a budget for each
promotion. The first promotion is winning a trip to Aspen for four. We will be picking 5 winners, with a
total of 20 people being sent on this trip. The budget for the Aspen trip promotion is $500,000. Next, we
budgeted $1.4 million for our #BKPoints promotion. This is a more costly promotion because it runs for
the duration of the month of June, and there will be people gaining “points” every day. The total amount
of money being spent on promotions is $1.9 million.

After the promotional strategies were budgeted, there was $58.1 million left for advertising spending. We
allocated a certain amount of money to our spot markets. Simmons OneView research showed that the
majority of fast food eaters live in the south. Through Nielson’s DMA’s, we chose five spot markets.
These spot markets include: Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Miami-Ft. Lauderdale FL; Nashville, TN; and
Tampa-St. Petersburg FL. We put 510 GRPs towards our spot markets.

Finally, our national budget was heavily allocated to TV and Radio. We chose to use these advertising
mediums because of the Simmons OneView data regarding our target audience. Simmons OneView
revealed that people ages 35-44 rely heavily on radio to keep them informed at an index number of 134.
Additionally, radio is their main source of entertainment at an index number of 142. This information lead
us to spending our budget heavily in morning and evening drive radio spots. Although this is more
expensive, we can trust that our target will be reached through this medium coming to and from work.
Next, Simmons OneView data stated that our target audience finds television advertisements interesting
and often talks about them afterwards. The index number for this statement was 128. Due to the fact that
the indices were well above-average for each of these statements, we decided to pay more for prime-time
television and radio spots. For our digital and interactive spending, we chose to spend the most money on
mobile at 6380 IMPS, and we 3190 IMPS on social. The reason for allocating our digital advertising
dollars in this way is because of Simmons OneView data. Our target often talks about things that they see
on social media in face-to-face conversations at an index of 131. Our target would also rather read other
people's’ comments and posts than post their own, at an index of 149. This tell us that they are inclined to
pay more attention to Burger King’s post than worrying about making their own posts. More IMPS were
allocated to mobile because our target audience uses their mobile devices frequently.

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IV. Geographical Objective

Overall, our strategy for Burger King is a national campaign with certain geographical spot locations. To
increase revenue in certain months that tend to lack in sales comparatively to other months we have
chosen to incorporate additional advertisements in areas that were classified highly on DMA ranks.
These spot markets include:
● Atlanta, Georgia
● Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
● Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
● Charlotte, North Carolina
● Nashville, Tennessee

These spot cities were chosen because they are the most densely populated areas within their states and
contain a large amount of men and women between the ages of 35-44. Out of Burger King’s total media
budget, 97.6​% of their cost comes from national expenditure while spot only accounts for 2.4%.

39
 V. Scheduling/Timing Objective

Our timing schedule will consist of a pulsing campaign focusing on the months of May, June, December,
January, and February; however, it will lower slightly during the months of January and February.
October through December are the months when Burger King earns the highest revenues, so we decided
to start our #AspenGetawayFor4 promotion during December and run it until mid-February. We will
advertise heavily during these months, because the goal is to target consumers and increase sales during
the 1st Quarter, where revenues are the lowest. After this, from mid-February through April, we will
advertise lightly. We will also begin to advertise in our spot markets in April. Once May arrives, we will
begin to advertise our national promotion of #BKPoints through the end of June. This is because May and
June fall in Q2 where revenues are the second lowest, so we decided to run a promotion to increase sales
during the spring season. This promotion will influence consumers during the end of spring/start to the
summer season to eat at Burger King, where they will be able to earn #BKPoints to receive discounts at
other places (outdoor stores/nail salons). In July we will advertise lightly, and in August and September
we will begin to advertise in our spot markets once again. During this time frame, revenues are the second
highest, so we decided to target consumers in southern cities where the majority of fast food eaters are to
keep sales high.

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41
Part VI (Appendix)

1. Year at a glance

2. Media Flow Chart

42
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