Camaraderie amongst burger giants: COVID’s impact on restaurant advertising.
The coronavirus crisis has hit the fast-food industry hard and has awakened solidarity within rival restaurants, most notably amongst the protagonists of the popularly referenced Burger Wars. In the first few days of November, Burger King UK and Burger King France launched an unexpected ad on their social media channels encouraging customers to support the industry and order from number one competitor, McDonalds. Both brands have always poked friendly jabs at each other through advertising efforts, but given the times, this message breathed a refreshing air of camaraderie for the industry.
According to Q2 releases, McDonalds took a harder hit with a decrease of 23.9% in its comparable sales while that of Restaurant Brand International’s Burger King decreased by nearly half that of McDonalds, 13.4%. Times are tough, but improvements in the burger magnates’ digital strategies in the arenas of e-commerce, delivery, and AI show promising signs of delivering improved customer service that will hopefully drive stronger numbers for Q3.
New approach in advertising?
Burger King’s friendly gesture places a smile on the face of the industry as a whole but upon first glance, it might strike audiences as peculiar. After all, redirecting some of the competition towards fellow industry rivals is not usually taught in Marketing 101. That aside, however, BK’s ad could potentially be part of a carefully crafted, COVID-inspired strategy. One that positions the King as somewhat philanthropic.
As is the case with Pepsi and Coca-Cola, I am willing to assume that burger enthusiasts view McDonalds and Burger King as anything but substitutes. Both have their source of loyal following, which suggests that the “Order from McDonalds” ad would not significantly influence Burger King sales. However, it’s the feeling of “we’re in this together” that Burger King is selling. It’s a novel approach to advertising for sure.
Broader Brand Relevance…
Even though Burger King suffered lower percent drop, McDonald’s still ranks as the #1 most loved burger joint in the world. In fact, according to WPP and Kantar’s report, Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, McDonalds is valued to be worth over 20 times Burger King in brand value. Last year, the Happy Meal giant was valued about 18 times more than BK, which suggests that despite the global health crisis, McDonalds is still the top-of-mind brand. It is important to note, however, that Brands foster loyalty amongst their audiences and that number of store outlets and international presence of the brands may affect these numbers.
Brand value is perhaps the strongest long-term asset a company nurtures primarily because it is derived from and predicts customer perception, brand loyalty, and ROI among others. In the current business panorama where barriers to entry are much lower than prior years, nurturing a strong brand could be what improves your profitability and differentiates you from the competition. Burger King’s message, although unorthodox, drives brand perception as philanthropic and unselfish by using its voice to speak up for its values–a tactic that will ultimately position Burger King as more than just a burger, but a socially-driven meal.
Photo courtesy from Twitter.
