Burger King

Ken Silvestrini

Busa 221

Case Study #1

The King of Fast Food

Burger King is a fast food hamburger restaurant founded in Miami in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton. Today, Burger King serves over 12 million customers a day at more than 11,200 restaurants in 69 countries (Pride/ Ferrell). They are famous for their signature burger, The Whopper, and for their catchy commercials on TV. They are also second in the hamburger competitor business following the fast food guru McDonald’s. They continue to bring new products onto their menu as times change and they have reasonable prices comparable to McDonald’s and Wendy’s. They continue to thrive as growing markets of people are looking for that quick meal on the go.

Question 1: Briefly describe the target market and marketing mix used by Burger King.

The company is having success with the coveted 16- to 34-year-old target market, with the help of new advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky (who “have already sold out the BMW MINI, convinced teenagers that it's not smart to smoke and made IKEA the place to buy furniture," according to Brad Blum, Chief Executive Officer of Burger King) (Fozo). However, they are also trying to attract an older market with healthier menu items such as salads. They also appeal to young kids with some Burger Kings having a play place and offering the beloved happy meal that always come with a toy.

They have a very good marketing mix as well. They have many products such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers as well as fries, salads, hash browns, onion rings, coffee, juice, shakes, cookies and pies (Marketing Teacher). In the summer of 2010, they started selling Seattle’s Best Coffee at all U.S. locations and will begin selling the coffee along with iced varieties that also come with a choice of plain, vanilla or mocha flavors and whipped toppings (Marketing Teacher). Their prices are reasonable with the introduction of the dollar menu to compete with McDonald’s. Burger King plans...