Whopper Freakout Marketing Campaign for Burger King - Term Paper Example

?Burger King Case Study Critical Analysis of the Burger King’s “Whopper Freakout” Marketing Campaign The Whopper Freakout campaign was launched by Burger King as a test to get a glimpse of how customers would respond if they were notified that Whopper had been removed from the menu list. Majority of the consumers were astonished to hear that their burger of choice had been removed from the menu. Their responses were recorded using a hidden videotape, and this was developed into a seven and a half minutes documentary. The documentary was posted on the internet and the campaign launched to mark 50th anniversary of Whopper. Experts suggested that the campaign was a clear indicator that Burger King was the favorite burger of the Americans. This is because consumers ate Whopper more often than the other products. The campaign also doubled Whopper sales in the quarter that ended on December 2007. The burger also got a replica of Whopper at Madame Tussauds in the same year. The campaign was able to reach both the old and the young. It was also well received by the advertising and branding experts (Faheem 3). The Pros and Cons of Using Viral Marketing Campaigns to Promote a Product Consumers are capable of spreading online information about services and products to their peers through forwarding e-mail through viral marketing campaigns. Because the information spreads very fast and through the online medium, it cannot be obstructed by geographical boundaries. Therefore, it has the ability to reach many potential customers within a very short time (Dekimpe, Gijsbrechts, and Wuyts 257). Viral marketing assists a business to remain afloat in the competitive business world through a strategy that is easy to incorporate in a defined buyer-society and empower the unattached audience with marketing tips, guidance, and training. The word of mouth idea strengthens the peer-to-peer recommendation of the service or product. It also assists the business to get revenue from local interest in the scheme (Borade 1). There are possible risks linked with the use of viral marketing campaigns. When the message spreads like a virus over the internet, it is difficult to gain control of the process again. Furthermore, because the customers are free to spread any message, it is impossible to control the message they are writing to their peers. When consumers are unable to edit the message, they are less likely to spread the message thus making the campaign ineffective. If the process of spreading the messages gets out of control, it may cause logistical issues such as high costs and slowing down of the Web sites (Dekimpe, Gijsbrechts, Wuyts 261). Thus, the process can be costly to the company if gets out of control. Factors That Resulted In the Success of the Whopper Freakout Campaign The success of the Whopper Freakout campaign can be asserted by the innovative advertising campaigns that Burger King had run back in the late 1950s. The most successful of all the campaigns was the 1974 “Have it Your Way” campaign, which motivated customers to order a burger the way they preferred it. In the following years, the fast food company has launched a number of innovative and unconventional campaigns that assisted Burger King in increasing its visibility among the target customers and promote its products. Another factor that can be attributed to its success is the fact the campaign featured a viral marketing website, which was composed of the videotaped consumer reactions. The campaign was also backed by other promotional components such as print, online ads, and TV advertisements. A reputable company CP + B. designed the advertisements (Faheem 3). The Whopper Freakout campaign generated a lot of interest among the target consumers who consisted of the technology savvy youngsters and it quickly spread by the word-of-mouth marketing (Faheem 3). In other words, the campaign made people start talking about the products as they even spread through the internet. Word-of-mouth marketing puts the brand directly into the conversations among peers. They are more persuasive because they are rooted in authenticity and trust of actual personal relationships. The viral marketing campaign was successful in the case of Burger King because it inspired many positive and admirable conversations about the company’s brand (Faheem 3). The Possible Drawbacks of the Campaign One of the possible drawbacks of the campaign was the use of deception to advertise the product. If the message is viewed in the wrong way, controlling its spread could have been difficult. This is a drawback in the majority of the viral marketing campaigns. When the message gets online, it becomes very difficult to gain control over it. As stated before, it is nearly impossible to control the message being spread by consumers to their peers (Dekimpe, Gijsbrechts, and Wuyts 261). Thus, if the message spread by Burger King was taken in a negative manner (that the Whopper has been removed from the menu and consumers should think of other options), it could have been very difficult to control such a message because it is already viral. Thus, Burger King could have looked into other options that looked less risky than the one it had used. However, at the end it proved that consumers liked products made by Burger King. Ways in Which Burger King Could Have Made the Whopper Freakout Campaign More Effective Viral marketing is one way through which services or products can be promoted. If promotions are positioned well and given to the right audience, they can become viral. The foundation of any good marketing is a good service or product. The product or service must be beneficial to the target market. In Burger King, the campaign could have been made more effective if it adopted strategies that are more creative than the ones it had. One of the ways that Burger King used to promote its product Whopper was the use of a video clip posted on its viral marketing website. It could have created more comical and catchy video clips and upload them to sharing websites such as YouTube, Twitter, or even Facebook (Allen 65). The company could have restricted itself to its viral marketing website. Though it received a wide audience, it could have done better if expanded its means of spreading the viral message. Another possible way that Burger King could have made the campaign more effective is the use of adver-games. Most companies generally introduce and offer games in their websites. The games typically feature the services or products that the company is attempting to sell. The company can include URL links in the game to attract its players to take a look at other sites as players move from game to another (Allen 65). This way, the company is able to reach a majority of its target consumers. eBooks can be utilized to promote a service or a product. Apart from adver-games, eBooks, and video clips, text and image messages can be utilized in catching the attention of the potential consumers. The more viral a company’s promotion is, the more the individuals will be aware of the service or product. Thus, the company will have a better chance of getting good patronage and good sales (Allen 67). Burger King could have made use of adver-games, eBooks, and text and image messages. The target market of Burger King includes youngsters who are technology savvy and thus, games could have spread the message very quickly. Apart from games, eBooks and text and image messages could have well served the technology savvy youngsters and other target consumers. Thus, there are many ways that Burger King could have made its viral marketing campaign more effective than the ways it has used previously. Works Cited Allen, Kevin. Viral Marketing 100 Success Stories Secrets-Secret Strategies, Buzz Marketing Tips and Tricks, and Interactive Marketing: 100 Simple Online Campaign Principles. Lulu.com, 2008. Print. Borade, Gaynor. Advantages and Disadvantages of Viral Marketing. Buzzle.com, 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. Dekimpe, M. G., Gijsbrechts, E., & Wuyts, S. The Connected Customer: The Changing Nature of Consumer and Business Markets. New York, NY: Routledge. Print. Faheem, Hadiya. “Burger King’s ‘Whopper Freakout’ Marketing Campaign.” ICMR Center for Management Research (2010): 1-3. Print. Read More