Name: Mondana Zargarnian
Social Media Marketing Audit
(aka Case Study)
Name of Company: Burger King
Title of Campaign: Burger King Motel
Description of Products/Services: Burger King Chicken Sandwich
Briefly explain the marketing challenges or objectives that this company faced before implementing
their social media strategy.
Burger King is known for their beef Whopper burger so their challenge is how to dry attention to their
new chicken burger without decreasing the money they make on the Whopper. They are trying to reach
the consumers who like to eat 'leaner' meats such as chicken instead of beef but the main challenge is to
bring attention to it over the Whopper sandwhich.
Who was/are the target market(s) of this campaign?
The target market is anyone who eats, but specifically those who are on social media because that is
where this burger king motel was introduced.
What was the key message the campaign was designed to communicate?
The key message was communicating to 'cheat' on your beef with chicken meat. They want to convey
that people should try this chicken burger rather than sticking to an old favorite, the Whopper beef
burger.
Describe the campaign or social media marketing strategy the company executed.
Burger King took the an old cliché, seedy and somewhat sensual concept of cheating on your significant
other in a sleezy motel. They re worked this idea into a burger king motel in which they took one of
those run down motels that everyone sees in movies and television and made it into a motel for people
to sit and enjoy the chicken burger. They could do so 'secretly' in this motel and have the effect of
cheating on the Whopper burger. Then, after the experience, Burger King had set up ipads and other
devices which people could take pictures of themselves, or the employees would take pictures of them
and the individuals would post their photos on social media with a specific hashtag and let others know
about their experience and the food. To be able to then experience this, users on social media would
comment on a Burger King motel post and tag three others with them, and they would be sent a Motel
Burger King key card to use for themselves. Once they got to the motel location, they were required to
check in using their social media site log ins and they would then go into a motel room where the beds
were removed and dining tables were put in. They had twenty minutes to 'cheat' on their beef
whoppers and try the new chicken burger. Burger King utilized the idea of engagement with the
consumer. They provided a new fun experience for social media users, one in which those users could
share with their friends as well. They also allowed through the commenting and tagging feature, for
people to promote their burger through social media 'word-of-mouth.'
What went well? What did they do right?
They engaged each consumer. They allowed consumers to have a new fun experience with their own
friends. They took an old, cliché idea and put a new spin on it.
What went wrong? What could they have done better?
I think that they did everything right but for me personally, I was alienated by the cheating theme
because it comes off very cheap and seedy to me. I think that it makes the idea of cheating with a good
connotation and I don't think that is good for our society. It lowers our moral standards to have things
like that in our culture. I think that they could have advertised with the idea of eating healthier and
marketed it in that way because so many people are health conscious and focused on preventative care
in our generation.
What were the results or outcome of the campaign? If it was an unsuccessful campaign, what
takeaways were gained from this experience (for you and/or the company)?
The results were outstanding! Over the five day promotion, the hotel was booked with 870 guests. Fans
spread the message to two million citizens of New Zealand. The engagement on the Burger King page
increased by 587%. Without affecting sales of the whopper,the chicken burger outsold the whopper.
Additional thoughts or comments: (Attach links to resources, campaign sites, videos, etc.
Supporting documents can be submitted as attachments in the Audit Dropbox along with this file.)
I believe that although I have a problem with the concept of cheating, I believe that this was the best
way to get attention. The idea of sex and sultry environments bring attention to the brand.