I love Lou's idea of experience tracking. Day to day, what feels good? What feels confusing? This noon, I had an experience that was a little of both.
While running some errands, I came across a Burger King. I don't regularly partake of fast food, but I've enjoyed Burger King's recent advertising and marketing campaigns, which include its scarily smiling king icon, a subservient chicken, and a SpongeBob SquarePants movie tie in. The company has even benefited from some accidental advertising: People have been stealing large SpongeBob inflatables, and BK makes the news.
While a lot of the recent advertising and marketing can be attributed to Crispin Porter + Bogusky, I wonder how deeply their influence reaches. Because at lunch today, perhaps for the first time in my life, I laughed out loud reading the paper bag that my lunch came in, as well as the wrapper that surrounded my burger. And I'd like to thank the people that made that happen.
First, the burger wrapper. With vintage-y design and text, the wrapper features several notable items. (I know, a picture is worth 1,000 words, but bear with me. I don't want to get ketchup on our scanner.) On one side flap, the wrapper says, "You're about to find out why we say 'cheese' before someone takes a picture. Just try not to smile when you bite into this cheeseburger. We dare you." The other side isn't as interesting but does mention that Burger King's been around since 1954. Who knew? It's the middle that wins. Printed so the text is backwards on the outside of the wrapper -- but dark enough so you can read through the wrapper on the inside when you lift up the burger (!!!) -- is a block that reads
You have the right to have things your way. You have the right to scarf, wolf, or hork down this hamburger. You have the right to eat it like a dainty little bird. You have the right to order another. You have the right to it being as good as the first one.
I laughed at hork. And I laughed again at "dainty little bird." But the thing I like the most is the pure idea. Print something backwards on a wrapper so it can be read on the inside as part of the eating experience. Too cool.
The paper sack was also interesting -- primarily because it offered a sniglet-like definition of the stray French fries that often fall to the bottom of a bag: "French fries that have attempted to escape from their container only to strand themselves in the bottom of the bag are called 'bagglers.' The first to open the bag and retrieve the baggler gets to eat the baggler. Therefore, it is in one's best interest to be the keeper of the bag."
Fun stuff. And it seems like BK's CMO, Russ Klein is doing good work. But I have two questions: Did CP+B do the wrapper and bag creative work? And why doesn't that energy and attitude creep into BK's restaurant design, uniforms, ambience, etc.? Because that's what was confusing. The bag and wrapper were fun and intelligent, mature and somewhat snarky. But the restaurant's just a fast food restaurant. The food was the same old food. The experience was uneven, albeit a net positive.
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, guest host: lewis carbone, Burger King Corporation, SpongeBob SquarePants, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Russ Klein |
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Recent Comments | 5 Total
December 14, 2004 at 4:43pm by Steve Portigal
I'm glad to see such a constant stream of brand, design, marketing, usability, and other professionals exhort the value of the total experience. I agree.
But the companies we try to help aren't always structured that way.
We've all been in meetings where the implications from an insight, a decision, or a brainstorm spread far beyond the scope of the meeting, right?
Only to have it shut down cold - "We can't impact the packaging" "The marketing people will take that up separately" "We can pass along this info but the decision will be up to them"
In companies like BK and McD, they separate the kitchen from the front-of-the-house. And the good employees go in the back - that's what the managers are taught. Those are the ones that can make the food quickly and consistently. Customer interactions? Ennnhhhhh.
I remember having a meeting with a bunch of super-savvy kitchen engineers who had created this amazing apparatus for high-speed burger assembly, a ballet of flipping and foot-pedals and things coming down chutes. They had a four-point measure for the quality of the resulting product - they had a gizmo that injected steam into the bun so it stayed hotter longer and would not absorb topping liquid, in order to get a higher score on the measure of how much intermingling of food layers there were. Etc. Etc.
Taste was NOT one of the attributes being considered here.
All in all, it was a fascinating look at organizational priorities being anything but customer-centric.
December 14, 2004 at 7:43pm by Douglas Zanger
I like Heath's insight into BK...and I am particularly interested in Steve's observation that fast-food is, most certainly, one of the least customer-centric industries around. The same could be said for the grocery business, where, I have found, the experience is awfully uneven.
That said, I have always had nothing short of outstanding experiences with Wild Oats here in Portland, Oregon. First, the sensory component is compelling...it's fun without being overbearing or overly "programmed." It is a genuine feeling of knowing that a great portion of the products there are of high quality and (generally) good for you. I find it kind of fun to buy bulk whole wheat pasta and granola every so often. I'm also not surprised that I always end up walking out with more than I went in for. To wit: today I went to grab a quick lunch at Wild Oats. Bag contents: lunch for me, lunch for a colleague, soy milk (vanilla), 4 organic oranges, butternut squash soup (organic), tomato soup (organic), Pellegrino, Tazo Tea, a copy of "Natural Health" magazine and a bottle or Oregon Pinot Noir...all because it felt "easy" to do in such a great store environment.
Second, Wild Oats employees are always genuine. They're friendly, but they also fit the "vibe" of the stores, the store's neighborhood and the customers. It is always quite comfortable to talk to a Wild Oats employee (especially since I voted for Kerry...I suspect few Republicans shop at Wild Oats) and it never feels forced.
I have always heard, anecdotally, that Wild Oats corporate in Boulder, Colorado always sets a great tone for the company and it shows. I'd love to know more about how they develop a "psychology/philosophy" that translates into a great customer/sensory experience.
December 15, 2004 at 8:08am by alex bogusky
It was fun to read about a BK experience with some of the in-store work we've finally gotten out into the field. This sort of stuff has the longest lead time and a lot less flash than the TV assignments we get but we really believe it's the most important work we do.
When CP+B came on board, Landor was half way through designing a new look for BK. We collaborated with them to complete that process and at the same time began writing all of the copy that would go into the system. Obviously Russ and his team played a big roll in all of this. And you're right. It's just a piece of the experience. The new Angus burger, Salads and TenderCrisp chicken are solid start on the rest and really worth a try next time you're there.
December 15, 2004 at 9:55am by Trevor Bannister
I dunno. The wrapper copy is cute and all, but laugh out loud hilarious? Chacun a son gout, I suppose.
Personally, most of Burger King's recent marketing efforts have left me cold. The agency seems so intent on showing off its creative "brilliance" that they neglect to connect to the consumer. The Subservient Chicken was terrific, no doubt about it. But the fashion photographer and motivational speaker campaigns seemed too self-indulgent; the parodies overwhelmed the product. And don't even get me started on the series of commercials that ripped off the great BBC sitcome "The Office."
I do prefer Burger King to McDonald's or Wendy's - but that's because of their food, not their advertising. But hey, that's just me. Your mileage may vary. j
December 15, 2004 at 10:03am by Heath Row
Trevor, lest you think I was rolling in the aisles with glee, I wasn't so much laughing like a madman. But I did laugh out loud: One of those sharp, surprised ha's, followed by another. Then a smile. Enough, I suppose, from a burger wrapper.