Burger King Be Your Way!

Burger King has been going through a communication crisis for quite some time. Burger King has pulled out every marketing strategy known to man to compete with its arch nemisis McDonalds. Despite its efforts to change its menu when ludicrous items such as Cheeto fries, red buns, fruit loop shakes, Big King (Big Mac competitor) and now its newest menu addition hot dogs, Burger King just cant seem to win. If you didnt know Burger King decided to change its infamous motto "Have it your way" to "Be Your Way". Personally Be Your Way sounds ridiculous but for some odd reason the people at Burger King's corporate office thought it would be best to change the motto in hopes that maybe just maybe thats all Burger King needed to revamp its image. So why bother changing the tagline? Fernando Machado, the chain's senior VP-global brand marketing, said that while "Have It Your Way" was more about the "functional side" of Burger King, letting customers know that customization was always an option. He said that Burger King is aiming to have the tagline become "much more than just a headline" in that the goal is to "create a much stronger emotional connection by talking to a behavior that already exists."

He added: "We're trying to elevate 'Have it Your Way' to a state that's much more emotional and centered on around self-expression." Burger King changed its motto in 2014. Have it Your Way is a 40 year old motto and truthfully I don’t believe Be Your Way has stuck or will stick with anyone. I got a kick out of reading a post from John Crudle with NY Post “I’m not sure how to “Be Your (or My) Way,” especially when I’m standing in line waiting for my shake to be shaken and my burger to be charbroiled. Burger King used to have a perfectly good slogan: “Have It Your Way.” Let me take that back: It was better than good. It was great. You knew exactly what it meant by “Have It Your Way.” You’d say, “No tomato, extra onions and please wear a hair net when you are plopping that beef on the bun.” That was a lot of people’s way. “Be Your Way” might work at Bible camp. And I’ve preached this sort of philosophy to my kids many times, although more eloquently. Do what you want to do. It’s your life. We’ve got bail ready if you need it.

“Be Your Way” is what they call in plain English a non sequitur. “Be Your Way” just doesn’t fit the meat-eating experience. (Okay, I know the phrase “non-sequitur” is Latin. I just gave you time to catch me in a mistake and feel superior.) Since Be Your Way was practically an epic fail but Burger King decided to stick with it. Burger King had to figure out another way to communicate with its faithful consumers. I personally only eat Burger King if Im in a rush or its dire straits, meaning I have to eat something to sustain life…. Burger King managed to take over the social media space and their approach was absolutely brilliant. Social media and millennials go hand and hand. Since millennials shape the culture and our the biggest consumers it was genius to tap into our world and somehow get a buzz online. Although going viral and having a lot of post seems to be easy nowadays, big brands often fail to get retweets and get a buzz from the youth. What better way to relate and gravitate to young people than incorporating entertainment. I love entertainment so Burger King’s approach was right up my alley. I especially love music and sports. Burger King’s marketing strategies changed in an attempt to take over the digital space. Under the Be your Way Campaign Burger King made its presence on Twitter more known. Im a habitual tweeter with over 60k tweets. I always notice when companies get creative a call their graphic design team for a little help. I also like when companies clearly have someone who understands and knows modern day culture. I think its pretty weird when it’s obviously an old person trying to be hip behind a company account, wasn’t the case for Burger King. It was almost as if one of my closet friends was running the account. Burger Kings knows all the current lingo, the latest music and although their food is still gross and weird I have a new found respect for the company. Burger King really cares about the public. Burger King tweets urban music and caters to the demographics of Twitter’s most frequent users. Burger King chose to use social media to cut down on advertising cost, absolutely brilliant. Now a days  no one listens to the radio and television Ads are often neglected. Tastemakers and critics started to take heed to Burger King’s strategic internet marketing schemes. Burger King’s smartest and most profitable marketing strategy occurred on May 2015. Burger King used a photo shopped picture of Burger King’s mascot “The King” alongside Floyd Mayweather and Justin Bieber during the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight and posted the photo to Twitter. Justin Bieber has a huge cult following. They call themselves “beliebers”. Also Floyd Mayweather is one of the most successful athletes millennials have ever witnessed. Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight took place at MGM studios in Las Vegas, Nevada and was the biggest boxing match in the past decade. The fight was commercial free. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight had a 4.4 million viewers, within hours the King, Mayweather and Justin Bieber were alongside each other and the picture was all over the internet. The King managed to be beside two of the most elite men in entertainment… Wow!  Burger King developed a knack for social media advertising and is known for its outlandish approach by millennials who heavily indulge in surfing the net. Be your way campaign is one of the best digital campaigns in its own right.