Mcdonald's vs Burger King Marketing Strategy
Fast food marketing has evolved incredibly over the past few years. Brands like Burger King and McDonald’s are setting the pace with their sophistication. Social media is fueling this innovation and creativity, such that smaller brands are taking a clue.
McDonald’s serves over 70 million people in a day, which is about 80 percent of the fast-food burger market. It is closely followed by Burger King, founded in 1954, which serves nearly 11 million people burgers every day.
The content marketing strategy of both companies has led to their huge success in the fast-food industry. Both industries are active across their social media channels, and their content is geared towards putting smiles on the faces of customers and prospects.
Both fast-food giants are often praised for their marketing prowess. You’d be interested in what makes them stand out in a competitive market.
This article analyzes the content marketing strategy of both fast foods under various headings. Here are some of them:
- Usefulness to consumer
McDonald's site is awash with informative content left, right, and center. Consumers are urged to ask questions and receive answers, which is a PR and SEO strategy. The site also contains success stories of food suppliers and correspondents for healthy eating options across all their social media handles.
All these are to assure customers about the quality of their food. Burger King's site is not as appealing as Mcdonald’s, but it pushes for corporate information over informative content. In terms of design, it is a little outdated, but it manages to achieve its purpose.
The site contains content that shows commitment to food quality, customers, and the environment, but it doesn't back it up with real-life examples as McDonald's does. They sometimes add nutritional information to the content, but in all, McDonald's beat Burger King to their game.
- Social strategy
Both companies have a wonderful social strategy. McDonald's displays exceptional visual content across all their social media handles and their posts have a fresh voice that fits into their social plan. It is aligned with events to gather more visibility.
It is common to see hashtags of upcoming events on their site. During the 2018 World cup, the hashtag #McdOneGoal trended on their social media channels. The World cup already had the desired publicity, but McDonald's was only attaching itself to bring its brand to the fore.
For Burger King, they thrive in inviting user content. They ask users to use #burgerking for Instagram, which is a welcoming tone for users to create content. They also use a playful and hilarious tone in their posts, and it isn't easy to ignore.
- Logo
McDonald's has one of the most famous logos in the world. It is almost impossible not to notice it. This simple logo resonates in the mind of everyone that beholds it. The design has changed a few times since its inception, but the message remains simple and straight to the point.
This simple design builds trust and confidence in the mind of prospects. They are made to believe that McDonald's services are as simple as that which is on the logo. Burger King also creates a recognizable logo with big graphics and bright colors.
Like their competitors, the design has changed over time but with the message intact. The color scheme and simplicity portray the brand's commitment to service. For both companies, the marketing strategy for their logo is the same.
- Outdoor advertising
Both brands have a similar outdoor advertising strategy. McDonald's uses very simple adverts similar to what we see on their website. They use the power of emotion to attract customers. The thing about appealing to emotions is that it creates a sense of belonging in customers' minds such that they're forced to believe that you care.
One of their popular billboards reads, "we are sorry for your delay on the way home tonight." On the same post, there's an image of a Big Mac saying, "see one want one." This is a typical example of using one stone to kill two birds. First, they feel sorry for you, but they need you to grab a bite of their exotic burger.
Burger King is doing well but is applying a different strategy for outdoor advertising. For them, images of appealing burgers with their prices do the speaking. Their billboards are bolder than their competitors. Their approach may look selfish, but it is their way of standing out in the fast-food business.
- Television and social media campaigns
McDonald's is known for its funny TV ads over the years. Their advertising style has also evolved from what customers were used to hearing to highlighting how they provide 24 hours of quality service to customers. This marketing campaign is innovative, and every step on the way, newer ideas spice these adverts up.
Also, TV and social media ads target different charities and the underserved in society, showing that they care for people who may not afford their burgers. Burger King excels at campaigns. They thrive on interesting, engaging, and funny content throughout.
Through their mobile app, they come up with various strategies targeted at their competitors. The "burn my rival" campaign, for instance, uses virtual reality to burn down their competitor's stores.
They also had a meltdown campaign targeted at top competitors. The strategy was aimed at discouraging the use of disposable plastic. McDonald's and the likes use plastic toys for packaging their meals. Burger King encourages customers to return these toys (including that from McDonald's) to be repurposed.
The marketing bar continues to go higher as the day goes by. McDonald and Burger King are experts in marketing, and we expect that since there are two of the biggest burger brands in the world. The former does a great job of fueling audience interaction and participation more than the latter.
Most of the time, McDonald's makes boring adverts, but they never fail to achieve their advertisement goals. They have their strengths and weaknesses, but McDonald's has proven to have a more superior strategy, which is evident in their profit daily.