In yesterdays class we discussed re-branding. More specifically, when to and when not to do a complete revamp of a brand. After class I went to my yahoo mail account to check my messages and saw in the yahoo news section a story saying that fast-food corporation Burger King has decided to change the look of their restaurants. They are trying to veer away from the traditional fast-food feel and switch to a more contemporary sit-down feel. The overall goal is to get people to associate Burger King with more up-scale restaurants, and to be able to compete with the "fast-casual" food chains like Starbucks.The new design is called "20/20" and consists of red flame chandeliers that will rotate, T.V-screen menus and corrugated metal and brick walls. There will also be metal canopies installed on the exterior of the restaurant and more signs proclaiming "home of the whopper." However, this fancy new look comes with a fancy new price. Ninety per cent of Burger King locations are operated by franchisees and the switch to a new upscale design is expected to cost them about $300,000 to $600,000. That's a lot of money to re-do a burger joint don't you think?
The corporation plans to implement the new flashy design in at least 75 more stores by the end of this year, however it will take many more years before its 12,000 restaurants worldwide receive the overhaul. Is this form of re-branding a smart idea on Burger Kings
part? It is expected to be a hit with the corporations loyal following and target audience of young men, because of the masculine and hip urban elements. However, in the poor economy that the U.S. is experiencing right now, franchise owners who are contractually obligated to update their restaurants may not be huge fans of the pricey revamp.
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