Burger King’s customer loyalty soars after its 'Order From McDonald’s' campaign

• Burger King’s Twitter letter encouraged its followers to order from other competing fast-food franchises, pointing to chains like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and KFC, to mention a few.
• UserTesting’s survey studies the campaign’s impact on customer loyalty, perception, and company values at the global level.
• Burger King’s campaign was launched on November 2, 2020 and received overwhelmingly positive feedback on social media platforms across the world.

After Burger King told its UK customers to order from McDonald's, Taco Bell, and KFC to protect jobs in the food sector, the food giant’s customer loyalty has increased in the market, revealed UserTesting’s survey.

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#ItsaSpot| When Burger King asked people to order from McDonald's. This post is all hearts! #mcdonalds #brands #advertising #marketing #branding #markets #burgerking #ads #competition

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According to the survey, 90% of customers agree to increased brand loyalty for Burger King after reading the letter named “Order from McDonald’s. 70% of customers confirm to have a positive change in perception for the fast-food brand while 30% did not have any changed perception of the brand after reading the letter, as reported by the survey. Additionally, the survey highlighted three emerging consumer insight themes from the campaign.

Emotional Reaction

The letter triggered a genuine emotional reaction. It didn’t come across as a marketing ploy as most participants took this as a real attempt to help those that work in the service industry, from the largest competitors to the smallest neighborhood restaurants. Customer quotes;

“My initial reaction to this is honestly really good,I almost got chills at the end.”

“It’s very striking,it takes hold of the reader’s heart”

Company That Cares

The letter helped to humanize the company and go beyond the typical large corporate feel where profits are the top priority. It has been a challenging year for all businesses, participants felt this campaign showed something they felt you don’t see every day, a large corporation showing it cares about people. Customer quotes;

“Putting people before profits, basically unheard of by most companies”

“It just shows that some things are way bigger than who is best, it’s a matter of is everyone surviving, both big and small.”

Marketing Ploy

The UK-centric consumers were more cynical than those based outside of the country. They saw this as a marketing ploy and were suspicious of Burger King, even with good intentions. There were comments as to why Burger King would promote other companies unless they were getting equal support from those they called out - quid pro quo. Even they did call out the missed opportunity to create a general hashtag that could have focused on helping all small and big restaurants.