When Burger King was established in the early 1950s, it wanted to attract the families of baby boomers and serve them with affordable and quick broiled burgers. By providing the consumers with the best quality burgers, it was able to achieve great success in a short time and become the second largest fast-food chain. Although it achieved great success, because of changing social factors Burger King got caught in an identity crisis. Who is it, what kind of food does it serve, and which market segment is it targeting? Currently, Daniel Schwartz is Burger Kings 21st CEO since the company was founded in 1953. Burger King has suffered from "years of neglect and strategic incoherence". Burger King needs a strong brand and core values to stand out from all other competition. Fast food sales are declining as more customers are gravitating towards healthier food options. Schwartz is helping Burger King regain its former identity. He started his job as CEO discovering what life was like for the kitchen employees. He has simplified the menu, and also changed the corporate management team so they could work better together on a new tactical plan.

Burger King's strategic positioning

When referring to positioning in the fast-food industry, McDonald's definitely has the lead. The majority of consumers tend to first think about McDonald's when looking for a fast-food option. Burger King has a positioning statement that distinguishes it from the rest, but it has not been enough to achieve a better position in the market.

Burger King, for a long period, was relying on the positioning statement "Have it your way," but recently the senior vice-president of global management decided to sharpen the chain's positioning by first changing the statement to "Be your way".

However, changing a positioning statement is not enough to gain competitive advantage in the market. In fact, many customers were confused as to why Burger King dropped a 40-year-old slogan, and what it had to do with their food. A food critic summed it up by saying "While the original phrase reminded customers that customizing their food was always on the table, the new phrase seems like a cryptic philosophy a mentor would give a young boy from Jersey right before a karate tournament". Although this critic might have been a little harsh, Burger King gave up part of who it is by changing its slogan.

The company has also decided to advertise without celebrities, and instead focus on the brand's core product, the Whopper. It is making efforts to build an ecosystem of agencies that are constantly aligned. It is also trying to be more unified to achieve brand positioning, by creating an effective advertising campaign and taking in consideration all relevant aspects of Burger King's new marketing strategies.

Burger King is also supporting the LGBT community by launching a campaign called "Proud Whopper." Likewise, the company released a commercial spoken in sign language, and used American Sign Language (ASL) for all the signs located at a store next to Gallaudet University for the deaf. These actions are meant to support the chain's new slogan "Be your way." The company is making efforts to gain a competitive advantage. The significant changes in its marketing strategy have been showing positive results, reporting 4.6 percent growth globally, and 5.4 percent growth in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2016, after implementing the changes.

The way forward

Burger King targets too many market segments, at the same time. However, it does not communicate the same message to all the segments. To dzo this it crxeates more than one advertisement for the same product. Burger King is also known to copy many of the methods of its competitors. In 2012, Burger King restructured many of its stores with a $750 million investment, to create a more open and inviting atmosphere but McDonald's made the exact same move the year before.

Burger King's menu has also been very inconsistent. A couple years ago it started offering healthier products like salads, smoothies, and new chicken menu items. Analysts said this was a page taken out of the Wendy's playbook. Although this was a move made to target more health-conscious consumers, it hurt Burger King's brand identity. Burger King has also brought in some new, wild menu items like the french fry burger. While some of these menu items have brought in more customers to the restaurant, others items have been pulled off the menu before most people even heard about them.

Burger King is having a hard time retaining customers because of its issues with brand identity. It seems a very confused brand to the public. When it first started out it was known for its main product, the Whopper. It offered consumers a great burger at a low price. Burger King needs to restructure its brand image to represent itself and not every other fast-food restaurant

Instructions Follow the below format in solving case analysis:

I. Problem

II. Objectives

III. Areas of Consideration (in SWOT Analysis style)

IV. Alternative Course of Action

V. Recommendation

VI. Plan of Action

VII. Potential Problems

VIII. Contingent Plan of Action