This Unusual Burger King Facebook Campaign Intended to Lose Fans
Laura McQuarrie — January 9, 2014 — Marketing
References: learnedmedia & creativecriminals
This Burger King Facebook campaign takes quite an unusual approach to social media. Burger King Norway had a whopping 38,000 fans on Facebook, but due to its high number of free giveaways, many of these users were just trolls, including people who were fans of other fast food restaurants, but would lurk and jump at the chance for a free Burger King burger.
In order to determine who its real fans were, Burger King Norway devised the ‘Whopper Sellout,’ a campaign that gave its Facebook fans two options: become a fan of its new Facebook page, or get a free burger.
People who opted to “sell out” received a voucher for a free burger plus a letter from Burger King bidding them farewell, since claiming the free burger came with the consequence of being banned from Burger King Norway’s Facebook page permanently. Burger King lost over 30,000 followers, but is quite content with its 8,481 loyal fans who wouldn’t give up the Whopper for anything.
In order to determine who its real fans were, Burger King Norway devised the ‘Whopper Sellout,’ a campaign that gave its Facebook fans two options: become a fan of its new Facebook page, or get a free burger.
People who opted to “sell out” received a voucher for a free burger plus a letter from Burger King bidding them farewell, since claiming the free burger came with the consequence of being banned from Burger King Norway’s Facebook page permanently. Burger King lost over 30,000 followers, but is quite content with its 8,481 loyal fans who wouldn’t give up the Whopper for anything.
Trend Themes
1. Loyalty-testing Burger Campaigns - Opportunity for brands to test the loyalty of their social media followers through unique campaigns.
2. Whopper Sellout - Potential for other brands to create similar campaigns that require users to make a choice between loyalty and a free product.
3. Social Media Engagement Strategies - Brands can explore unconventional approaches to engage with their followers on social media platforms.
Industry Implications
1. Fast Food - Fast food chains can leverage loyalty-testing campaigns to gauge the loyalty of their customer base and attract new customers.
2. Social Media Marketing - Opportunity for social media marketing agencies to assist brands in designing and executing unique campaigns to increase engagement.
3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - CRM software providers can develop tools and analytics to help brands assess customer loyalty and engagement on social media platforms.
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