Marketing strategy and product opportunities in the fast food industry

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Marketing suggestions: Low-hanging fruit, home runs, or singles

Low-hanging fruit

One current trend in the food industry is that of highly decadent, 'over the top' burgers. Burgers have become prominent at both the high end and the low end of the food industry, penetrating such segments as Chef Daniel Bouloud's famous restaurant in the form of a truffle oil-infused burger, and the Shake Shack in New York City, where tourists wait for hours for a premium 'fast slow food' burger in Central Park (Dickler 2007). Burger King and Wendy's have featured numerous triple-patty, bacon-stacked creations.

To pick off such 'low hanging fruit,' the pizza company Papa John could offer its own 'hamburger special,' featuring bacon, chopped up tomatoes, and hamburger meat on cheddar cheese pizza. For fast food consumers looking for a crowd-pleasing pizza to draw forth ohs and ahs during a Super Bowl or child's birthday party, this type of pizza option would be ideal. However, when marketing low-hanging fruit, there is always the risk that the market is already saturated, and there is little opportunity for growth. Competitors such as Domino's and Pizza Hut also offer similar decadent, all-American hamburger-style pizzas. Still the appeal of an advertising and marketing campaign with the theme: "How to stop the burger vs. pizza debate" picturing children fighting over whether to get fast food or order pizza that is silenced with an order from Papa John's would be persuasive.

Single

A marketing 'single' is defined as a modest success that hopefully leads to greater, long-term success. One potential 'single' for McDonald's might be the introduction of a veggie burger to the mass market. Currently McDonald's offers veggie burgers, but only at very limited locations (Lin 2008). Across the U.S., even non-vegetarians are seeking to reduce their consumption of meat, and a veggie burger would be an effective way to reduce criticisms of the chain as utterly lacking in health concerns. Unlike salads, the veggie burger would still have many of the elements that attract people to McDonald's, such as intense flavors, carbs (in the form of a whole wheat bun), and special sauce. The burgers would be advertised as a tasty and alternative option to the meat-based burgers for vegetarians and omnivores. It would also have the advantage of encouraging groups with one vegetarian friend in their midst to patronize McDonald's, much like the presence of salads encourages health-conscious people to go to McDonald's with friends, when they might otherwise object that there was nothing they could eat on the menu.