Like all quick-service restaurants, Burger King (BK) was labelled by consumers and the media as selling ‘junk food’ products. The company asked its PR agency to come up with a credible communications campaign that would banish the deeply ingrained perception that burgers were junk.

The creative solution was to commission the first piece of academic research that analysed the term ‘junk food’ and nutritionally compared BK products with other lunch options. The message that BK burgers were made with quality ingredients was then taken to consumers with the creation of THE Burger, the world’s most expensive burger, made from premium ingredients such as Wagyu beef.

The PR budget for the campaign was just £70,000, which translated into a 6% uplift in sales around the launch and an AVE of £5 million.BK PR manager Odette Sullivan said: ‘BK asked Cow to highlight the quality of our offering. The result was an incredible piece of research which gained national coverage, started debate and has been an important piece of collateral. The launch of THE Burger gained coverage beyond all expectations. The Dump the Junk campaign has been hailed as the best piece of PR BK has ever done.’

The results of the academic research were used as a media hook for features and interviews.The agency then worked with BK’s Director of New Product Development to launch a burger that would showcase its commitment to quality ingredients and its expertise. THE Burger was priced at £95, made from Wagyu beef, Pata Negra ham and Cristal champagne-infused shallots.The news was leaked to Marketing, and on launch day in the Gloucester Road branch of Burger King in Kensington, the product was sent to radio stations, and the team arranged taste tests, food reviews, and interviews. Just 50 were available for consumers, raising £4,500 for the Help a London Child charity.The PR team acted as lead agency, liaising with the below-the-line agency to create in-restaurant posters, flyers, banners and menu boards, and instructing the media planners on a B2B mailout, inviting local businesses to try the burger.

The academic report gave BK a credible way to start to shift perceptions leading to meetings with Which? and the Food Standards Agency. BK now sits on an FSA steering group and holds the title of Most Expensive Burger from Guinness World Records. It also gained endorsement from foodies, including Tom Parker-Bowles, who described THE Burger as an ‘admirable experiment’.The campaign led to 78 broadcast, 11 national, 11 regional and three consumer pieces of coverage, with a total OTS of 139m and an AVE of £5 million. There were more than 300 online and blog discussions. Metrica evaluation found: • 86% of coverage was favourable.• 40% mentioned the quality ingredients .• The quality message reached 61% of adults.• Adults in the C1 demographic group were most effectively reached, with 8 million people seeing coverage an average of 3.5 times.During the campaign, like-for-like national transactions increased by 6%, with sustained impact post activity.