Deliberate Talks (Table For One): BURGER KING - Rise, Rivalries, and Reckonings | Pixelated Egg

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of the Deliberate Talks podcast and this is

[00:00:04] the table for one edition. I am your host Dakshin Adyanthaya and today we talk about a brand

[00:00:09] that had an inspiration from the closest competition, a brand that's known for its marketing banters

[00:00:16] and the brand that had a completely unrelated name in Australia. Well, I'm talking about

[00:00:22] one of the world's largest fast food hamburger chain, the Burger King. More about it right

[00:00:28] after this quick intro. This is the Deliberate Talks weekly podcast powered by the Pixelated

[00:00:38] Egg Digital Ventures. So founded in 1954 in Jacksonville, Florida by James Mechlemor and

[00:00:50] David Edgerton, the idea was inspired by the success of the fast food concept of the

[00:00:55] McDonald's. It was said that James had visited a McDonald's restaurant in California

[00:01:01] and was impressed by the efficiency of its operation and its popularity. He saw the potential

[00:01:06] for a similar restaurant model in Miami and upon his return he partnered with Edgerton to

[00:01:11] stud their own fast food venture under the name Insta Burger King on December 4th, 1954.

[00:01:19] The Insta prefix however was dropped later as the company expanded beyond its original

[00:01:25] concept. The original menu was however very simple focusing just on burgers, fries,

[00:01:30] soft drinks and milkshake. But it was in 1957 that the signature burger, the Voooper, was

[00:01:37] introduced and became an instant hit because of its larger size as compared to the other

[00:01:41] burgers in the market. Till date, Voooper is synonymous to Burger King and remains

[00:01:46] the central item of its menu. But in 1967, the Burger King Corporation was sold to

[00:01:52] Pillsbury Company which led to a further expansion both domestically and internationally

[00:01:57] for the brand. However, in 2010 3G Capital, a Brazilian investment firm acquired Burger

[00:02:03] King. Through the years Burger King continued to grow with new promotions and collaborations

[00:02:08] but it was the rivalry between the Burger King and McDonald's that always made the

[00:02:13] headlines. This rivalry has led to so-called burger wars with both companies regularly

[00:02:19] aiming to outdo each other with new products and promotion. Be it the one with Burger

[00:02:24] King's most audacious campaign, the Voooper Detour where the customers were encouraged

[00:02:29] to go to the nearest McDonald's location to unlock a deal on Burger King app for a one

[00:02:35] cent Voooper or creating the Mech-Voooper, a combination of Voooper and the Big Mac

[00:02:41] to be sold on one day in the honour of Peace Day. Or even taking the opportunity

[00:02:46] to mock McDonald's when it lost the Big Mac trademark in UK by introducing a range

[00:02:51] of burgers such as like a Big Mac but actually Big Burger King has always been that

[00:02:57] notorious rival. But did you know the Burger King across countries have their own fascinating

[00:03:02] stories? Like when you're in Australia, you wouldn't find a Burger King anywhere. Instead,

[00:03:07] you'll have to look for Hungry Jacks since the brand name had already been trademarked

[00:03:12] when Burger King planned to move to Australia so they just had to rename it to Hungry Jacks

[00:03:18] and in Finland, the first Burger King to open in the country included a spa. In addition to a 15

[00:03:24] person sauna, the restaurant features timber and stone decor, two huge flat screen TVs,

[00:03:30] a PlayStation and a fridge stocked with beer. The rental cost about $300 and it does not include

[00:03:38] the burger cost in it. And as fascinating as this sounds, in Japan they created a meat

[00:03:44] scented fragrance called the Flame Grilled to celebrate the Wooper Day on 1st of April. No,

[00:03:50] this wasn't an April Fool joke but it was a limited edition scent launched only for one day at $41

[00:03:57] and it came with a free Wooper. As of today, Burger King sells at least 2.4 million burgers a

[00:04:04] year across 19,000 locations spread across 100 countries allowing it to generate over $1.9

[00:04:11] billion in revenue. So from an inspiration to becoming an infamous threat to rivals,

[00:04:17] back to a genius marketing efforts, that's the story of Burger King this week.

[00:04:22] That's it for today. Don't forget to subscribe to all the audio and video channels of the

[00:04:27] Delabrit Talks podcast and the pixelated act digital ventures. Join me next week

[00:04:31] for a table for two edition. Until then, be curious, be adventurous and never stop learning.

[00:04:37] Cheers!