For BK Redo, Beauty Is More than Skin-Deep - Prototype has new logo and interior design - Company Business and Marketing

Brandweek, April 19, 1999 by Theresa Howard

In devising the new prototype restaurant unveiled last week in Reno, Nev., Burger King looked not only to the landscape of quick-serve competitors but also to upscale casual-dining operations that have done far better to offer alluring brand-identity cues with their physical form.

"When the original quick-service restaurants were opened they were fairly simple and different for the time," said Jacquelyn McCook, svp of worldwide strategic planning and branding for the Miami-based Diageo unit. "If you look at the restaurant category overall, the restaurants say something about what is going on inside but quick-service restaurants [QSRs] don't... As a category we haven't been that creative. But consumers are becoming more sophisticated and they are demanding more."

As anticipated (Brandweek, April 5), the new design by Fitch, Columbus, Ohio, offers branding cues beyond simple value and convenience by spotlighting BK's flame-broiling cooking process through open display kitchens and highlighting the characters from its own BK Kids Club program through kiosk-based electronic games in a kid-dedicated virtual play area. A more contemporary logo and sharply designed interiors are part of the makeover.

While elements such as the new logo and new uniforms will be rolled systemwide as new stores open and existing stores are made over, franchisees will have to be convinced to make the likely $15,000 extra investment for the full package. To help the cause, BK will convert 43 company-owned units in Orlando, Fla., between now and the end of 2000.

BK will argue, from research, that the physical attributes of the restaurant account for more than two-thirds of the impressions people have of BK. "What we learned pretty loud and clear from consumers is that they want a nice restaurant, a stress-free experience, and they want food fast," McCook said.