Flame On! [Burger King Marketing]

With the help of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Burger King has been making inroads with its viral marketing tactics. A huge part of their success has been their unconventional marketing tactics to create and bolster the brand image.

In early November, a friend of mine found a wallet on a busy Chicago street. Accompany a clean dollar bill was a faux driver’s license of the King and a BK Crown card. This accompanied their reverse pick-pocket campaign.

Not be beaten by Britney Spears or Alan Cumming, the King joins the "celebrity" fragrance bonanza. You can get a whiff of “flame-broiled meat” thanks Flame, by BK. Meghan Daum explores the primal relationship between man and meat, but notes that the l’eau pour homme can only be bought in unique spots:

You have to buy it at a Ricky's drugstore in New York, which has an exclusive deal, or on Burger King's "Fire Meets Desire" website, which features its king mascot reclining by a fire and clothed in nothing but an animal fur. Make that, you had to buy it at those places. By Monday, it was sold out at both and going for $73 and up on EBay.

Word-of-mouth marketing has its share of success and failures. In its success stories, the strengths come from:

• Low Cost: Campaigns are cheap and easy to initiate
• Longer Shelf-Life: People still talk about the subservient chicken

However, from the littered street of failed attempts, companies find it difficult to find the tipping point:

• Ethics Vs. Controversy: It’s a fine fine line between edgy and distasteful. Burger King’s Whopper Virgin campaign has been controversial and has garnered a lot of feedback.
• Span and Control: By turning over power to the people, companies have to be able to live comfortably with the buzz (good or bad) associated.