Discuss the Principles of Marketing

A company self-examination. What are we known for? Who do we want to become?
In this assignment, you will create a Situation Analysis for the following companies / brands: Burger King which has been through numerous changes in recent years.

Use the information listed, as well as your own knowledge and research, to complete the provided situation analysis template. Additional research should include the use of the company’s Website, the course textbook, and other online sources.

Burger King Provided Information:

Burger King

History

Burger King Corporation, restaurant company specializing in flame-broiled fast-food hamburgers. It is the second largest hamburger chain the United States, after McDonald’s. In the early 21st century, Burger King claimed to have about 14,000 stores in nearly 100 countries.

Persistently lagging behind McDonald’s in sales and profitability, Burger King underwent many changes of ownership and corporate governance. In 1967 it was sold to the Pillsbury Company, which, in the late 1970s, brought in Donald N. Smith, a former McDonald’s executive, who revitalized Burger King by expanding the menu and tightening control of franchisees. Pillsbury was itself acquired by the British company Grand Metropolitan (Grand Met) PLC in 1989. Grand Met became Diageo PLC after its merger with the Irish brewer Guinness PLC in 1997. Diageo sold Burger King in 2002 to a consortium of private equity financiers, namely the Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. In 2010 3G Capital, an investment group controlled by the Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, took over the company in a leveraged buyout. By 2012, Burger King shares were being sold to the public again, but 3G retained a controlling interest. Burger King Worldwide merged with the Canadian doughnut and fast-food chain Tim Hortons in 2014, and a new parent company called Restaurant Brands International was formed. In what some critics saw as a tax-avoiding “corporate inversion” move, Restaurant Brands International was headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

A large hamburger called the Whopper is Burger King’s signature product. The Whopper was introduced in 1957, at a time when its competitor McDonald’s was still selling only small hamburgers. The chain took a new direction by adding hot dogs to the menu in 2016.

Template:

1. Customers

Who are the current customers/users? Include information related to demographics, psychographics and buying behavior, price sensitivity, customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

For example: You could include information such as whether the brand is trying to appeal to a certain social or cultural group and how customers perceive the product/brand. It’s also possible to include demographic information related to: age, educational attainment, geographic area, gender, race, employment status and/or home ownership. Additionally, you can discuss psychographic information which includes those attributes that relate to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles of people. This area is also related to situational life stages as well as customer beliefs, and how customers want to see themselves and be perceived. Some examples of psychographic groups include video gamers, soccer moms, sports fanatics, hipsters, and single moms. Life cycle stages include: retirees, new homeowners, college students and new parents. Be aware that some products/brands may appeal to a wider customer base than others.

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