Have It Your Way

by allison ~ July 22, 2009

The saying “have it your way”  just became true for Burger King consumers. On July 21, 2009 Burger King re-launched their corporate website BK.com.  Bk.com  allows consumers to seek nutritional information, order the Whopper inspired fragrance “Flame,” create your own t-shirt, play various games, send an “angry gram” that allows one to send a talking whopper message, and that is only naming a few of the site’s new features.

Brandweek reports, “Visitors control the content on their screen via three scrollbars that slide to adjust the amount, size and type of icons displayed. “Fun” includes a library of TV ads and user-generated content, such as SubservientChicken.com and Simpsonizeme.com. ‘Food’ provides menu options and nutritional information. ‘King’ offers access to all King-related items for consumers who want even more of the omnipresent mascot.”

Brian Gies, who is the vice president of marketing impact explains consumers expectations,  ”In focus groups, consumers confirmed what they wanted — rewards and value, along with a compelling reason to stay and explore the site. The result is an interactive platform that puts the brand at their fingertips and gives them the power to tailor the site to their personal needs and interests.”

The bottom line is Bk.com is  an extremely interactive site and with the research shown in focus groups that is exactly what Burger King consumers are asking for.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “We continually would hear people reference ads from years past, but consumers couldn’t always find the assortment of sites where the commercials lived on,” Mr. Gies said. With the redesign, those sites, which also include tie-ins with “The Simpsons Movie” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” will eventually redirect to BK.com.

Brandweek acknowledges,  ”BK will also redesign its kid-focused site, ClubBK.com, later this summer. It will feature a buddy list tool for its existing chat functionality. Currently, children can create customized avatars, which can receive virtual rewards when kids enter codes from BK Kids Meal packaging.”

Keep an eye out for the re-launch of ClubBK.com and until then for more information on Bk.com please visit: http://www.bk.com/ .

Allison Berger is an Associate Account Executive at Mediashop PR.