Hamburgers: A Case Study in American Business
By Benjamin Blascoe
I don’t think there is a more iconic American meal than a burger. It calls to all walks of life ranging from the classic American Beef burger to buffalo burgers, tuna burgers, edamame burgers, vegetable burgers, vegan burgers or pretty much any other substance one can mold into a ball. And for that particular reason, the burger has existed in the hearts and minds of Americans since its debated inception in the 19th century.
So what better icon for the food service industry to bank on than the burger. And all over the United States, restaurant owners and chefs are stepping their burgers up a notch – creating heated rivalries and very lucrative viral marketing plans.
A few days back, I was ironically eating a delicious cheeseburger and reading an article in the LA Weekly titled Burger Wars in LA. It all started with Chef Eric Greenspan of The Foundry literally hammering a challenge on the door of Father’s Office – the undisputed best burger in Los Angeles. Greenspan issued a challenge, burger-against-burger, and the buzz has been crazy ever since. Although the battle does not have a set date, Greenspan is in a battle every night with hungry Angelinos trying to get a crack at the burger that could take down an empire.
Although he didn’t mean for this to happen, what Greenspan did was create a wonderful viral marketing ploy for his restaurant. Using the iconic staple of American gluttony, he did what every marketer in the entire world tries to achieve – enough underground buzz that word-of-mouth drives business through the roof. Accidental, yes, but also genius.
And Greenspan is not the only one trying to coral this recent downturn in the Food Service industry…
BusinessWeek.com also recently posted an article about the revolution of the hamburger. Highlighting last season’s Top Chef finalist and chef-owner of Flip in Atlanta, Richard Blais, this article shows how Blais used the American staple to essentially launch a burger rampage throughout the south. By offering a great burger at a small price, he has been able to entertain people and wallets during these times of recession.
Even celebrity-chef Bobby Flay of the Food Network is launching a chain of burger-restaurants!
So what does this mean for hamburgers? Basically nothing, besides the fact that they are delicious. But on a marketing note, the way these chefs are using such a classic staple of American cuisine – reformatted for the times – is definitely a case study for marketing geniuses to consider. I do not believe that Greenspan or Flay are sitting in a board room discussing the potential of the burger, but what I do think is that they thought long and hard about keeping culture and American cuisine in the forefront, despite economic shortcomings.
From a business perspective, marketers need to consider the priorities of their clients and then fuel and model their various campaigns that way. These chefs are taking something that they know will sell and making it eligible for every socio-economic class and cultural flavoring. From the business end, we need to consider not only continuing old business but also driving new business. So the burger, with its heritage rooted in us all has the ability to be reformatted in new and exciting ways. And as history has proven, so does business.
What are you doing that is new and exciting? How is your company grappling the times? What’s your burger?
