Burgerville
The Challenge
Burgerville, a 50 year-old quick service restaurant chain in Southwest Washington and Oregon, had come to be known as a predictable and somewhat tired brand. It was frequently described as a restaurant “for my parents.” The company needed to re-focus its communications, customer experience and undergo a revitalization that gave it a more contemporary relevance.
The Solution
First and foremost, n2o needed to not just transform the target market and what the company was saying to that target, but more importantly, n2o needed to transform the restaurant chain’s menu to be more inspired, sophisticated and culturally plugged in. Our goal was to move away from standard fast food, and more toward “slow food” that just happened to be served fast. Simultaneously, we hired an accomplished Master Sommelier to prepare and help the company launch a beer and wine menu that was introduced in Burgerville’s flagship store and, ultimately, was named as one of the Top 10 Best Wine Spots by Wine Press Magazine and the Annual Great Northwest Wine Awards.
Finally, we introduced a mobile kitchen (the Burgerville Nomad) that we designed and branded for test marketing new geographies and sponsorship opportunities long before food trucks had become a trend.
n2o’s role
In addition to developing the overall marketing and growth strategy for the chain, n2o acted as the company’s outsourced marketing department developing all of their promotional, marketing and advertising materials, re-designing all of the packaging, and assisting with promotional menu development, messaging, media and promotional strategy (tag-line, positioning, menu names and descriptors, traditional and digital media strategy). n2o also updated all of the organization’s visual cues (updated logo, new photographic style and graphical designs and elements) and menu descriptions by using typical “gourmet” terms, language and style cues. The end result earned Burgerville the National Menu Trendsetter of the Year Award and its CEO, the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
