Final Position Paper

Taylor Adams, Emily Flinders, Lisa Janssen, and Dani Taylor

When people hear the words “Burger Planet,” they think grease, addiction, and Corny the Clown. “I am ashamed to take my kids there,” says one woman. This image of greasy fast food can be changed. We plan to implement three ideas to reach our audience of middle aged women, and help them feel good about eating at Burger Planet. These three features will achieve this goal and in turn, help increase annual revenue. To come up with these features, we studied the company and examined strengths and weaknesses. We also looked at what competitors are doing to change their images, and how successful they were in their pursuits.

First, we are offering healthier menu options. McDonald’s and Wendy’s both offer a variety of salads, fruit slices as a replacement for fries, and milk as a replacement for soda. We tested new menu options to see what was most popular with our target market. As a result of our research, we suggest the following:

Burger Planet Salads:
Type Calories Calories w/dressing
Raspberry vinaigrette spinach 150 300
salad w/ almonds and cheese
Caesar salad 150 300
Spinach salad w/ eggs 150 300
and hot bacon dressing

Burger Planet Fruit:
Apples, bananas, pineapple, peaches, and grapes (150 calories)

*Both salads and fruit come in plastic reusable containers, and can be substituted for fries with no extra cost.

All food products can be made without the bun, making them low in carbohydrates, and South Beach and Atkins diet friendly. This appeals to our audience because these diets are popular for middle aged women. If women are not on a specific diet but looking to eat better, we will be able to fulfill their needs as well.
As stated previously, Wendy’s and McDonald’s have added salads to their menu. The following tables contain the nutrition facts for the competitors’ menus items.

Wendy’s Salads:
Type Calories Calories w/dressing & toppings
Mandrian chicken salad 180 550
Chicken caesar salad 180 370
Chicken BLT salad 470 790
Southwest taco salad 400 645

McDonald’s Salads:
Type Calories Calories w/dressing & croutons
Southwest salad w/chicken 480 640
Bacon ranch salad w/ chicken 260 490
Caesar salad w/chicken 330 580

We want to be able to rival our competitors, if not supersede them. Therefore, all of our salads have a lower calorie count than any of Wendy’s salads and most of McDonald’s, and there is the same amount of options. After developing these items we will put them on the menu, and send out a survey after a three-month time period to test the customer's opinions about the improved menu. We will conduct a survey of 100 women, ages 30 to 40, to see if this change is effective. The survey will ask the following questions:
Have you purchased any of the new menu items?
If so, what ones?
How frequently do you buy them?
How frequently do you come to Burger Planet?
Do you feel the new choices are healthier?

After this survey, we will be able to determine the effectiveness of adding these new menu items. If proven effective, this will help to change the image of Burger Planet. Women don’t have to go there feeling guilty about what they eat, or ashamed to take their kids; women can go to Burger Planet and feel confident about the choice they have made. This will increase the revenue as more women choose Burger Planet, and tell their friends about their choice. These healthy eating options will also benefit children. They can eat healthier, thus eliminating the need for Burger Planet to worry about the lawsuits that are being filed because children are obese from fast food.

Second, we have hired fitness guru Jayne Petersen to help with our campaign. Petersen helped celebrity Opal Whitcomb lose, and keep off, 75 pounds. This is inspiring for the many women who have been through the ups and downs of the diet roller coaster. She emphasizes a message of moderation and variation in dieting, and therefore fits great with our plan. She tells women that a greasy hamburger or soda is not bad every now and again. She relates well with the targeted demographic because she is a part of it.

Petersen will be traveling with Corny the Clown to Burger Planets across the nation to promote the healthy menu options. She will also be providing nutritional packets and advice to consumers. Our goal in doing this is not only to create revenue, but also to establish a feeling of connection between the community and Burger Planet. We value our customers and they need to feel it. We believe that going into the community is the best way to do this. Petersen will also work with the Burger Planet chefs to make tray liners that have nutritional advice.

Pairing Jayne Petersen with Corny the Clown helps to accomplish our third objective, which is improving the image of Corny the Clown. Right now, customers associate Corny with the words greasy and addicting. By going on tour with Jayne and promoting the healthy menu items, we hope to rebuild Corny’s reputation to represent the company in a positive way. Instead of being seen as a symbol of greasy fast food, we want Corny to represent positive change at Burger Planet, and the many options that consumers can enjoy.

After implementing all of these changes, we will evaluate their success. Pre-implementation surveys as well as post-implementation surveys will be given out to customers and community members to evaluate the changes made to improve Burger Planet’s image. By following our three-part objective, we are confident that Burger Planet will experience an image improvement as well as an increase in revenue.