What they didn’t mention was that Burger King franchise owners had twice voted against the promotion, but BK corporate decided to run it anyway.

Now the franchisees are suing.  Read about the franchise lawsuit at Unhappy Franchisee:

BURGER KING Franchisees Sue Over $1 Cheeseburgers

BURGER KING Franchisees Sue Over Forced Discounting

What’s the franchisee’s beef with the promo?  They claim (among other things) that it costs $1.10 to make and sell the product they’re being forced to price at $1.00.

It’s Finally Here! $1 ¼ Pound Double Cheeseburger Hits The Menu In Participating Burger King®restaurants Nationwide

October 19, 2009

MIAMI – Oct. 19, 2009 – Burger King Corp. (NYSE:BKC) today announced that consumers craving the flame-fresh taste of a quality hamburger can head to their nearest BURGER KING®restaurant for an unbeatable deal – the ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger for only $1. Tested and adopted in multiple markets in the U.S. for the past 18 months, this much anticipated and worthy addition to the BK®Value Menu is now available in participating BURGER KING®restaurants nationwide, providing guests a superior sandwich at a great value.

"During a time when value is a priority for everyone, we’re offering a top-quality product that not only boasts an affordable price point but also tastes great," said John Schaufelberger, senior vice president, global product marketing and innovation, Burger King Corp.

The $1 ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger features two flame-broiled hamburger patties, crunchy pickles, ketchup, mustard and two slices of American cheese on a sesame seed bun. With more beef and cheese, the $1 ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger beats competitors’ sandwiches, such as McDonald’s®Double Cheeseburger and Wendy’s®Double Stack.

Burger lovers can expect to see a series of mouth-watering national TV ad spots and in-restaurant merchandising in support of the promotion. Via online banner ads, Web users will also have the opportunity to experience just how much a $1 bill can afford them from the BK®Value Menu using a simple Web cam and some novel "augmented reality" technology, which overlays the products from the menu onto the currency image.

The $1 ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger joins the national BK®Value Menu, which includes the WHOPPER JR.®sandwich and Spicy CHICK’N CRISP®sandwich as well as the Ham Omelet Sandwich and sausage biscuit on the BK®Breakfast Value Menu, all priced at just $1 each.

ABOUT BURGER KING CORPORATION

The BURGER KING®system operates more than 11,900 restaurants in all 50 states and in 73 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Approximately 90 percent of BURGER KING®restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. In 2008, Fortune magazine ranked Burger King Corp. among America’s 1,000 largest corporations and Ad Week named it one of the top three industry-changing advertisers within the last three decades. To learn more about Burger King Corp., please visit the company’s Web site at www.bk.com.

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Second,  proceed with said promotion despite the formal objections of your franchisee association and the fact that your direct competitor tried – and abandoned – the same promotion last year.

According to a story on Unhappy Franchisee, that’s exactly what Burger King did with the $1 Double Cheeseburger promotion they forced their franchisees to implement beginning last month.  Unsurprisingly, Burger King’s National Franchisee Association filed a lawsuit this week against the franchisor.

*  *  *  *  *

Burger King Franchisees Want it Their Way… Profitable

Burger King’s National Franchisee Association represents more than 80 percent of U.S. Burger King franchisees.  They reportedly filed the lawsuit only after their attempts to negotiate with the franchisor were unsuccessful.

They are asking the court to acknowledge that the right to set prices rests with BK franchisees, not Burger King corporate.

Last summer, Burger King franchisees twice voted against the $1 double cheeseburger promotion.  Despite clear objections, Burger King forced all franchisees to sell its double cheeseburger for $1, starting in October.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Miami.  In it, the franchisees allege that the Burger King franchise agreement does not give BK the authority to “dictate maximum pricing.”

According to a story in the Miami Herald:

Franchisees argue that Burger King is using the promotion to boost sales to satisfy Wall Street investors at the expense of franchisees’ profits. The company’s most recent earnings report showed a 6 percent drop in profits, a 5 percent decline in revenue and a 4.6 percent fall in sales at stores open in North America more than a year.

Based on numbers Burger King provided to franchisees, the company projects that the double cheeseburger will lead to a 5 percent increase in restaurant sales. That will translate into an increased bottom line profit of $365 per restaurant based on $105,000 in sales, according to the analysis.

But financial models run by one Illinois franchisee… suggest that the bottom line impact for restaurants would be a loss of between $489 and $930 depending on the percentage of total sales generated by the value menu.

Are deep discounts like $1 Double Cheeseburgers are a necessary evil in the current economy?  Some would say yes.  However, McDonald’s stopped selling its double cheeseburger for $1 because of profit margin concerns at the end of last year.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

The Huffington Post reported that the casting call was promoted on Craig’s List with the following message:

This is a call for girls 18-30 years old to submit videos of themselves eating a Carls Jr. or Hardee’s burger. Be sure to introduce yourself, tell us where you (or the girl) is from, and state your favorite Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s burger before eating.[...]
The winner will have the chance to appear in an upcoming Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s marketing campaign, a $1,000 cash prize and an all-expense paid trip for you and a friend to Las Vegas.

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The essay contest, entitled “Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway,” offers to waive the $14,500 franchise for up to 100 vets who want to sign on as franchisees, and will award one turn-key franchise package – all expenses paid – to the Grand Prize Winner.

Lisa Sperling (770-736-3573) is the PR contact for the program, which is being promoted via a dedicated website, Twitter campaign and publicity initiative.  Press releases follow:

Maid Brigade Announcement

Maid Brigade Contest Application

Maid Brigade Panel of Judges

Maid Brigade Salutes Veterans with $1.5 Million Franchise Giveaway
Contest Will Offer New Careers to 100+ Military Veterans

(June 29, 2009) — They’ve earned their medals in the U.S. Armed Forces. Now veterans can prove
their mettle in the business world with the Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway, a program that will
award more than $1.5 million in business ownership opportunities to 100+ veterans, creating more than 1,000 jobs nationwide.

The contest comes at a time when America’s economy is down, but patriotism is high. Maid Brigade, the
award-winning residential cleaning service and longtime supporter of the military, is acting on both fronts by offering new careers to veterans, a group it considers worthy, qualified, and proven as franchise owners.
Currently, 10 percent of Maid Brigade owners are veterans; others in the network come from a range of careers.

The contest will launch on Independence Day, July 4, and conclude on Veterans Day, November 11, 2009.
To apply for the giveaway, veterans must visit www.maidbrigadegiveaway.com to complete the form and to
submit a short essay by September 30 on how their military responsibilities would translate to successful Maid Brigade franchise ownership.

Maid Brigade will waive its $14,500 Select Market Franchise fee for as many as 100 qualified veteran applicants. Additionally, one grand prize winner will receive a new Maid Brigade franchise operation at zero cost —a total value of $45,000, which includes waived franchise fees, working capital, training, and
equipment. Second and third place winners will receive similar packages valued at $27,500 and $17,500, respectively. A Maid Brigade Select Market Franchise is designed for smaller geographical regions. Owners manage all business aspects of an operation and oversee a staff of employees who clean homes following Maid Brigade’s certified Green Cleaning system.

Maid Brigade’s four-member panel of judges consists of U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Michael H. Miller; Ted Daywalt, military veteran and President of VetJobs, the leading military-related job board on the Internet and endorsed by The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, the Naval Reserve Association and the Veterans of Modern Warfare; decorated U.S. military veteran and Maid Brigade franchise owner Ray Toombs; and Maid Brigade Chairman and Founder Don Hay.

“Military veterans have done so much for our country,” said Hay of the Maid Brigade franchise network.
“This year on Veterans Day, we want to show them our appreciation by giving them their own business, a new career, and comfortable lifestyle.” Unlike a typical military career and some other franchises, Maid Brigade franchise ownership is a Monday to Friday business with daytime hours, no nights, and no weekends. It allows time home with one’s family and an opportunity for business growth and a high ROI. Maid Brigade, a recession-resistant business, has weathered previous recessions of the 1980s, 1990s and post-9/11, without a drop in same store sales.

Franchise businesses consider veterans to be excellent franchise owners. They’re disciplined self-starters,
they embrace teamwork and know how to follow a proven path to success. Maid Brigade’s technology-driven business systems, highly standardized cleaning processes, and ongoing corporate support make its organization an especially good fit for veterans.

Hay and his wife, Maid Brigade Vice President of Franchise Recruitment and self-proclaimed “Navy Brat” Cathy Hay, have always believed in a vigorous commitment to the U.S. military. For years, Maid Brigade has partnered with the non-profit Operation Homefront to provide military families in crisis with free housecleaning services; it has also consistently offered veterans discounted franchising fees and larger territories.

Maid Brigade is a longtime member of VetFran, the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, created by the International Franchise Association and supported by the Center for Veterans Enterprise.
One of the contest judges, Army and Navy veteran Ray Toombs, and his wife bought their Maid Brigade
operation in Ohio in 2003. “The military was a big part of my life, and it meant a lot to be recognized for my
service by Maid Brigade and VetFran,” Toombs said. Since they launched their business, the Toombs’
franchise has experienced 15 to 20 percent growth per year. Other couples also own Maid Brigade operations; system-wide the network comprise 17 percent couples, 48 percent men, and 35 percent women as owners.

While Maid Brigade has a long and rich history of supporting veterans, a new bill, the Help Veterans Own
Franchises Act (HR 2672), has recently been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage
other franchise businesses to offer discounts for veterans interested in buying a franchise.

Veteran applications are due by September 30, 2009. Detailed Veterans Franchise Giveaway rules are
available at www.maidbrigadegiveaway.com. Veteran applications are due by September 30, 2009.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Maid Brigade is a global residential cleaning service with more than 420 locations in the United States and Canada. Established in 1979, it has grown its market share every year since its inception, with system-wide sales over $70 million in 2008. Unique to Maid Brigade is its Green Clean Certified® cleaning system, the only house cleaning system that uses green cleaning solutions certified by Green Seal State of the art technology, training and ongoing support also set apart the franchiser, which helped it earn several franchising accolades, including rankings in and magazines and awards from Franchise Research Institute, The Franchise Ratings Guide, and FranNet.

For more information, visit www.maidbrigade.com or call 800-722-6243.

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graphic:  Maid Brigade

According to this post on Ad Age:

Carl’s Jr. tapped YouTube’s No. 2-most-subscribed channel, from a comedy group called Nigahiga, to push its new portobello-mushroom burger — and it has paid off, in 3.3 million views last week, according to Visible Measures data compiled for the weekly Viral Video Chart. And this is no subtle, where’s-the-brand sponsorship. The (burgerless?) burger is in just about every frame, and when it’s not, they’re talking about it.

The Carl’s Jr. performance was good enough to best two basketball-themed videos that have been on the chart during much of the NBA playoffs…

Are you taking advantage of the franchise marketing power of social media? What are you waiting for?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

What do you think? Share a comment below.

That’s exactly what the pest control chain called Truly Nolen did.  Their trademark yellow mouse cars and yellow trucks have helped identify Truly Nolen as the pest control company with a sense of humor and a taste for fun

Though it was founded in 1938, Tucson, Arizona-based Truly Nolen of America first transformed their utilitarian vehicles into moving billboards in 1961.

Today they are one of the largest family owned pest control companies in the United States. Truly Nolen has over 80 branch offices in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The company also has independently owned and operated franchises in an ever-growing number of territories including California, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas as well as Puerto Rico.

While a rodent-themed vehicle might not be in keeping with your company’s brand image, is there a way for you to transform your vehicles into marketing vehicles?

Relentless marketer Sean Kelly is a 20 year veteran of the franchise industry, and founder of the award-winning marketing firm IdeaFarm. In 2006, he founded the FranBest franchise network, best franchise opportunities, the top new franchises, franchise marketing, franchise public relations and small business marketing. Contact him at seankelly[at]ideafarm.net.

On our recent post Ben & Jerry’s Busts on Haagen-Dazs. Again., I wrote of the long-standing tradition of Ben & Jerry’s taking its super-premium ice cream rival to task every chance it gets.

And I also noted the irony (and the deftness) with which the Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s continues to play the honest hippy up against the snotty corporate rival Häagen-Dazs.

In response to Ben & Jerry’s bashing Häagen-Dazs for reducing its container size by 2 oz., the Dazs sent us this coolly composed response:

You may have seen a recent message from Ben & Jerry’s calling out our decision to downsize our Häagen-Dazs cartons.

While the reality is that size sometimes matters, we continue to believe that quality matters more.

Our ice cream is created with only a few select, simple, all-natural ingredients.

That is why we searched six years for the perfect variety of strawberry for our Häagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream and why we paid four times more over the last two years for the raspberries that make it into our Häagen-Dazs raspberry sorbet.

And we wouldn’t think of soaking the raisins for our Häagen-Dazs rum raisin ice cream even a minute less than the 60,480 minutes (42 days, actually) that they currently luxuriate in their rum baths.

Why not? Because then it just wouldn’t be Häagen-Dazs. Call us obsessive. But we’re that serious about our ice cream. We hope you’ll continue to make it your ice cream.

Thank you for giving us a chance to respond.

These guys are like two actors in a play, each playing their own role.  You gotta wonder if they get together and choreograph this stuff.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Busting on snobby-gourmet branded competitor Haagen-Dazs is more than a tradition for hippy-gourmet branded Ben & Jerry’s.

It’s part of Ben & Jerry’s heritage.

In fact, Ben & Jerry’s might still be muddling along as a regional brand if reps from Haagen-Dazs (owned by Pillsbury at the time) hadn’t tried to force retailers to drop the little-known brand.

Ben & Jerry’s fought back with a grassroots PR Campaign (What’s the Doughboy Afraid Of?) that thrust the little ice cream brand into the national spotlight… and soon national distribution.

Then who can forget the Ben & Jerry’s ad that poked fun at the phoniness of their competitors’ contrived names (Haagen-Dazs was just concocted to sound Scandinavian)

There ain’t no Häagen, there ain’t no Dazs,
There ain’t no Frusen, there ain’t no Glädj
There ain’t nobody named Steve at Steve’s,
But there’s two real guys at Ben & Jerry’s.

Back in January, 2009, Haagen-Dazs announced that it was downsizing its package size:

To offset increasing costs, we did not consider reducing the quality of our ingredients or the care we take in making your ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt. We opted instead to slightly reduce some of our carton sizes.

Beginning late January 2009, all Häagen-Dazs branded 16 fl. oz. cartons will change to 14 fl. oz. In March 2009, all Häagen-Dazs branded 32 fl. oz. cartons will change to 28 fl. oz.

This was a difficult decision. But we hope you’ll agree that our promise to never sacrifice the quality of our ice cream—what we put in as well as what we leave out—is what the Häagen-Dazs brand is all about.

I just received a Ben & Jerry’s “Chunkmail” email newsletter with the subject line:  “A pint is still a pint!” that featured the graphic above along with this message:

One of our competitors (think funny sounding European name) recently announced they will be downsizing their pints from 16 to 14 ounces to cover increased ingredient & manufacturing costs and help improve their bottom line. At Ben & Jerry’s we think downsizing pints is downright wrong. We understand that in today’s hard economic times businesses are feeling the pinch. We also understand that many of you are also feeling the same, & think now more than ever you deserve your full pint of ice cream.
We are even more committed today to lead with our values through the quality of our ingredients & how we source them to make the best ice cream possible. So, while our competitor may be experiencing a bit of shrinkage, rest assured that your Ben & Jerry’s will still be standing tall in the freezer. Enjoy!

Good to see Ben & Jerry’s stand by its heritage.  Just because there ain’t no Ben at Ben & Jerry’s… just because Jerry’s now a figurehead and the  hippy ownership is actually the multinational conglomerate Unilever… is no reason to end a fine tradition.

It just goes to show you, if you use cool cows in your ads, you can get away with anything.

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Graphics:  Ben & Jerry’s

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