Burger King Feeds India Whoppers Using eBay, Social Media

Burger King takes advantage of social media and e-commerce by allowing consumers in Delhi, India, to pre-order a Whopper on eBay. Second only to McDonald’s, the American fast food restaurant chain opens their first store November 9 in New Delhi’s Select City Walk mall.

Prior to the grand opening this Sunday, Burger King teamed up with eBay and social media by orchestrating a pre-launch campaign.

On November 3, Burger King collaborated with eBay allowing consumers to pre-order a Whopper online for 128 rupees.

According to New Delhi Television (NDTV), as part of their pre-launch promotion, Burger King customers had the opportunity to place an order on eBay for a vegetarian, mutton, or chicken Whopper between November 3-5.

After placing their order, the consumer receives a voucher via courier. The customer will have to go to the store and provide the coupon in order to receive their Whopper.

Burger King will also give out a free Whopper t-shirt along with the burger to their Whopper customers.

So far, it appears the fast food chain received over 1,200 eBay online orders for Whoppers. According to Burger King, 540 chicken, 380 mutton, and 240 vegetarian Whoppers have been pre-ordered since the start of the promotional campaign.

In addition to using e-commerce sites like eBay to promote the grand opening of the first Burger King store in India, the food chain has been using social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to promote their company and product.

Burger King India opened up a separate queue for consumers who placed orders on eBay. The company let their Facebook followers know about the new queue by broadcasting a post on their Facebook page.

“Good news for all the WhopperShoppers- we will have a separate queue for everyone who booked the Whopper on eBay India! See you all there on the 9th!”

Collaborating with eBay is a strategic move on behalf of Burger King. Not only does the pre-launch campaign get people talking about the company and their products on social media, it also helps in preparation for the grand opening by providing customer traffic estimates on opening day. These statistics will help in planning for customer traffic flow.

Afaqs reported the following comment by Uma Talreja, chief marketing officer, Burger King India.

“On Facebook, we have asked people to share their favorite thing about Burger King. We realized that even though we weren’t present in the country, people who travel a lot already love the brand. Thus, we already had that ‘resident equity’ in this market. These people are now are endorsers and are spreading the word among those who’re new to the brand.”

Burger King has a reputation of serving beef burgers; however, India’s menu will be void of any beef. Burger King India consumers will have a choice of vegetarian, mutton, or chicken Whoppers.

Burger King had this comment on their Facebook page.

“We have a wide range of options you’ll love. We do not have beef on our menu but our options will certainly delight you.”

Not much can be said about high quality or healthy fast food. Nonetheless, time will tell whether the social media and e-commerce efforts and recent successes, as well as the grand opening of a new restaurant in India will be profitable for Burger King.

[Image courtesy of withumonwallstreet.com]