Rebranding & Website Development

BurgerIM was considered one of the biggest scams in the franchise industry. Burgerim enjoyed significant media attention and had a high-profile spokesperson in reality TV star and Kardashian, her sidekick Foodgod Jonathan Cheban, and the Austin food blogger Koko. Their endorsement was prominently displayed in all Burgerim stores, and the brand was favorably featured in major media outlets as one of the hottest and fastest-growing brands in the industry.

Client:

Burger Hut

Website:

burgerhut.com

Date:

January 12, 2018

Category:

Marketing/Branding

01. Сhallenge

After Oren Loni, the company’s founder, left the country, Burgerim closed and left behind a trail of unpaid employees and bankrupt franchisees. Those who remained attempted to survive by changing menus, service styles, and even rebranding, but without a marketing expert, success was difficult to achieve. One of such a franchisees were the BurgerIM Wylie, Texas. The owners of the BurgerIM franchise in Wylie, Texas hired Alif Meherab to rebrand the store to Burger Hut.

02. Solutions

As a marketing professional, my work began with a comprehensive analysis of the existing Burgerim brand to determine its strengths and weaknesses. Through my research, I discovered a key market opportunity near the Burger Hut Wylie franchise – the nearby Wylie High School, whose student population had yet to be tapped. I crafted a brand language that would resonate with this demographic. To create a unique and recognizable brand, I designed a logo for BurgerHut using the golden ratio, ensuring that it stood out from stock images and other common shapes. The logo was intentionally bold, ensuring its visibility at low resolutions, from afar, and on mobile devices. A heart-shaped bite mark on the burger patty added a playful touch and an element of love and enjoyment. The typography was bold and teen-friendly, while the color palette utilized the most visually memorable hues of yellow, black, and red.

In addition to my other branding efforts, I also developed a Burger Hut brand mural utilizing street graffiti art as inspiration. I strategically chose this style as it resonates with our primary target audience – high school students. By incorporating graffiti into the brand mural, Burger Hut becomes more relatable to our target demographic, allowing us to connect with them on a deeper level. This not only enhances brand recognition but also creates a unique experience for our customers, further setting us apart from competitors.

To further optimize the Burger Hut menu, I used the BCG Matrix to identify their star, question mark, cash cow, and dog menu items. The Nashville Chicken Burger and Jalapeno Beef Burger were identified as the star items, with the newly introduced Cowboy Beef Burger gaining momentum. The Avocado Burger was also growing in popularity, so I rebranded it as a healthy option by removing Swiss cheese. The Wings, Fries, and Leg menu items were marked as cash cows due to their affordability, particularly appealing to budget-conscious students. Hotdogs were marked as dogs due to low sales, and ultimately eliminated from the menu.

I also identified a niche Muslim community seeking halal dining options, particularly for burgers. I introduced a halal burger and combo menu with discounted prices, which increased sales volume and overall profit for the franchise.

As a digital marketing expert, I understood the importance of a strong online presence for Burger Hut. To start with, I created a Google My Business listing for Burger Hut, which not only helped the business appear in local search results, but also provided key information such as hours of operation and contact details to potential customers.

Next, I created Facebook and Instagram pages for Burger Hut, which allowed the business to engage with its target audience on social media. I crafted a content strategy that included visually appealing posts showcasing the restaurant’s menu items, customer reviews, and promotions, and also ran targeted ads to increase brand awareness and drive foot traffic to the store.

To ensure that Burger Hut’s online presence was cohesive, I then designed the website’s UI/UX in Figma, keeping in mind the brand’s unique identity and aesthetic. This involved selecting a color scheme, typography, and imagery that reflected the restaurant’s personality and values, and arranging the content in a way that was user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Finally, I developed the website in WordPress, optimizing it for search engines and ensuring that it was mobile-friendly and responsive across devices. The end result was a strong online presence for Burger Hut, which helped the business reach new customers, increase sales, and establish itself as a leader in the highly competitive restaurant industry.

03. Results

Through the use of strategic and engaging digital marketing tactics, I was able to help Burger Hut establish a strong online presence that attracted new customers and retained existing ones. This ultimately led to increased brand recognition and revenue for the business.