A&W's Beyond Meat Burger Campaign - Conversions
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A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger Campaign
October 25th, 2018
Prepared For:
Geoffrey Bird MKTG 3339, Danielle Wilson MKTG 3317 and Erin Whittle MKTG 3320
Prepared By:
Mostly Caffeinated
Sally Hang, Connor Jameson, Adarsh Siddiqui,
Katlin Walters, Sharon Zakerhaghighi
Executive Summary
A&W entered the Canadian market in 1956 with a location in Winnipeg and has expanded to over 930
stores nationwide. They are the 2nd largest hamburger chain in Canada. The Canadian Quick Service
Restaurant (QSR) industry has an average growth rate of 4% annually while earning $26.2 billion between
2013 and 2018. A Shift in consumer preferences has led industry members to adjust their menus and add
healthier options to stay competitive.
The Beyond Meat Burger competes nationwide with other QSR health-conscious food alternatives. Similar
in ingredients and price, Triple O’s vegetarian burger, and Burger King’s “BK Veggie Burger” is its primary
competitors. Indirect competition comes from “health casual” QSR’s, and secondary alternative menu
items: McDonalds Garden Fresh Salad and Freshii’s Baja Burrito.
The Marketing objective for the Beyond Meat Burger was to increase revenue by 8.35 percent for Q3
2018. To achieve the marketing objective, the campaign set multiple communication objectives.
Launching a new product, A&W had a communication objective to educate and inform its target audience
about its new offering. This communication objective was achieved by creating and delivering content
with educational information about the Beyond Meat Burger. It was promoted using a variety of tactics
carefully chosen to best resonate with their target audience.
The campaign targeted Canadian health conscious millennial female “Flexitarians” whose dietary
decisions are made based on their personal values.
The plant-based protein burger, sourced from the California-based company Beyond Meat can be
customized, served with or without cheese, and with a traditional bun or lettuce wrap. A&W uses a
“more for more” pricing strategy. For $6.99 ($7.99 with cheese) the product costs more than traditional
QSR offerings but reflects A&W’s commitment to providing quality ingredients. Using an intensive
distribution strategy, the Beyond Meat Burger was available at all of A&W’s 930 locations nationwide.
A&W has also partnered with Uber Eats for home delivery.
The Beyond Meat Burger campaign made use of both traditional and digital advertising, as well as
strategic public relation tools. Social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were
utilized as a cost-effective way to reach their target audience. Word of mouth, influencers, and bloggers
all helped A&W reach their communication objectives for the campaign.
Part two of this report will include an evaluation of the Beyond Meat Burger campaign. It will evaluate
their performance in comparison to their marketing and communications objectives. Part two will also
include recommendations for a future campaign.
i
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ i
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... ii
Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ iv
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Organization Overview .................................................................................................................................. 1
Background ............................................................................................................................................... 1
Marketing Mix ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Competitive Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 3
About the Industry .................................................................................................................................... 3
Direct Competitors .................................................................................................................................... 4
Indirect Competitors ................................................................................................................................. 5
Target Market................................................................................................................................................ 6
Demographic ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Geographic ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Psychographic ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Behavioural ............................................................................................................................................... 7
SWOT............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Strengths ................................................................................................................................................... 7
Weaknesses ............................................................................................................................................... 8
Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Threats ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
Marketing Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 9
Communications Objectives .................................................................................................................... 10
Campaign Overview..................................................................................................................................... 10
Tactics.......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Digital Marketing ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Public Relations ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Traditional Media .................................................................................................................................... 12
Event Marketing ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Digital Marketing Tactics ............................................................................................................................. 12
Website ................................................................................................................................................... 12
Landing Page ........................................................................................................................................... 13
ii
SEO and SEM ........................................................................................................................................... 13
Online Advertising ................................................................................................................................... 13
Email Marketing ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Content Strategy ..................................................................................................................................... 13
Display Advertising .................................................................................................................................. 14
Mobile Marketing .................................................................................................................................... 14
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix A: Posters, Flyers, and Coupons .................................................................................................. 15
Appendix B: Positioning Grid ....................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix C: Weekly Hours Spent Online by Millennials in Canada ............................................................. 19
Appendix D: Calculations for Marketing Objective ...................................................................................... 20
Appendix E: Media Releases ........................................................................................................................ 21
Appendix F: Traditional Media Samples ...................................................................................................... 23
Appendix G: Beyond Meat Burger Pre-Launch Event in Toronto Images .................................................... 24
Appendix H: Comparison of Website Speed Between A&W, Burger King and Triple O’s ............................ 26
Appendix I: A&W Landing Page Image ........................................................................................................ 30
Appendix J: SEO and SEM Keywords used for Beyond Meat Burger Campaign .......................................... 31
Appendix K: Mobile Advertisement Sample ................................................................................................ 33
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 34
iii
Table of Figures
Figure 1: A&W coupons for beyond meat burger on mobile application .................................................... 15
Figure 2: Mobile coupon for A&W's beyond meat burger combo .............................................................. 15
Figure 3: A&W's direct mail for beyond meat burger.................................................................................. 16
Figure 4: A&W's in-store poster for beyond meat burger ........................................................................... 16
Figure 5: A&W's email sign up for digital deals ........................................................................................... 17
Figure 6: How A&W positions itself relative to its competitors in the Canadian QSR landscape ................ 18
Figure 7: Average weekly time spent on the internet according to millennial users ................................... 19
Figure 8: A&W sales growth between 2016 and 2018 ................................................................................ 20
Figure 9: A&W's media release for beyond meat burger on CNW .............................................................. 21
Figure 10: A&W's media release for beyond meat burger on CNW ............................................................ 21
Figure 11: A&W's media release for beyond meat burger on CNW ............................................................ 22
Figure 12: A&W's beyond meat commercial airing nationwide .................................................................. 23
Figure 13: Erin Ireland at the Beyond Meat Pre-launch in Toronto............................................................. 24
Figure 14: Video of Erin Ireland tasting the beyond meat burger at the Toronto pre-launch ..................... 24
Figure 15: Lauren Toyota at the A&W pre-launch event in Toronto ........................................................... 25
Figure 16: A&W's website page speed and optimization for desktop ......................................................... 26
Figure 17: A&W's website page speed and optimization for desktop ......................................................... 26
Figure 18: A&W's website page speed and optimization for beyond meat burger landing page on desktop
.................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 19: A&W's website page speed and optimization for beyond meat burger landing page on mobile
.................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 20: Burger King's website page speed and optimization for veggie burger on desktop ................... 28
Figure 21: Triple O's website page speed and optimization for veggie burger on desktop ......................... 28
Figure 22: Triple O's website page speed and optimization for veggie burger on mobile........................... 29
Figure 24: A&W's online landing page for Beyond Meat Burger ................................................................. 30
Figure 25: SEO keywords used by A&W's Beyond Meat Burger for organic search ................................... 31
Figure 26: Page traffic for A&W's website ................................................................................................... 31
Figure 27: A&W's zero SEM result ............................................................................................................... 32
Figure 23: A&W's paid mobile advertisement on Instagram ....................................................................... 33
iv
Introduction
This report outlines and evaluates A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger campaign that commenced on July 9,
2018. This report has been authorized and requested by Geoffrey Bird, Danielle Wilson, and Erin Whittle
for MKTG 3339, MKTG 3317 and MKTG 3320 course requirements. The report focuses on analyzing both
internal and external tactics that drove the success of the campaign. This report does not include an
evaluation of the success of the campaign, but rather discusses the tactics and promotional tools used
during the campaign, as well as A&W’s objectives of the campaign. Primary research was conducted by
contacting Megan Park, A&W’s Account Manager at Rethink Canada. Secondary research was conducted
using online sources including IBIS World, Statista and Statistics Canada. The report contains the following
sections:
Organization Overview Objectives
Competitive Analysis Campaign Overview
Target Market Tactics
SWOT Analysis
Organization Overview
“At A&W, we're on a journey to source simple, great-tasting ingredients, farmed with
care. We're proud to have high standards when it comes to our food and you can taste
it in everything we serve. It's all part of our commitment to serve you food you can feel
good about” – A&W Mission Statement
A&W is a leader in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry and has committed itself to source simple,
all-natural ingredients its customers can feel good about (A&W Canada, 2018). In 2013, A&W redirected
its strategic initiatives to reposition and differentiate itself by using “better ingredients” – this included
offering hormone and steroid-free meat, free of additives, fillers or preservatives (A&W Revenue
Royalties Income Fund, 2018).
Background
A&W began operations in the United States and entered the Canadian market in 1956 with its first
locations in Winnipeg and Montreal (A&W Canada, 2018). The company became completely independent
from the American operations when A&W Canada was purchased by Unilever in 1972, followed by being
purchased by its North Vancouver-based management in 1995 (A&W Canada, 2018). A&W has grown
significantly in Canada – largely via a franchise model – and now has over 930 locations across the
country. A&W strives to use high-quality, ethically-sourced ingredients in their food so that its customers
can feel good about consuming their products (A&W Canada, 2018).
1
Marketing Mix
For A&W to have completed a successful campaign for the Beyond Meat Burger, it needed to understand
the fundamentals of their product, price, place, and promotional strategies.
Product
A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger is made using 100 percent plant-based protein, which includes peas, rice,
mung beans, coconut oil, pomegranates, potatoes, apples and beets (A&W Canada, 2018). The patty is
not made by A&W itself but is sourced from a private, fast growing, California-based company, Beyond
Meat (Grief, 2018). The Beyond Meat patty is accompanied by lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles,
ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, and can come on either a sesame-seed bun or inside a lettuce wrap
(Takeuchi, 2018).
The Beyond Meat Burger is new to the Canadian market – it was first introduced on July 9, 2018 (A&W
Food Services of Canada Inc., 2018) and has moved through the introduction stage of the product
lifecycle (Product Lifecycle Stages, 2018). During this stage, A&W established branding and product
quality for the burger, as well as secured exclusive rights to the patty (Park, 2018).
Price
The Beyond Meat Burger (not including cheese) is sold for $6.99, and $7.99 with cheese included (A&W
Canada, 2018). A&W uses a premium pricing strategy, charging a higher price than its direct competitors.
The Beyond Meat Burger is positioned as a premium burger using “better ingredients” (A&W Revenue
Royalties Income Fund, 2018) – the pricing reflects A&W’s commitment to using high-quality ingredients
to create a high quality, healthier fast-food option (A&W Canada, 2018).
Place
A&W is a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) and offers the Beyond Meat Burger at all of its 930 locations
nationwide, which are a mix of stand-alone restaurants or counters in malls and food courts (A&W, 2018).
A&W uses an intensive distribution strategy, offering the Beyond Meat Burger at all of its locations
(LearnMarketing, 2018). In addition, A&W recently partnered with Uber Eats to provide home food
delivery (A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, 2018). The Beyond Meat patty is exclusive to A&W – no
other QSRs in Canada have access to the product due to a non-compete clause. However, the Beyond
Meat patty is sold through premium casual restaurants in Canada, such as Heirloom and Meet in
Vancouver.
2
Promotion
Both traditional and digital advertising mediums were used to promote the Beyond Meat Burger
campaign.
Traditional
According to information provided by Megan Park, the A&W Account Manager at Rethink Canada,
traditional advertising mediums such as posters, flyers, coupons, radio and television advertisements
were used to promote the Beyond Meat Burger campaign. Posters were displayed in store locations and
were posted in train stations. Flyers and coupons were distributed through direct mail and throughout
various A&W locations throughout Canada. To see examples of flyers and coupons used during the
Beyond Meat Campaign, please see Appendix A.
Radio advertisements were aired on radio stations playing “adult contemporary music” such as Cornwall
Ontario’s 104.5 Fresh Radio (Fresh Radio, 2018), and Kelowna British Columbia’s 103-1 Beach Radio
(Beach Radio, 2018). Television advertisements were also used to increase reach to help create
awareness and of the Beyond Meat Burger (A&W, 2018).
Digital
According to information provided by Megan Park, the Beyond Meat Burger’s promotional strategy relied
heavily on digital advertising tools, including email, YouTube advertisements, and sponsored social media
advertisements. A&W used two main influencers to promote the Beyond Meat Burger on social media:
Erin Ireland and Jillian Harris.
Competitive Analysis
To investigate the competitive landscape of the QSR industry in Canada, this section analyzes A&W’s main
direct and indirect competitors for the Beyond Meat Burger and explores the factors that affect the
company’s competitive advantage.
About the Industry
The Canadian QSR industry is estimated to have generated $26.2 billion in revenue from 2013 to 2018
and is categorized as being highly competitive with low barriers to entry (IBIS World, 2018). Over the past
five years, the Canadian QSR industry has experienced a steady expansion despite a shift in consumer
preferences as people become more health conscious and increasingly demand more sustainably sourced
foods; Canadians increasingly want high quality, ethically sourced ingredients (IBIS World, 2018).
3
Overall, the Canadian fast food industry has expanded at a steady annual growth rate of four percent (IBIS
World, 2018). As consumer’s habits have been changing in recent years, major QSR players have had to
revamp their menu offerings to offer healthier and more sustainable food options to remain relevant
(Hennessy, 2016). Appendix B describes how A&W and its competitors position themselves in the market.
Direct Competitors
A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger’s direct competitors include Triple O’s and Burger King. These companies are
the only other QSR companies in Canada that offer plant and vegetable-based burger options.
Triple O’s
Triple O’s is an extension of Canada’s longest-running restaurant chain, White Spot (White Spot, 2018).
White Spot launched Triple O’s to offer a faster and more convenient way for consumers to enjoy their
burgers and fries on-the-go (White Spot, 2018). With annual revenue of $100 to $500 million, Triple O’s
has become a well-established Canadian fast food restaurant (Glassdoor, 2018). In 2012, Triple O’s added
a vegetarian burger option to their menu, the Veggie Burger (The Other Press, 2015).
Triple O’s Veggie Burger is A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger’s main direct competitor. It is made from a
combination of brown rice, mushrooms, and onions, and has been described as having similar flavors to
an all-beef patty (The Other Press, 2015). Triple O’s also provides an option to substitute the bun for
lettuce (Triple O's, 2014). This menu addition was created in response to a change in Canadian consumer
preferences and was a contributing factor in A&W’s decision to create the Beyond Meat Burger (Sou,
2012).
Burger King
Burger King is an American fast food company operating in Canada that specializes in hamburgers and
fries. Like Triple O’s, Burger King has a vegetarian burger option on its menu: the BK Veggie Burger. The
BK Veggie Burger has a vegetable and soy-based patty which also contains egg whites and milk. Although
the BK Veggie burger is not vegan, it is still a healthier meatless burger alternative to the company’s other
burgers available to consumers interested in reducing their meat consumption (Fooducate, 2014).
Burger King is a well-established brand that has been in the Canadian Fast Food industry since 1968
(Burger King, 2009). As a result, Burger King has been competing to catch consumers’ attention with their
healthier vegetarian burger option and can distract consumers’ attention from A&W’s Beyond Meat
Burger.
4
Competitive Advantages and Disadvantages
A&W faces several advantages and disadvantages in relation to their competition despite offering a
higher quality product.
Advantages: A&W is the first Canadian QSR operator to introduce a 100% plant-based burger patty to the
Canadian market. Being the first, it has established itself in the minds of its consumers giving it an
advantage over its competitors.
Disadvantages: Triple O’s and Burger King both offer products directly interchangeable with the Beyond
Meat Burger and therefore have the potential to steal market share from A&W. If A&W were to run out
of the Beyond Meat Burger, as it did after its initial launch, A&W’s customers could look elsewhere for an
equivalent QSR vegetarian option.
Indirect Competitors
This section focuses on companies that offer products that satisfy the same need as the Beyond Meat
Burger – i.e. healthier, non-meat food alternatives. Although these companies do not offer products that
are directly interchangeable with A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger, they still have the potential to satisfy the
same needs of A&W’s target audience.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s Canada is Canada’s largest QSR operator, owning 17 percent of the Canadian QSR industry’s
market share and serving 2.5 million people daily across more than 1,400 locations nationwide (IBIS
World, 2018).
McDonald’s Garden-Fresh Salad is A&W’s main indirect competitor from the McDonald’s brand. Both
products satisfy the same need of the target audience, which is to have a healthy food option in a quick
service environment, but with a different product.
Freshii
Freshii is a Canadian health-casual QSR franchise founded in 2005 offering consumers a healthy, high-
quality food alternative at a higher price point relative to other QSRs (Freshii, 2018). Freshii’s high-
protein, vegetarian Baja Burrito is one of A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger’s indirect competitors. The Baja
Burrito is a vegetarian dietician recommended product (Huff Post, 2015), that has the potential to take
consumers’ attention away from the Beyond Meat Burger. Freshii’s mission statement is “to help citizens
of the world live better by making healthy food convenient and affordable” (Freshii, 2018). Freshii offers
health-conscious foods which allow the company to portray its brand as a healthier alternative to
companies like A&W.
5Target Market
A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger campaign targeted one main audience – flexitarians. Flexitarians are defined
as individuals (primarily millennials), whose dietary decisions lean toward “eat[ing] healthier, [to] prevent
animal suffering and fight climate change” (Rinaldi, 2015). By targeting this segment, A&W sought to
deliver its brand proposition, “Good food makes good food” to its target market.
This section expands on the demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioural segments of the
target audience.
Demographic
Millennial flexitarians are defined as individuals between the ages of 18 to 35 years old. According to
Megan Park, A&W’s target segment was millennial female flexitarians. This segment consists of 4,188,000
females, or 11.4 percent of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2016). The 2016 Canadian Census
shows that 40.7 percent of females in this age group have a bachelor’s degree or higher (Statistics
Canada, 2017). An article published by Science Daily stated that people with a higher level of education
make healthier dietary choices (Science Daily, 2013), making them more likely to choose a healthier,
more socially conscious food decision when eating at a QSR.
A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger campaign targeted Canadian millennial women aged 18 to 35 with an
average income above ~$40,000 (Statistics Canada, 2016) (Hodges & Brown, 2015). People with an above
average income are more likely to purchase healthier options, which tend to be costlier (Rae, 2018).
Geographic
The A&W Beyond Meat Burger campaign ran nationwide. The campaign primarily targeted health-
conscious millennial women from the ages of 18 to 35 located within major parts of Canada. A Canadian
trend shows that female millennials are moving to major urban areas such as Toronto, Montreal, Calgary,
Waterloo, and Kelowna (Huffington Post, 2017).
Psychographic
Millennial flexitarians “consider the food source, animal welfare issues, and environmental impacts when
making their purchasing decisions”. This group of consumers values the protection of the planet and
want to ensure that animals are being treated humanely (Pellman Roland, 2018).
For many of them, purchase decisions are heavily influenced by reviews, technologies and especially by
their peers because of millennials “inherent distrust of brands and traditional advertising” (Arnold, 2017).
Millennials are more likely to trust the reviews of their peers and their preferred social media influencers
when learning about new brands and products (Join Marketing, 2018). This allows social media
6influencers to create long-term, meaningful relationships with their audience by creating content that is
relatable, trustworthy, and engaging (Join Marketing, 2018).
Millennials are budget conscious consumers; however, they are willing to spend more on items deemed
important or having a perceived higher value (Goldman Sachs, 2018). A large portion of this group makes
their purchasing decisions based on information gathered from blogs or other compelling online content
sources and are not as influenced by traditional advertising (Schawbel, 2015). They are highly engaged on
social media spending 8.1 hours per week on YouTube, 7.4 hours on Netflix, 7.3 hours on Facebook, and
3.9 hours on Instagram (eMarketer, 2018). Please see Appendix C, for more information regarding
millennial social media usage.
Behavioural
Millennials are spending more, but they have low loyalty to brands because they are price conscious and
highly “exposed to price promotions” (International Journal of Marketing Studies, 2017). However, a
survey conducted by Bustle states that millennials demonstrate brand loyalty if they are purchasing
“products that are environmentally-friendly” (Richards, 2017). For products that align with their values,
millennials are quick to become brand “evangelists” using word-of-mouth marketing for both their
positive or negative experiences (Norris, 2016).
Female flexitarians are socially conscious, interested in converting to healthier, more plant-based diets,
and are willing to pay a higher price for higher quality (Pellman Roland, 2018). They want to know where
their food – particularly protein – comes from and they want to feel good about what they eat. They also
want ethically sourced safe, healthy food with a small environmental footprint (Pellman Roland, 2018).
It is important to note, however, that this group still eats meat. Their decision to move to a plant-based
diet is because they care about what they eat, they care about their resulting environmental impact, and
they want to feel that they are making environmentally-friendly decisions (William-Ross, 2018).
SWOT
A&W’s and its Beyond Meat Burger’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are discussed
below.
Strengths
Reputation: Over the last 60 years, A&W has established a strong presence as a QSR and is Canada’s
second-largest QSR operation (Martin, 2018). Being a well-known and trusted Canadian brand helps build
relationships with Canadian consumers looking to support Canadian businesses.
7Transparency and Trust: A&W takes special care in its preparation, using only the freshest, high-quality
ingredients. By focusing on better ingredients, reducing its environmental impact (with initiatives such as
eliminating the use of plastic straws), not using hormones and steroids in their beef, and antibiotics in
their chicken, the company reinforces customer trust (Skerritt, 2018).
Business Strategy and Value Proposition: Beginning in 2013, A&W shifted its strategic initiatives, including
repositioning and differentiating the A&W brand by using “better ingredients” (A&W Revenue Royalties
Income Fund, 2018). The company has been successful in communicating its value proposition through all
their customer touchpoints.
Strong Partnerships: A&W has an exclusive partnership with Beyond Meat, the producer and supplier of
the Beyond Meat Burger patty (Park, 2018). This exclusive partnership has given the company a
competitive advantage in Canada as no other QSR operator can sell this product in Canada.
Weaknesses
Availability and Quantity of Raw Materials: A&W sales are dependent on the availability and quantity of
raw materials used in products sold by A&W, resulting in heavy reliance on third-party food suppliers
(A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, 2018). A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger is manufactured by the
California-based company, Beyond Meat. Less than six weeks after launching the Beyond Meat Burger,
A&W ran out of patties, leading to a supply gap that lasted several weeks until its relaunch on October 1,
2018 (A&W Food Services of Canada Inc., 2018). A disruption in the supply of certain products to A&W
could have an adverse effect on sales.
Rebranding and Re-strategizing: Since 2013, A&W has been working towards repositioning itself in the
QSR landscape to appeal more to the millennial consumer (A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, 2018).
Historically, A&W has marketed itself to the traditional burger-loving Baby Boomer, but with this strategic
change, A&W needs to reestablish its core customer base. As a result, A&W’s success is now dependent
on millennial tastes and preferences (Hemmadi, 2017).
Opportunities
Shift Towards Socially Conscious Purchasing Behaviour: Canadian Millennials are seeking out more
information about their food: they care about the supply chain and how their food gets to them. They
have a desire for ethically sourced food from sustainable farms and companies. “Where does it come
from” and “how has it been made” are key questions (Massow, Weersink, McAdams, & University of
Guelph, 2018). A&W has appealed to this demographic by changing its menu to reflect millennial desires
for “sustainable and ethical practices” (Hemmadi, 2017).
Movement Towards Flexitarianism: According to a Nielsen study, 43 percent of Canadians are moving
towards increasing their plant-based food intake at the expense of meat (Nielson, 2017). Stated reasons
for moving towards a plant-based diet are the cost of meat (26 percent), watching weight (26 percent),
8animal welfare (22 percent), ease of digestion (22 percent) and environmental considerations (20
percent) (Harris, 2018). A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger is a direct answer to the flexitarians’ need for a
meat-less burger alternative that still tastes great.
Millennials are Ordering More Takeaway Food and Increasing Delivery Service Use: Millennials have the
highest per-capita restaurant consumption on average than any other consumer in Canada and account
for 28% of restaurant traffic (Hemmadi, 2017). Complementing this trend is the recent proliferation of
food delivery options in Canada (e.g. Uber Eats, Deliveroo, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, etc.). Millennials are
the largest spenders on foodservice in Canada, spending the highest amount on food delivery services
(Restaurants Canada, 2018). In August 2018, A&W partnered with Uber Eats to make their menu offerings
more convenient and accessible to customers (Fund, 2018). In order to succeed as a QSR in Canada, it is
necessary to appeal to this group of millennials.
Threats
New Competitors: While A&W currently has the only plant-based fast food alternative in Canada,
McDonald's is currently testing a plant-based burger in Europe (Brehaut, 2017). As new competitors enter
the space and expand their product offerings, A&W will experience increased competition for plant-based
burgers (Overgaard, 2018).
QSR Competition: A&W competes with several other well-capitalized QSR operators, and periodically
chains from the U.S. may decide to expand into the Canadian market, increasing competition (A&W
Revenue Royalties Income Fund, 2018).
Increasing Cost of Goods and Operational Costs: A&W is at risk of deteriorating margins from increasing
costs of raw materials used to make their food products and from increasing operational costs such as
increases in minimum wage and rent (A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, 2018). If consumers are not
willing to pay more for the Beyond Meat Burger, this will reduce A&W’s sales and profitability.
Objectives
A&W set marketing and communication objectives to measure the campaign’s success.
Marketing Objectives
The goal for the Beyond Meat Burger campaign was to generate incremental sales and increase overall
A&W revenue by 8.35 percent for Q3 2018. The product launched on July 7, 2018 and was received
extremely well by consumers. The Beyond Meat Burger sold out across Canada within three weeks – by
early August all A&W locations were sold out, and customers continued to inquire about its return at
several locations. As a result, revenue in Q3 2018 increased by 13.0 percent over Q2, which itself had
9increased by 6.6 percent over Q1 (A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, 2018). Please see Appendix D
for more information regarding the Marketing Objective.
To achieve the marketing objective, the campaign set multiple communication objectives, which are
described below.
Communications Objectives
Increase brand awareness of the product among 70 percent of the target audience. The Beyond Meat
Burger is a new product which was previously unknown by A&W’s target audience, so it was essential to
the success of the campaign to make A&W’s audience aware of the product. Building and maintaining
top-of-mind awareness helps consumers think of you first when considering a product category.
Build a customer database by 50 percent. A&W sought to increase its customer database by providing
email notifications to customers who were interested in learning about when the Beyond Meat Burger
would return.
Educate consumers about the Beyond Meat Burger. This includes messaging about its overall consumer
value, including a reduced environmental footprint from using sustainably sourced vegetable products
and being a healthy high-protein alternative to meat.
Influence purchase intent. This includes emphasizing the Beyond Meat Burger’s unique benefits to the
target audience, which align with the wants and needs of their target audience as they desire a more
socially conscious dietary alternative to meat that is both tasty and healthy.
Stimulate trial purchase and connect with new consumers. To accomplish the goal of taking away
hesitation and getting consumers to try the burger, promotional coupons and/or discounts on the burger
to persuade first-time customers to try the Beyond Meat Burger were offered. This advanced exposure to
the chain’s unique “Ingredients Guarantee” brand platform, promising simple, great-tasting ingredients
farmed with care.
Campaign Overview
A&W Canada launched its brand-new the Beyond Meat Burger product in a competitive industry to great
success. Instead of trying to tell consumers about its great product, the company encouraged people to
try it for themselves. A&W used traditional and digital marketing effectively in combination with a strong
public relations platform to achieve success. Social media and influencers were used to connect with the
target audience in a meaningful and impactful way.
10According to Megan Park, the Beyond Meat Burger and its related campaign were less about how the
burger fits with A&W and more about how it fits with A&W’s core message that “Good food makes good
food.” The company wanted to deliver a healthy, plant-based alternative for socially conscious
consumers.
The Beyond Meat product was A&W’s fastest product launch ever. The company first met with the
Beyond Meat company in November 2017, subsequently launched on July 9th, 2018 and sold out within
weeks. The campaign, aimed primarily at female millennials looking for plant-based alternatives, was
successful in A&W’s target markets. Coverage with earned media coverage and on social media found
support with meat eaters and vegans alike. The campaign resulted in “insane growth” and the strongest
quarter that A&W has ever had (Park, 2018).
Tactics
To connect with its target audience and deliver its message, A&W used a range of tactics. The company
launched a new product in an old market with a heavy focus on digital and word-of-mouth advertising.
A&W’s advertisements were rooted in a straight-forward message: “Good food makes good food.” A&W’s
tactics and marketing style for the campaign are described below.
Digital Marketing
A&W used social media for the campaign, specifically paid advertising and sponsored content on
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The company used the various social platforms’ advertising tools,
reach and frequency to target its female millennial audience (Facebook, 2018). Moreover, A&W aired ads
that were also hosted on its Canadian YouTube channel. The social media advertisements’ initiative was
to help reach the communications goals of educating A&W’s target audience and to encourage customers
to try the Beyond Meat Burger.
Public Relations
Public Relations has played an important role in promoting the Beyond Meat Burger campaign. Media
Releases were issued prior to the launch of the Beyond Meat Burger, when it ran out, and on the re-
launch of the burger.
A&W used two primary social media influencers: Erin Ireland and Jillian Harris. Ms. Ireland is a Vancouver-
based “super vegan” influencer/blogger who helped A&W gain the support of the vegan community. Ms.
Harris is a Canadian TV personality with a female-dominated audience. Communicating to audiences
through social media and blogs, they both provided a trusted secondary source of information regarding
A&W’s new product. By delivering the message from health and food conscious sources, A&W’s
11positioning was believable, trustworthy and easily accepted (Park, 2018). Please see Appendix E for all
Public Relations promotional materials.
Traditional Media
Television, radio, flyers, posters, and coupons ran in tandem with their digital media promotions. The
coupons complemented the television advertisements’ message of “Try the new plant-based Beyond
Meat Burger today.” The television advertisements were showcased on Canadian television channels
including, Global News and KBD Productions TV, with content that showed the average millennial citizen
trying the Beyond Meat Burger and their reaction when they discovered that it was a plant-based burger.
Other traditional channels such as radio were also used during this campaign. As stated previously,
several radio stations including Cornwall Ontario’s 104.5 Fresh Radio and Kelowna British Columbia’s 103-
1 Beach Radio (Fresh Radio, 2018) (Beach Radio, 2018). Please refer to Appendix F for traditional media
samples.
Event Marketing
One of the Beyond Meat Burger campaign’s communication objective was to raise awareness. To
generate buzz and raise the desired awareness, A&W held a pre-launch event in Toronto. The CEOs of
A&W and Beyond Meat, Susan Senegal and Ethan Brown, respectively, were present at this event along
with several other high-profile names.
For the event, an A&W food truck was parked in front of one of its locations, and the attendees had a
chance to taste the Beyond Meat Burger. By documenting the event and broadcasting it over social media
via key influencers, including Erin Ireland, A&W was able to reach much of its target audience (Murray-
Ragg, 2018). Please refer again to Appendix G for pictures of the event.
Digital Marketing Tactics
Analyzing what A&W has done “behind the scenes” to support the campaign is important to understand
the campaign’s success.
Website
A&W has a Canadian specific website domain both for its general website and the Beyond Meat Burger
landing page. The website runs smoothly with an “average” speed in comparison to A&W’s designated
Beyond Meat Burger’s competitors, Burger King and Triple O’s. The Beyond Meat burger ranks “average”
for website speed and “medium” for website optimization on a desktop (Google PageSpeed Insights,
2018). Consumers come into contact with A&W’s webpage at the discovery stage in the customer journey
12process, as it provides information about the Beyond Meat Burger. Please see Appendix H for more
information on website speed.
Landing Page
The Beyond Meat landing page functions to inform consumers about the new product. The landing page
fulfills A&W’s communication objective of providing information and education to consumers regarding
the Beyond Meat Burger, including a description of the ingredients in the burger patty (A&W Canada,
2018). Prior to launching the initial campaign, A&W had created a microsite for the Beyond Meat Burger,
it has since been removed since the initial campaign has ended. Please see Appendix I for more
information on the landing page.
SEO and SEM
A&W makes use of relevant keywords for its Beyond Meat Burger campaign. The company also has
approximately 80 backlinks to its Beyond Meat Burger webpage which has an impact on its search
ranking. These ads also connect with the customer at the research and discovery stage of the customer
journey (SEMRUSH, 2018). With respect to paid search, the Beyond Meat Burger campaign did not make
use of any paid Google advertisements. For more information regarding SEO and SEM please see
Appendix J.
Online Advertising
Google Universal Analytics and Google Analytics are the two marketing tools that are used on the A&W
Beyond Meat Burger web page.
Email Marketing
A&W sends coupons by email as a reward for signing up for its newsletters. The company also accepted
consumers’ email addresses after selling out of the Beyond Meat Burger to notify them of when it was
back in stock. Both these methods helped to build A&W’s customer database. The coupons are aimed at
customers when they are in the purchase decision stage.
Content Strategy
Content on A&W’s web pages and advertisements are aimed at informing customers about the new
product. The content explains the differentiating properties of the Beyond Meat Burger and encourages
potential customers to try it for themselves. Staying consistent with the rest of A&W’s advertising
platforms, consumers were interacted with the brand at the discovery and research stages of their
journey, during which their main objective is to find information about the product.
13Display Advertising
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram display advertisements were used on both mobile and desktop
platforms. These advertisements showcased the product itself, consumers trying the product, and the
product’s ingredients.
Mobile Marketing
A&W used multiple mobile marketing platforms for the Beyond Meat Burger campaign. Platforms such as
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were all used to host a variety of A&W Beyond Meat Burger
advertisements. Consumers experienced these ads during the awareness stage of the customer journey,
giving them insights and information about when the campaign was to launch and what type of product
would be entering the market. Samples of the mobile advertisements are provided in Appendix K.
Conclusion
A&W’s Beyond Meat Burger campaign was launched with the marketing objective to increase its Q3 2018
revenue 8.3 percent from Q2 2018. Its communication objectives were to increase brand awareness,
build a customer database, educate consumers about the product’s value, and stimulate a trial purchase.
To maximize the success of the overall campaign several tactics were chosen to support the campaign.
Traditional tools such as television and radio advertisements were used by A&W to promote the message
of “Try the new plant-based Beyond Meat Burger today”. The television ads focused on content showing
people trying the burger which complements A&W’s initiative to drive product trials. Coupons were also
available online through their mobile app supporting the message delivered through its television
advertisements.
Digital tactics were used to reach the target audience through social media advertisements on platforms
such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, emails and short YouTube video advertisements. This initiative
was used to support the brands communications objectives for the campaign.
The Beyond Meat Burger campaign attracted a large amount of publicity which resulted in extra unpaid
exposure for the launch of the new product. Instagram influencers such as Erin Ireland and Jillian Harris
were also used to promote the new product launch via social media, giving the target audience additional
exposure to the Beyond Meat Burger.
Now that A&W has established and positioned the Beyond Meat Burger in the market, they face the
challenge to maintain attention around the product. A&W must now establish how they plan to continue
to engage its customers to ensure continued public interest and success of the Beyond Meat Burger.
14Appendix A: Posters, Flyers, and Coupons
Figure 1: A&W coupons for beyond meat burger on mobile application
Figure 2: Mobile coupon for A&W's beyond meat burger combo
15Figure 3: A&W's direct mail for beyond meat burger
Figure 4: A&W's in-store poster for beyond meat burger
16Figure 5: A&W's email sign up for digital deals
17Appendix B: Positioning Grid
Figure 6: How A&W positions itself relative to its competitors in the Canadian QSR landscape
18Appendix C: Weekly Hours Spent Online by Millennials in
Canada
HOURS SPENT WEEKLY BY MILLENNIALS IN
CANADA
YouTube
Netflix
Facebook
Instagram
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Hours spent weekly by millennials in Canada
Figure 7: Average weekly time spent on the internet according to millennial users
19Appendix D: Calculations for Marketing Objective
Figure 8: A&W sales growth between 2016 and 2018
Marketing objective of increasing overall revenue by 8.35%:
5.3% - 3.1% = 2.2%
6.6% - 5.3% = 1.3%
2.2% + 1.3% = 3.5%
3.5% / 2 = Average of 1.75%
6.6% (2018 Q2) + 1.75% = 8.35%
20Appendix E: Media Releases
Figure 9: A&W's media release for beyond meat burger on CNW
Figure 10: A&W's media release for beyond meat burger on CNW
21Figure 11: A&W's media release for beyond meat burger on CNW
22Appendix F: Traditional Media Samples
Figure 12: A&W's beyond meat commercial airing nationwide
23Appendix G: Beyond Meat Burger Pre-Launch Event in Toronto
Images
Figure 13: Erin Ireland at the Beyond Meat Pre-launch in Toronto
Figure 14: Video of Erin Ireland tasting the beyond meat burger at the Toronto pre-launch
24Figure 15: Lauren Toyota at the A&W pre-launch event in Toronto
25Appendix H: Comparison of Website Speed Between A&W,
Burger King and Triple O’s
Figure 16: A&W's website page speed and optimization for desktop
Figure 17: A&W's website page speed and optimization for desktop
26Figure 18: A&W's website page speed and optimization for beyond meat burger landing page on desktop
Figure 19: A&W's website page speed and optimization for beyond meat burger landing page on mobile
27Figure 20: Burger King's website page speed and optimization for veggie burger on desktop
Figure 21: Triple O's website page speed and optimization for veggie burger on desktop
28Figure 22: Triple O's website page speed and optimization for veggie burger on mobile
29Appendix I: A&W Landing Page Image
Figure 23: A&W's online landing page for Beyond Meat Burger
30Appendix J: SEO and SEM Keywords used for Beyond Meat
Burger Campaign
Figure 24: SEO keywords used by A&W's Beyond Meat Burger for organic search
Figure 25: Page traffic for A&W's website
31Figure 26: A&W's zero SEM result
32Appendix K: Mobile Advertisement Sample
Figure 27: A&W's paid mobile advertisement on Instagram
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