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We know something about burger brackets here at BurgerBusiness.com, where the Final Four concepts in our competition are reigning champ Blanc Burgers + Bottles, Cheeseburger Bobby’s, Jake’s Wayback Burgers and In-N-Out Burger.  But we had to give a shout out to BLT Restaurant Group for the Final Four burger menu at its two GO Burger locations [...]

Social media are taking hold in India, where Facebook opened its first office just five months ago, and where its users reportedly numbered  15 million then. So it’s not surprising that McDonald’s first Facebook marketing campaign is designed as something of a social-media tutorial. McDonald’s on Monday introduced a new four-item “Spicy Delights” menu in [...]

Addressing one of its key competitive weaknesses, Burger King is rolling out new Chicken Tenders that could get it back in the chicken-snack game. These replace the previous Tenders incarnation that were shaped like crowns, which signaled “for kids only.” The new, crispy Tenders moving into stores now are marketed to all ages. The Chicken Tenders name [...]

Although restaurant sales showed no growth in 2010, the restaurant industry increased total ad spending, according to data from Kantar Media. Spending by the category was $5.652 billion, a 2.3% increase over 2009. According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurant sales were off 0.2% last year. For restaurants, Q1 was the strongest ($1.454 billion) for ad [...]

Including calorie information on menus has a modest impact on consumer ordering behavior according to research by The NPD Group. On average, the total number of calories declined by nearly 12% with calorie counts. Of interest to restaurateurs is that listing calories decreased average check by about 3%. And consumers don’t give up burgers: Some people simply order smaller [...]

[Update: As predicted Sunday, Hardee's introduced Charbroiled Turkey burgers on March 21. They join the menu at Carl's Jr. on March 23. See the TV commercial with Miss Turkey here.] ◙ McDonald’s is refining its premium-tier menu strategy with the introduction of a new line of “Special Editions” menu items in Ireland. First up is the [...]

That was the sound of the other shoe dropping. When Burger King installed new management last October following the chain’s acquisition by 3G Capital, the question asked here was, “Will Crispin Porter + Bogusky hang on to Burger King’s $300 million-plus ad account?” It did for awhile, but when UK Marketing Director Sarah Power exited in [...]

Responding to consumer healthful-eating concerns around the world, McDonald’s is testing oven-baked chicken and fish in Australia and is vowing to voluntarily post calorie information on menu boards in its 1,200 United Kingdom stores. The Oven Baked menu, launched this month in 44 restaurants in the state of South Australia, includes entrées, breakfast items and desserts [...]

Yum! Brands isn’t holding back on dressing up its A&W Restaurants unit for a possible sale. In addition to springing for TV advertising for a Steak Burger rollout, the chain is testing three Texas Toast Chicken sandwiches. The market test includes Honey Dijon Club, BLT and Buffalo chicken sandwiches, all on thick toast and dressed [...]

[AND THE WINNER, FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, IS BLANC BURGERS + BOTTLES! CONGRATULATIONS TO BLANC AND TO RUNNER-UP JAKE'S WAYBACK BURGER. CHECK THE FINAL BRACKET SPREADSHEET HERE.  Read the final story here.] It’s March Madness on a bun, baby! It’s the BurgerBusiness.com Burger Brackets. It’s 64 burger concepts facing off in four [...]

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1RsIy0kFsA Or… No sooner do I say that March is hamburger R&D hibernation month than two chains that rarely roll out new burgers do just that—with television ad support no less—and Burger King introduces the strategically brilliant BK Stackers line. It’s what makes the burger business so interesting, I suppose. ◙ Yum! Brands is looking for [...]

In 2009, Burger King kicked the hornet’s nest by promoting a ¼-lb. Double Cheeseburger for just $1. BK franchisees hated it because consumers loved it: each budget-priced burgr sold was another chip away at profit margins because beef costs were high. Operators sued; BK won. The compromise was the creation of the $1 Buck Double [...]

When it created the “M Selections by McDonald’s” menu in Australia in 2009, the strategy was to set apart the chain’s premium-price items, including the Mighty Angus and Grand Angus burgers that had recently been introduced. As advertising explained, these menu items are “A little bit fancy.” Now Macca’s, as the chain is colloquially called [...]

Wendy’s is asking its operators to invest between $13,000 and $23,000 per store in the next months in preparation for this fall’s planned national rollout of the Dave’s Hot ‘n Juicy Cheeseburger that it has been testing since November. CEO Roland Smith said the investment will be needed to cover equipment such as a bun [...]

Officially, Lent begins next Wednesday. But for burger-chain menus, observance already is gearing up. Culver’s tomorrow brings back its Hand-Battered Northwoods Walleye sandwich. McDonald’s has a Double Fillet-O-Fish ready to go, Burger King will revive its Big Fish sandwich and Wendy’s has its Premium Fish Fillet and Sea-Salt Fries duo. Checkers has a 2-for-$3 deal [...]