Supersize me

You all saw the adverts, heard the controversy, probably talked about it at a barbecue with a few mates and might have even tried one just for fun. The Hungry Jacksstacker burger sure had people talking – health nuts all over Australia literally went nuts – it was promoting a heart attack in a packet, with fries and coke on the side. There’s the old adage: ‘any publicity is good publicity’, which I don’t believe in at all, however in this case, Hungry Jacks sure hit a winner. Why?

Well they probably didn’t boost their sales immensely with the stacker burger and it probably didn’t do any damage to any of its competitors sales either. But what it did do was cement Hungry Jacks’ positioning.

McDonalds held the position, for so many years, as the naughty, yet quick and easy, Thursday night treat when you’ve just finished the weekly shop and can’t be bothered preparing anything amazing nor nutritious for the family dinner. Then the obesity epidemic hit Australia and McDonalds started to sell salads, rolls, apples (for goodness sake) and other healthy treats. The result is a completely confused customer – where is McDonalds positioned? The healthy fast food place that also sells burgers? Or the unhealthy fast food place that also sells salads? Or the fast food place that sells a bit
of everything?

Hungry Jacks meddled with salads and other bits and pieces to try and compete with McD’s, again adding to the confusion, but the stacker burger cemented things in my mind. They are the place to go to get a greasy, unhealthy, disgusting burger. Which, as much as we hate to admit it, there is still a demand for. So sometimes, a risky product which might not sell can send a stronger message and save a much more important part of your business – its positioning.

Thanks to Prose and Cons Columnist – Dr Con Stavros – from Marketing Mag for the inspiration behind this article.