The Brief

Mornings in South Korea are exceptionally hard. While Koreans spend almost 1 hour in public transportation every morning, they cannot even get peaceful nap. Because they are afraid to miss their stop. With these circumstances in mind, we thought that Burger King Korea needed new marketing tool to catch Korean commuters’ eyes and get them to act. So we created the Burger King Sleeping Mask. The sleeping mask is designed with a message asking to “Wake me up at XXX Station”. So the mask wearers can nap in peace, while others read the message and wake them up at the right station. Also, inside the mask are 2 free King Americano coupons. People can enjoy a free coffee from a nearby Burger King themselves, or share one with the person who woke them up. In the latter case, the wearer actively promotes Burger King on his or her own, unintentionally.

Creative Execution

This campaign was executed from Feb. 23, 2015 until Apr. 15, 2015. First, we distributed sleeping masks around 9 Burger King outlets near 5 different subway stations stations (Gangnam, Hongik Univ., Samsung, Yeoksam, and Sinchon Station) that are the most crowded during the morning rush hour. We also gave sudden notices for the distribution spots via Burger King’s social media pages beforehand, which evoked people’s curiosity and led them to actively participate in the campaign. Though the two month-long promotion is over now, many commuters are still using the Burger King sleeping mask every morning. That is, consumers are spontaneously continuing the campaign by themselves. As per the request of numerous consumers, Burger King expanded this campaign to outlets around 8 stations in Busan, the second-biggest city in South Korea.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We learned that the morning hours in South Korea are the toughest time for both Koreans and Burger King Korea. The Korean commuters just wanted to nap peacefully on their commute, and Burger King needed to boost their morning sales. We connected their needs with the Burger King Sleeping Mask, and solved problems on both sides by allowing Koreans to sleep peacefully without worrying about missing their stops, and attracting more morning menu consumers to Burger King stores.

Results

The total average in morning sales increased by 18.7% in participating Burger King stores; social media mentions of Burger King increased by 44.5% with positive response by consumers. And Burger King’s brand popularity showed an increase of 33%. (Feb~March 2015 vs. previous month) Furthermore, Burger King Korea is planning to make more sleeping masks with other city’s station names, and is considering to introduce a new morning menu that includes the mask. But not only that – the sleeping mask wearers had priceless deep sleep, and those who saw these funny eye patches were able to share a good laugh. Though the harsh conditions of South Korea are nearly impossible to be changed, this campaign allows their mornings to be somewhat restful.