ICR | Agency Profile, Contacts, AOR, Client Relationships

• ICR will focus on reintroducing BK via earned media and brand activity.
  • It will handle the strategic management and implementation of consumer lifestyle media relations, special events, and partnerships.
  • Additionally, ICR will drive ongoing awareness and affinity.
  • This shift replaces BK's ten-year relationship with incumbent PR AOR Alison Brod, and it concludes the review that kicked off last year.
• Conill, BK's first-ever culture and brand partnerships AOR, will focus on establishing stronger connections with diverse consumers.
  • It will do this with culturally relevant partnerships and campaigns.
• I predicted agency reviews would follow BK's recent appointment of CMO Pat O'Toole.
• The burger chain is currently in the middle of a full-scale $400m push for a turnaround in US sales.
• The brand will likely:
  • Launch new campaigns soon
  • Shift strategy
  • Seek additional new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • ​​​​​​​Primary: Gen-Z and millennials with a male skew
  • Secondary: Gen-X with a male skew
  • BK is also ramping up efforts to reach multicultural audiences.

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, BK has allocated roughly $56.5k toward national TV commercials, up 2% from the roughly $55.6m allocated within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • Last year: The brand allocated around $198.4m toward this channel in 2022 after having allocated 7% less, around $185.3m, in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: BK's 2023 commercials have targeted male sports enthusiasts watching shows such as NFL Football, NBA Basketball, College Football, SportsCenter, and Friends.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: YTD, the brand has spent approximately $11.5m on digital ads, down 37% from the approximately $18.4m spent by this point last year.
  • YTD data: Since the start of 2023, BK has earned about 936.7m digital impressions, 80% via YouTube ads, 10% via Instagram ads, and 10% via Facebook ads.
  • Last year: The brand's estimated full-year 2022 spend, $58.7m, reached 75% more than that of $33.5m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The brand utilizes OOH, local broadcast, digital, print (Hispanic newspapers), radio, Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram ads.
  • BK sponsors podcasts such as Brooke and Jeffery, The Hauraki Big Show, Carton & Roberts, NBA Today, and Around the Horn.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: Additional agency reviews could easily follow this one, so get in touch soon to offer digital analytics, influencer, and/or experiential services.
  • ​​​​​​​BK also named last year.
  • Digital reviews are especially likely due to the brand's August 2022 appointment of CDO Thibault Roux.
• Current agency roster:
  • ​​​​​​​ICR: Consumer PR AOR (March 2023)
  • Conill: Multicultural agency partner (March 2023)
  • O'Keefe Reinhard & Paul: Creative AOR (August 2022)
  • PHD: Media AOR (August 2022)
  • : Social and digital AOR

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by .