A lot of things happen on social media and brands have realised that some of the best things to do is up their social media engagement with their consumers.
Take Burger King for example. The American fast food joint which started operating in 2013 in South Africa, is now petitioning social media to help them gain South African citizenship.
According to Home Affairs, you can apply for South African citizenship through naturalisation if you have held a permanent residence permit for at least five years. Burger King has been in the country for seven years, meaning they can apply for citizenship.
“Fam, we’ve been here since 2013," the brand wrote on its social media accounts. "(We) feel like it’s time to take our relationship with the country to the next level – a very official level. @HomeAffairsSA how many RTs to become a citizen? #MakeBKMoreSA.”
In a statement, the restaurant chain's marketing executive, Ezelna Jones said that they have chosen the country’s nation-building month to ask citizens to help make them more South African. That they are asking South Africans to suggest as many locally-inspired challenges as possible, to help bring them even close.
“We’re happy to learn. Want us to challenge minister or foodie Tito Mboweni to cook-of? We’ll do it. Ask us to turn our extra-long chilli cheese sandwich into a Gatsby? We will try. Anything you can think of that shouts proudly and loudly South African and we’ll give it a go. Whatever it takes to call SA home,” said Jones.
Meawhile, the restaurant chain has shared their plans for its restaurants in Miami, Latin America and the Caribbean.
“In March our in-house design and tech team accelerated new restaurant design plans and pushed the limits of what a Burger King restaurant could be,” Josh Kobza, Restaurant Brands International chief operating officer, said in a statement.
These plans were drafted with a mission of dramatically improving (and safeguarding) the consumer experience by providing multiple ordering and delivery modes, many of which are contactless. These additions and renovations include touchless technology, drive-in and walk-up order areas, enhanced drive-through experience and exterior dining spaces.
These enhancements will result in a 60 percent decrease of the physical footprint. While on-site dining will still exist, restaurants will have suspended patios that will feature outdoor seating for guests, replacing the indoor dining rooms in one design option. Another design option, a suspended dining room above the drive-thru lanes, will also include a covered outdoor seating area.
At the drive-in area, guests will park their vehicles under, place their orders through the Burger King app by scanning a QR code at their parking spot’s kiosk screen, and have food taken directly to their cars.
Patrons arriving to pick up their orders will be able to do so from coded food lockers facing the exterior of the restaurant, and delivery people will be able to pick up their orders through the same system as well.
The drive-thru will be expanded to accommodate more guests with the addition of one or two more lanes. Each lane will feature digital menu boards and merchandising, as well as a living wall that frames the guest’s view into the kitchen interior. Drive-thru guests will have their orders delivered via a conveyer belt connected to the restaurant’s suspended kitchen.
Now, if they do this for South Africa, maybe it will be easier for Burger King to get the citizenship they need, no?
The brand's COO Juan Klopper said that they are in awe of how quickly citizens have accepted the restaurant.
"As a brand with its roots in the United States, Burger King has come to realise that South African culture is quite complex. Resilient people, a cheeky sense of humour, and the many traditions are just some of the attributes that make this one of the most unique societies in the world.
“As newbies to this beautiful country, we cannot wait to engage with our fans on what makes this country so special,” said Klopper.