In this edition of Marketer of the Week, Ignite Visibility spotlights Fernando Machado, Chief Marketing Officer at Restaurant Brands International.
Ignite Visibility applauds the RBI team for its plan to modernize the drive-thru experience by mid-2022.
Restaurant Brands International
RBI is currently updating drive-thrus at thousands of Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons locations.
The company plans to install more than 40,000 digital screens with “predictive selling” tech. It’s also going to update restaurant loyalty programs and add remote, contactless payments.
That’s especially important now as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Here are a few details about the updates you can expect to see at the many RBI restaurants near you:
Predictive selling – Digital drive-thru boards promote special orders based on the customer’s previous orders, weather patterns, time of day, and other factors. The tech will even learn about preferred ordering habits and highlight the latest and most-trending items ordered at specific locations.
Integrated loyalty programs – Menu boards now integrate with loyalty programs by displaying menu options based on the customer’s favorite purchases and redemption histories.
Remote, contactless payment – The new boards also include the ability to accept payment. That change not only speeds up the drive-thru lanes, it also supports customers who want to limit exposure to the outside world during a pandemic.
Weather-proof installations – New installations built under enclosures will withstand the heat of the southern U.S., the cold of Canada, and the salty air from North American oceans.
“Our guests have sought out our drive-thru lanes for our iconic food and beverages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – even in the face of mandated dining room closures around the world,” said Jose Cil, CEO of RBI. “We believe strongly that it is time to modernize our drive-thru lanes throughout the US and Canada to provide even better, quicker, and contactless service for our guests. This includes presenting menu options on digital screens that are tailored for each guest, as well as integrating our loyalty program at the moment of ordering and providing remote, contactless payment to speed up our drive-thru lanes in the near future.”
Fernando Machado
Fernando Machado has been with RBI, in one role or another, for about seven years. And not without accolades.
As CMO of Burger King, the company became Client of the Year at the Global Association for Creative Advertising and Design (D&AD) in 2016. The company also earned that award in 2020 when Machado was CMO of RBI.
Burger King also won Creative Marketer of the Year at Cannes 2017 and Client of the Year at One Show 2018 and 2020.
Machado also snapped up Creative Brand of the Year for Burger King in Cannes 2019.
Unsurprisingly, he also led Burger King to pick up a couple of Clio awards. One in 2018 and one in 2019.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Clio awards, they recognize innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication. The judges at the Clios include an internationally recognized panel of ad pros.
But you don’t have to accept the judgment of a panel of Mad Men to understand Machado’s influence. You might very well recognize some of his promotions yourself.
That’s because he led the following BK campaigns:
- Proud Whopper
- McWhopper
- Google Home of the Whopper
- Burning Stores
- Bullying Jr.
- Whopper Neutrality
- Scary Clown Night
- Burn That Ad
- Birthday Clowns
- Whopper Detour
- Stevenage Challenge
- Moldy Whopper
That last one earned a D&AD Black Pencil just last year. The “Whopper Detour” campaign snagged a Cannes Titanium GP in 2019.
Wrapping It Up
Although Machado has only been CMO of RBI for a little more than a year, it’s clear the promotion is well-deserved. There aren’t too many people in marketing today who’ve had more of an impact on a single brand than he’s had on Burger King.
I look forward to seeing where he takes the company in the future.
