Carl’s Jr. – All Natural Burger

Coast PR launches the industry-first All-Natural Burger for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. From a robust national media relations program to a racy Super Bowl spot, the PR team navigated a new product, expanded audience set and a steamy ad sure to make waves! Total media impressions exceeded 4B. 


Overview:

Coast PR led the PR charge for the first all-natural burger from a major US fast-food chain. The All- Natural Burger from Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s featured a grass-fed, free-range beef patty with no added hormones, no antibiotics, no steroids – a true industry first. The launch was an important one for the PR team to navigate as the chains looked to broaden their target audience and leverage consumer trends towards cleaner/natural foods while staying true to their “young, hungry, guy” brand roots. The product rollout was also supported by racy/controversial Super Bowl spot, “Au Naturel,” featuring Charlotte McKinney. Coast PR tasked with generating national media attention/sustaining high level of buzz + excitement for weeks.

Strategy

The PR team couldn’t just hang our hats on this being an industry-first product, we needed to communicate messaging that resonated with consumers and mitigated any backlash, on-board industry allies to speak to Carl’s Jr.’s innovative leadership in QSR space, and generate overall positive coverage.

  • Researched + crafted key points that directly spoke to media interest + consumer demand for cleaner/natural food + highlighted better-for-you fast food trend.
  • Conducted issue audits across various verticals to glean critical insight that informed integrated strategy.
  • Secured industry spokesperson Darren Tristano (Technomic) quote to include in a launch press release on how the product fits in with consumer “push-pull” trends of healthfulness and indulgence.
  • Briefed restaurant analysts, food/trade media + nutritionists in advance to better control complicated all-natural message, mitigate confusion or backlash + serve as resource about better-for-you fast food trend.
  • Secured national exclusive with USA Today (here + here), Entertainment Tonight + Sports Illustrated.

Results

  • Au Naturel” commercial named third most-viewed Super Bowl ad on digital media in 2015.
  • Garnered 2.5K pieces of coverage with 4B+ media impressions.
  • 11M YouTube views + 41M Twitter impressions via 4.5K @carlsjr mentions.
  • Highlight coverage included Fox News, Elle, Mashable, USA Today, and more.

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