US burger brand disrupts the category with old school American attitude.

Carl’s Jr. also known as Hardee’s, is the latest burger brand to hit the Australian shores. It’s bold, irreverent and unapologetic and it is focused on young hungry Aussie blokes.

Do we need another burger chain? Probably not, but as McDonald’s tries to be ‘unbrand-like’ in an effort to appeal to a broader audience, Carl’s Jr. has a clear target audience in mind and a compelling proposition that is engaging them.

According to their franchise site, Carl’s Jr. believes that their brand image resonates with aspirational young, hungry guys who represent the most frequent quick-service restaurant users.

While McDonald’s has introduced baristas, cafes, and fancy burgers and healthier options, Carl’s Jr. is dialling up it’s an all-American image and keeping true to its brand.

Their brand book proudly claims that their brand belief of “big, fat, juices-running-down-your-arm, kind of burgers”. They don’t do low fat, healthy options and they don’t make excuses for their calorie counts.

In the US, Carl’s Jr. is also famous for their high-profile bikini-clad celebrity spokesmodels such as Heidi Klum and Kate Upton. The brand craves attention – good or bad.

Carl’s Jr. CEO Andrew Puzder, told Entrepreneur Magazine that the brand thrives on controversy. “Those complaints aren’t necessarily bad for us. What you look at is, you look at sales. And, our sales go up.”

They proudly claim that their TV ads are “funny, provocative and buzzworthy” and they’ve kept the brand fresh while always putting the food front and centre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxPlxd7yjy0

The first Australian store of the Carl’s Jr. franchise opened this week in Bateau Bay on NSW’s Central Coast. Fans were camping out all night to be the first to grab their burger. By midday the store had served more than 300 people.

One of the brand fans, Mr Elsley told news.com.au he was so excited about the launch that he hadn’t slept for three days. Mr Elsley described “the Carl’s Original burger like a Rolls Royce when compared to a Macca’s burger”, which he described as a Toyota Corolla.

If Mr Elsley is representative of their target audience, the brand seems to be resonating.

It will be interesting to see if Carl’s Jr. can continue to build and retain true brand advocates or whether this is just a case of an exciting new fling that will wear off over time.

Michael Hughes
Managing Partner, Strategy

Images courtesy of Carl’s Jr.