Author Archives: Matthew Townsend

What I learned about Fast Food

I’m as anti-fast food as they come. Since I moved to New York in 2003, I’ve eaten at McDonald’s once (a post-drinking Big Mac run) and Burger King once (while I was covering the company) in the city. I’ve eaten … Continue reading

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Analyst: "A Lot of Restaurants Are Just Going to Go Away"

During my reporting for the corporate strategy piece, I talked to one restaurant analyst who gave a very stark assessment of the restaurant industry. “What you are going to see is that a lot of the restaurants are just going … Continue reading

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The Double-Edged Sword of Franchising

The basic model of franchising is that a company sells franchise rights to someone and that party then opens a franchise and gives a predetermined portion of revenue back to the company that issued the franchise. In simple terms, it’s … Continue reading

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Whopper Virgins?

Burger King’s new Whopper Virgins ad campaign has brought criticism (and there are 100s more like this one), but in the end it’s more solid marketing from the home of such un-politically correct marketing devices as the subservient chicken (go … Continue reading

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BKC Changes AD Firms, and Its Fortunes

Burger King changed the course of the company forever when it hired the ad firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky a few years ago. Since then, BKC has distanced itself from McDonald’s and its happiness and gone the irreverent slacker route. … Continue reading

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