ORLANDO\u2014Burger King has more than 17,000 restaurants around the world. \u201cSo imagine each of them is kind of like a small company\u201d guided by three principles: getting the basics right, ensuring guest friendliness and using technology to help people engage with the brand, says Global CMO Fernando Machado.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put a lot of effort on remodeling restaurants and making sure that the restaurants have the latest design. We always study the type of guests who come to our restaurants and we try to offer a layout to accommodate them,\u201d Machado adds.<\/p>\n
In this interview with Beet.TV at the recent Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing<\/a> conference, Machado talks about a company culture focused on design, good service and modern technology.<\/p>\n The \u201cdesign bucket\u201d includes being able to accommodate, say, families who need four seats or people who need a power outlet and WiFi to get some work done at a Burger King location. \u201cTry to understand who is the guest of that particular location or the country so that we make sure we offer that experience,\u201d Machado<\/a> says.<\/p>\n Bucket #2, \u201cguest friendliness,\u201d covers seemingly simple concepts like getting someone\u2019s order right and serving food while it\u2019s still hot. \u201cIt\u2019s basic stuff, but if you don\u2019t get that right, the experience will not be great. It\u2019s one of the biggest challenges we have to make sure that our culture permeates to the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n Rounding out Burger King\u2019s trio of priorities is using technology to change the way that people interact with the brand. \u201cI\u2019m not even talking about advertising or social media, I\u2019m talking about at the restaurant,\u201d Machado says, citing amenities like self-ordering kiosks, mobile ordering\/payment systems and CRM. \u201cThe basic things that we have to do at the restaurant because today technology is empowering us to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about his participation with the ANA\u2019s CMO Council in conjunction with the Cannes Lions, Machado calls it a \u201chuge opportunity and responsibility. I want to learn and I also want to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n Noting that things are \u201cjust getting started\u201d with the CMO Council as people continue to get to know each other and decide what to pursue, he shares his hopes for the next gathering in June of 2019 at Cannes<\/a>. \u201cMy expectation for Cannes would be to have even more clarity in each of the work streams, in each of the pillars that we have as part of this initiative\u201d along with having better connections with Council members \u201cbecause I think that\u2019s also part of the benefit of having a council is the networking.\u201d<\/p>\n