030205 How About a Burger at Dairy Queen?February 8, 2003For 63 years, Dairy Queen has been a fixture in suburban America, a neighborhood ice cream parlor offering sundaes and shakes that go by names like Peanut Buster Parfait and the Blizzard. In the franchise's formative years, some establishments served burgers and hot dogs as an afterthought, but back then, most consumers never considered sitting down to lunch at DQ. This year, International Dairy Queen wants to change that. More than half of the Minneapolis company's 5,300 restaurants in North America serve food as well as sundaes. With 10 line extensions of both categories being introduced this year, DQ has a new story to tell. In a TV campaign that breaks today, ice cream shares center stage with menu options such as the DQ Ultimate Burger, the Chicken Strip Basket and an array of salads. They won't be an easy sell. "To most people, DQ means treats, not lunch," said Dennis Lombardi, evp of Chicago food-service consultant Technomic. "[The company] has to make it a meal option for more consumers to gain market share." The new ads, from Grey New York unit True Grey, will promote DQ's entire line of products on spot cable and spot network in 70 markets. National advertising, meanwhile, will continue to highlight the sweet side. In the first of 10 spots, the camera shows traditional cake messages such as "Happy Birthday" and "Congratulations" as a male voiceover says, "Yeah, DQ's got great frozen cakes for lots of different occasions, which got us to thinking, How about cakes for all occasions?" The cake greetings switch to, "Happy Face Lift!" and "The Wedding's Off," and the voiceover returns with, "Nah, we'll stick to happy occasions." The executions of the 3-year-old "DQ something different" campaign are the first work from ecd Jonathan Rodgers since he joined Grey from BBDO in July. Rodgers' work in the fast-food category includes a 1996 gold Lion-winning spot for McDonald's when he was at Leo Burnett. DQ evp of marketing Michael Keller said Dairy Queen plans to spend $35-45 million on advertising in 2003. Spending through the first 10 months of last year was $32 million, according to CMR. As a privately held company (it has been owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway since 1998), DQ is not required to disclose same-store sales. Technomic ranks the company 10th in a category dominated by McDonald's and Burger King. Keller claimed the chain has held steady in tough times. "Were we a high flyer [last year]? No," he said. But with the bigger players locked in a price war last year, Keller said DQ outperformed the 1-3% sales declines in the hamburger and frozen-treat-chain categories. But the chain has to protect its flanks. Those new Blizzard flavors? They're intended at least in part to push back at smaller competitor Sonic Corp., the Oklahoma City-based chain whose retro-style drive- through restaurants have begun to emphasize the "treats" side of the business. DQ, however, has history on its side. "It's an iconic brand," Rodgers said. "We're trying to re-energize it."
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