Lane Cardwell

I Must Be Stupid

I have always thought of myself as the kind of person who can figure things out. Give me a problem or a situation, a couple of clues, and maybe a few hints along the way and I can usually find the answer. I don't think of myself as any better or worse than other people in my ability to do this. It seems that as you get older you just get more practice in figuring out the things that come your way. Recently, however, I am doubting this ability and think that I must be either losing ground, or am not as good at it as I thought I was. What happened to me to cause these second thoughts? The introduction of the Arby's Roastburger.

I have been watching in fascination the television commercials for the Arby's Roastburger. I have been paying very close attention to them for signs of exactly what the Roastburger was. Admittedly, the idea is very intriguing. A burger that is not a burger. Something that Arby's can throw before the public who have either gotten bored with the world of QSR burgers and the Arby's roast beef sandwiches, or who are simply looking for something that is a little bit healthier for you.

Arby's has had a good run with their Market Fresh sandwiches, however, for almost 45 years Arby's has been best known for their roast beef sandwiches. While the rest of QSR was pitching burgers, fried chicken and tacos, Arby's was marching to a different drummer. During the QSR discount wars I used to watch customers leave with 5, 10, or 15 roast beef sandwiches for a modest amount of money. They were good, they were different, and for better or worse, they weren't a burger.

Now here we have Arby's putting a full-court press on promoting and advertising their new line of Roastburgers. They are all over the TV, the radio, and the internet claiming that they are the best thing since, well, burgers. And I just haven't been to figure out by watching the ads exactly what was different about them from their legacy roast beef sandwich. It has been driving me crazy. Surely everyone else knows and I just can't see the obvious. 

The idea is perfect: a burger for burger people that is almost a burger, but not exactly a burger. You could almost picture the Arby's marketing researchers pointing to a black hole in a market segmentation study where something should be, but wasn't. And what should be there? The Roastburger.

I finally got off the sofa, got into my car and drove to the nearest Arby's to experience the Roastburger. Clearly, secondary research wasn't going to answer the question. It was time for some primary research. I asked the guy at the counter taking my order what exactly the difference was in the meat that made it a Roastburger. "Nothing," he said. "It's the same meat, different bun, but now they have some toppings that you would find on a burger. Like lettuce, tomato, onions, and then cheese or bacon would be extra."

"Same meat, though?" "Yes, sir. That confuses everybody I talk to. They seem to think that we are doing something different to the meat because of the ads. Same roast beef, but now we top it like it was a burger."

I have taken restaurant math during my career. I used to know how to add things up and come to the right answer. For example, when I learned restaurant math the following would be true:

            Roast Beef Sandwich + Lettuce, Tomato, Onions = Ultimate Roast Beef Sandwich or a Deluxe Roast Beef Sandwich (depending on your teacher)

Using the new math we have:

            A + B = C², where A = Arby's, B = Burger, C² = Confused Customer

This is a big company with smart people. They do constant research and extensive field market testing. If their research tells them that it's not a problem trying to sell a roast beef sandwich called a burger to people that either don't want a burger (which is why they are in Arby's), or want a burger (why they are trying out Arby's), then it probably won't be a problem. 

It reminds me of the old fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin. He was a smallish creature who could spin straw into gold. And that is the brilliance of what we have here with the Roastburger. Don't dig for gold with a new product, let the marketers spin straw into gold. Why couldn't I see that? I must be stupid.

Posted by Lane Cardwell on March 22, 2009 | Comments (20)