Gourmet Burger Kitchen serves up ‘bolder’ brand with refresh

The 59-strong premium burger chain has updated its positioning, the first since it launched in 2001, to stand out in a crowded market alongside rival chains and pop-up restaurants. It is being pushed through a updated brand strategy, developed in partnership with Figtree Prophet, to highlight the chain’s premium credentials and unify it under a more consistent visual identity.

The branding moves away from the original Australasia-influenced theme that harked back to the New Zealand origins of its founders to one the company hopes will make it more accessible. It is being rolled out across GBK’s outlets nationwide and is already being used across its Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Katie McDermott, marketing director at GBK, says the changes are a reflection of an 18-month drive to improve its GBK’s food, customer experience and employee culture.

She adds: “It’s important the changes we’ve made to the brand reflect the improvements we’ve made to the GBK customer experience over the last two years. We’ve got a bolder and more confident tone that reflects where we are as business.”

The company declined to disclose further financial information when asked by Marketing Week, but claimed it sales were in “positive growth”.

The strategy is to be accelerated next year through a raft of digital initiatives targeting lapsed customers. It is updating its loyalty app, which is has been downloaded 180,000 times, to usher in more targeted rewards based on purchase data. GBK is also planning to overhaul its website to tie it closer to the mobile app and its social media activity.

McDermott says the digital drive aims to steer its GBK’s promotional activity away from discounts and special offers in favour of driving repeat visits.

A marketing campaign will launch next year to introduce the “bolder” brand.