1. W h a t -A-Report
Alternative/ house agency
Lilit Mouradian
Kathryn drake
Mac Mcwhorter
& erin Scruggs

2. W h a t -A-Report
Table of Contents
What-A-Mission Page 3
What-An-Approach Pages 3-5
What-A-Trends Pages 5-6
What-An-Impression Pages 6-7
What-An-Association Pages 7-8
What-A-Menu Pages 8-9
What-A-Suggestion Pages 9-11
Appendix
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3. W h a t -A-mission
Whataburger wants to know what 16 - 25 year old Austinites’ health trends and
eating habits are, their current associations with the Whataburger brand, what
they think about Whataburger’s current menu offerings and what they have been
waiting for Whataburger to introduce.
W h a t -An-Approach
Our approach to completing the mission we were assigned began with our
team identifying creative ways to understand our target’s mind set and habits.
We began with making observations of our target, then we sent out a survey to
discover our target’s habits and current mind set of Whataburger in Austin, and
finally we held two focus groups to gather insights and test our ideas.
OBSERVATIONS: Each of our team members conducted primary research through
sit-in observations at the food court at the Barton Creek Mall. Three members observed
in the afternoon of Sunday, October 17th and one member observed in the evening of
Monday, October 18th. Each person recorded their observations separately and reported
back their findings in our group meeting on Tuesday, October 19th. This exercise aided
us in the process of considering how social implications affect dining, eating, and health
trends. Our insights from these initial observations helped to expand our ideas of what
types of questions to ask on our survey. Below are a few of the key observations and
insights gained. (Full observations results available in the Appendix.)
*Almost everyone who appeared to be within our target age group who walked in front
of Sarku Japanese and Ruby’s Thai Kitchen would take a free sample, but not all of them
would order from these restaurants
INSIGHT: Sampling might be a great way to increase trial of new menu items.
*When dining with others, younger aged girls would follow suit with what their friends
ordered. If one ordered a salad, they would all have salads from the same place.
INSIGHT: The company they dine with influences what they choose to order.
*Most people would pass by the perceived healthy choice of Fruillati Cafe in preference of
Sarku Japanese and Ruby’s Thai Kitchen.
INSIGHT: People sometimes choose exploring new flavors over health value of food.
SURVEYS: Our team created an online survey which we sent out via social media for
responses. We reached out to our own communities, friends, and family first. We also
used real-time search on Facebook and Twitter to distribute the link. Below you can view
a screenshot where we reached out to a Whataburger brand fanatic., or should we refer
to him as a Whatazombie. (See Exhibit 1.)
The survey was structured so that first basic demographic information was recorded.
The survey had a fill-in-the-blank response for ‘the city in which you live’ so that we were
able to specifically pinpoint who fit our target to analyze results for the Austin area only.
Our survey was taken by 280 respondents in total and 110 respondents from Austin who
fit our target age range. Following this were some questions regarding basic dietary
information, which were largely based on the key insights from our observations.
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4. Exhibit 1
The first set of questions developed on our survey were designed to create a clear picture
of what influences a person’s consumption choices. These influences include behavior
and habits such as whether they eat alone or with friends or family, how often they eat
groceries compared to how often they dine out, how many times a day they eat, whether
or not they have any dietary restrictions, and their perceived healthiness. By asking these
preliminary questions, we could better understand how Whataburger might fit into their
overall diet.
The next type of questions in the survey consisted of placing competitors against
Whataburger for different menu item choices. An example question is “Of these places, if
you wanted a burger, where would you go?” The answer choices for this question included:
McDonald’s, Jack-in-the-Box, P. Terry’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Whataburger, all of the above,
and none of the above. The survey was set up so that each respondent could select more
than one option per question. The first choice answer for respondents was P. Terry’s with
43.4%, closely followed by Whataburger with 40.6%. This confirmed our assumption that
P. Terry’s is considered to be a close competitor in the Austin area,
which is a competitor unique to this market. When we analyzed this
questions results further, broken out by ages 16 -19 and ages 21-25,
we found that the younger age demographic showed drastically
different results. The 16-19 year olds ranked Whataburger as their
first choice with 50% preferring a Whataburger than a burger
from one of the other competitors, and surprisingly P. Terry’s was last
with 8.3%. (For further results, please see Appendix.)
After the competitive set of questions described above, we had the respondents perform
a ranking exercise amongst Whataburger and six of the competitors that we identified in
the Austin market. They ranked the following from healthiest to least healthy: Chick-fil-a,
Wendy’s, Sonic Drive In, Whataburger, Jack-in-the-Box, Burger King, and McDonald’s. We
then followed up with a question asking which factors influenced their ranking decision
the most and responses included: healthier side options like a fruit cup, low calorie menu
options advertised, more salad choices, and the types of oils used in frying,/cooking
(specifically Chick-fil-a’s peanut oil). 4

5. Finally, we wrapped up our survey with several questions specific to Whataburger’s menu.
One of the questions had respondents rank their perception of Whataburger’s ‘healthiness’
using a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being ‘very healthy’ and 5 being ‘very unhealthy’. Whataburger
ranked 3.8 on this scale, according to all respondents. This shows that most 16-25 year old
Austinite’s do not view Whataburger as a healthy choice. However, we also asked how
often these same respondents dined at Whataburger, and over 40% eat there at least 1 to
2 times a month. We found this surprising, because although they did not perceive it as
healthy, they still choose to eat at Whataburger. We wanted to explore this topic further
in our focus groups.
We also asked questions about what they were likely to order off Whataburger’s current
menu during different dayparts. This led us to find that the most popular menu items in
general for lunch and dinner were the Whataburger, Chicken Strips, and the Whatachick’n
Sandwich. The interesting thing we noted was that for the late night daypart, breakfast
options were popular.
We concluded the survey by allowing respondents to “add one menu item to
Whataburger’s menu”. This question was open ended and gave us a lot of ideas and
direction for our focus groups. (Answers to open-ended responses can be found in the Appendix.)
Additionally, as a part of the survey, we asked that if any respondents were interested in
being a part of our focus groups to supply us with their contact information.
FOCUS GROUPS: Our team conducted two 45 minute focus groups on the night of
October 19th. The primary goal of these two focus groups was to solidify our learnings
from the survey and expand on the associations that this age group has with
Whataburger. We held these focus groups in a conference room in a Central Austin
location and video recorded them. In our first focus group, we had five participants.,
four of which were male and one was female. In the second focus group, we had six
participants, five of which were female and one was male. The majority of our findings
came from direct quotes and inferred insights from these two focus groups.
W h a t -a-Trends
After careful analysis of our survey results and in-depth focus groups, we discovered that
there were three segments in which people could be classified in terms of their lifestyle
and eating habits. These three segments we have named as the Austin Active, the Typical
Texan, and the Easy-going Epicurean.
The Austin Active segment includes people who typically watch what they eat and are
very concerned about the health content of their food. They are interested in nutrition
information. They often prefer to cook at home because they can
control what goes into their meal. They do not consider “healthier”
options like Subway to be in the same category as Whataburger.
They are the type of person who likes to stay active as part of a
routine, including doing yoga and running around
Town Lake. They do so with the intent of burning
calories and keeping a certain level of fitness.
Their typical daily diet would consist of having for
breakfast a healthy Kashi brand cereal, and a mid-morning snack of a
banana. For lunch, they would have a spinach salad with
vinaigrette dressing and grilled chicken on top. For dinner,
the Austin Active might enjoy a lemon pepper chicken
with steamed veggies. 5

6. The next segment we defined was The Typical Texan. This is a person who tries to eat
what is perceived as healthy, but is not overly concerned with nutrition facts and health
education. This person works out when they can, but
they wish they could do it more often. They often
enjoy a mix of fast food, cooking at home, and dining
out with friends. They see fast food as a reward
or treat and often opt for it when it is
convenient. The typical daily diet would
consist of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast. For lunch, they might opt
for a deluxe crispy chicken sandwich with a fruit cup and diet soda.
For a mid-afternoon snack, they might indulge in microwave popcorn.
For dinner, they dine “I prefer to eat healthy when I can
out with friends at but the convenient factor changes
a local Mexican restaurant and order that every once in a while.”
fajitas with chips and salsa.
Taste is of upmost importance to The Easygoing Epicurean. Their focus
is not on nutrition and health. They eat fast food whenever they crave it and
working out is not something that they often think about.
This doesn’t mean they’re inactive, they just tend to be
active in experiences they enjoy, such as hiking through
the Greenbelt and dancing with friends. The Easygoing
Epicurean sees dining out as a social experience and they
often dine out because it’s more convenient, quicker, and
often tastes better than cooking at home. Their typical daily diet
consists of a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes from a local
Austin diner. For lunch, they would have a double cheeseburger with
large fries and a chocolate shake. For dinner, they would indulge in
BBQ ribs with loaded baked potato and buttered rolls, to be finished
off with a dessert of apple pie a la mode.
All three of these segments eat at Whataburger, but at different frequencies. This is
important to note, because from our primary research, we discovered that although
Whataburger is not perceived as the healthiest option, a majority of our survey
respondents still eat there. The reason segmentation is important is because we want
to make sure Whataburger offers items that appeal to each segment, regardless of how
often they visit Whataburger.
W h a t -An-Impression
From our surveys, we gathered that the reflective consideration of Whataburger classified
it as generally an unhealthy option. However, we still found that people of all the three
segmentations we just outlined eat there
on occasion. The focus groups allowed
up to dive deeper on what lures them in.
We posed questions about factors that
influence their initial impression of the
Texas homegrown restaurant chain and
the following is what we found.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: In a transitional
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phase of the focus group, we shifted the

7. conversation topic from general health trends and eating habits to initial impressions of
Whataburger by having the participants create a web drawing
with all of the associations that the brand brought to the top of
their mind. The most prevalent response was the 24 hours, 7 days
a week operating hours.
This enables the late-night dining opportunity that is seldom
offered by similar competitors. It was noted by one or two
participants that even though a few drive-thrus are open late,
Whataburger’s dining room is one where people feel comfortable dining in for the
experience. Popular among this late-night crowd, often associated with the late-night
time period, is the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit and breakfast taquitos.
Whataburger was referred to lovingly as “the most social fast food
experience” (From a hang-out in high school to the dine-in fast food
experience.)
One of the participants in our first focus group was not a native Texan.
He informed us that he is originally from New Hampshire and lived in
Los Angeles for a while. Upon his arrival to Texas, he heard many things
about Whataburger, and after eating there concluded that it is “Texas’
In-and-Out Burger.” This is in keeping with what many people put on their web, identifying
Whataburger it as uniquely Texan (despite its other Southern locations).
Much of what resonates well with those in the focus group is the element of
customization and how closely it is weaved with the brand. The slogan “just like you like
it” embodies this core value. This is a key differentiation from the competition. In keeping
with this is the brand image,. Even on the packaging, it states, “ Waiting for your burger is
better waiting for you.” This leads to our key brand insight that Whataburger
is “worth the wait.” The waiting is built in as part of the experience, whether going
through the drive-thru or dining in. People expect to wait for their food,
and they don’t mind that it’s not rushed, because that is part of what
makes Whataburger unique from other fast food restaurants. This
translates to customers that Whataburger has a higher quality product,
since the restaurant makes their meal when they order it .The passing out
of number tents for the table during dining in is one of the coveted and memorable parts
of the Whataburger experience.
While drawing the webs of their first impressions, almost everyone’s included not only
brand aspects that we’ve discussed, but also iconic items on the menu that garnered high
association with the Whataburger brand name. These most popular menu items included
in these webs were the LTO Honey BBQ Chicken-Strip Sandwich., the Honey Butter Chicken
Biscuit, and the breakfast taquitos. Many mentioned the higher quality taste of the classic
Whataburger. Also of valuable mention were the chicken strips, the different toppings like
grilled onions, the side of gravy and Texas toast. (Please see the webs from our focus groups in
the Appendix.)
W H A T -an-Association
Health trends are not dependent upon age. We found all three health trend
segments present in both the 16-19 year old group and the 20-25 year old group. The
reason we divided the target into two distinct age groups in regards to associations
is because the target’s interactions with Whataburger differ based on age. Their
experiences change over time. We anticipate that specific portions of 7

8. the implementation of our communication strategy will appeal to these two age
groups in different ways.
The 16-19 year old age group consists mostly of high school students
who often go to Whataburger after football games. For this age
group, Whataburger ranks number one for hamburgers, according
to our survey. They view Whataburger as a late night hang out
because not only is Whataburger open 24 hours a day, but it also
one of the few places that someone their age can go to hang out at
this hour. Also, according to our survey, most of their meals are eaten at home with their
family, but some meals are shared with friends through a dining out experience. Most
of these students have recently obtained their driver’s license and with this now have
increased mobility allowing them the freedom to go where they like. This also gives them
the option to choose which drive-thrus or restaurants to visit. They are no longer solely
restricted to their parents’ food choices for them. This age group is also very mobile savvy
and uses text messaging heavily. The majority of them have web-enabled phones and use
these devices mostly for social purposes.
The 20-25 year old age group is made up of mostly college students and
young professionals. The people in this group have recently entered into
a new lifestage, as they no longer live with their parents and are now
on their own. They must take care of themselves, be it financially or
otherwise. They usually eat by themselves or with friends, leaving family
as less of an influence on daily dining habits. The majority
of these young adults have smart phones and use apps and the mobile web
very frequently. Often these devices are their only phone line, and serve as
multipurpose digital assistants. Unlike the 16-19 year old age group, their
use of mobile devices is more for everyday life than for a social connection.
With age, they now have a “more refined burger taste”. One of our focus group participants
specifically referred to Whataburger as being a more adult choice than the Happy Meals of
his youth, because it is a better quality meal in his mind and satisfies his desire to stay clear
of jungle gyms and screaming toddlers. Others find that Whataburger fits into their new
lifestyle better because it is a late night convenience after long nights of studying or being
out on the town. Even after everywhere else has closed, Whataburger is still open. Often
while roadtripping, Whataburger is a favorite stop because everyone enjoys the dine-in
experience as a break to stretch their legs and get out of the vehicle.
Understanding how a person’s age affects their Whataburger experience is important
while developing new menu options and offerings because it is likely that the same type of
promotion that works on one group might not be as relevant for the other. It is something
that we found of interest that we were not expecting to find and considered it a valuable
insight worth sharing.
W H A T -a-MENU
Based on our surveys and focus groups, we broke down our menu suggestions into basic
menu, breakfast menu, and LTOs. As far as the basic menu is concerned, we found that
Whataburger’s hamburgers and chicken strips are loved just the way they are and do not
need to be tweaked in any way. The chicken sandwiches are fine too, but our respondents
told us that they would also prefer spicy versions of the chicken sandwiches, such as
those found at Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s. We are not suggesting that Whataburger try to
emulate these places. Chick-fil-A is the strongest competitor when it comes to chicken, 8

9. so Whataburger needs to do what it can to stay competitive in this
sector. Curly fries are a side item that consumers would really like. We
know this because they were one of the most popular menu add-ons
from the survey and every single focus group participant (but one)
circled curly fries on their list of menu items they would add. Plus,
one girl said that sometimes she goes to Jack in the Box specifically
for their curly fries. Other side items
“all the toppings come
in little packages, that should be offered are fruit and salads. Currently salads
and it’s just like can be substituted as side items, but this is not mentioned
‘here’s an airplane anywhere on the menu nor is it advertised in any other
packet of peanuts’ on way. In order to stay competitive, the current Whataburger
your salad. it’s very salads need to be spiced up just a little more, perhaps taking
bizarre”
the Wendy’s approach, and there need to be more dressing
options. As one girl from our focus groups said, she doesn’t want “airplane peanut”-type
salads, referring to the individual packages for croutons, dressing, and every other topping
of the salad. Another complaint of fast food salads is the use
of iceberg lettuce. Our respondents would prefer romaine
lettuce. We are not suggesting heavily pushing salads since we
learned that this is not something people visit Whataburger
for, however they need to be advertised as a side item. Another
offering that Whataburger currently has but does not advertise
is whole wheat buns. Since our respondents want to see whole
wheat buns, Whataburger needs to advertise that they offer
them. BBQ sauce has been offered on certain LTOs but it is not a
product offering otherwise, and it needs to be.
The biggest insight we gained about the breakfast menu is
that it needs to be offered all day, everyday. This is huge and
something that many focus group participants talked about and survey respondents
wanted. The Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit especially is a breakfast favorite. We considered
offering iced coffees and other fancy coffee drinks but decided this does not fit with the
brand.
As far as LTOs are concerned, the Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich should be offered
as an everyday menu item. It is a very popular sandwich and you
can almost see people’s mouths watering as they talk about this
sandwich. Whataburger restaurants have all the ingredients
currently in-house, making this an easy addition to the everyday
menu. Since Austin is a haven for vegetarians and the main Austin
competitor for Whataburger, P. Terry’s, offers it, we considered
offering a veggie burger as an LTO but decided against it because we received mixed results
based on our survey and focus groups. We don’t think it should be offered because the
results are not strong enough to back it up.
W H A T -a-suggestion
We will offer what we call “What-a-Time”. This will be a time of the day where certain
food items will be discounted. For instance, during this “What-a-Time”, Whataburger could
offer half price burgers or half off side items, or a free taquito with drink purchase. This is
an adaptable strategy that can be used at any time of the day, but in order to reach this
target, we recommend that “What-a-Time” be run between the hours of 11 pm and 1 am 9

10. every night of the week. The reason we chose this time is because this is the time that the
target would usually visit Whataburger and this might increase the likelihood of them
going to Whataburger over another late-night option like Magnolia Cafe. This discount
hour will be advertised through in store packaging and displays, traditional media and
on Whataburger’s website, but there will also be an orange light that comes on at the
restaurant at this time signifying that when the orange light comes on, it’s “What-a-Time.”
Since our target is so mobile savvy, we will offer a loyalty programs through the mobile
website we are also recommending
be built out. This would be “I always have the intention to use them.
i mean i have stacks of coupons on my
exclusively for the “WB Insiders”. refrigerator that are all expired”
The advantage of a mobile loyalty
program over a loyalty card is that physical cards can be left at home or lost, but with a
virtual card, this is not a problem. Our target never leaves their house without their mobile
phone. If a consumer would like to participate in the loyalty program, they simply log on to
the mobile site, and get a virtual punch on their virtual card. The user can also sign up for
coupons through text alerts that are specific to the Zip codes for which they would like to
receive coupons.
Through both the mobile site and a special micro-site specifically designated for this
purpose, we will have a consumer generated Limited Time Offer contest. The
way this will work is that users will log on to the site and choose from a list of a variety of
ingredients, and build their own LTO burger or sandwich. After they build their product,
they can share it with their friends through social media and encourage their friends
to vote for their LTO. On this same micro-site anyone can view all the LTO consumer-
generated offers and vote for their favorites. The winning LTO will be featured as an actual
Whataburger Limited Time Offer, and the winner will be the voice-over talking about the
LTO on television commercials promoting this LTO. The top three consumer-generated
LTO’s will all received a prize. The grand prize winner will not only have their LTO become
a real menu offering, they will also receive free Whataburger for a year. The second and
third place winners will receive a $500 and $150 gift certificate, respectively. This idea
was inspired by the 4food establishment which opened earlier this year in New York City.
Their normal menu offerings are voted upon in social media and the creator of the most
popularly voted ones are rewarded with credit towards free food.
From our research we found that Whataburger’s customization of its burgers was one of
the main brand elements that resonated deeply with our target. We recommend extended
this idea even further by offering side option customizations as
well. For instance, the customer would begin by picking a main
menu item such as a Whatachick’n sandwich or a Whataburger,
then they would select the side item they prefer (regular fries, curly
fries, fruit, or salad) and then they would select their drink. It would
be a build your own What-a-meal type of experience. Often
this customization occurs anyway through special requests, but we
recommend making it an extension of the brand’s “Just like you like it”
core message. This idea was founded upon the insights gained from
our focus groups, where several people wrote down what they would
order exactly on their initial impression thought web. They associate
Whataburger with choices, so we would recommend strengthening
this existing association.
One of the ideas that first came to mind was the introduction of
a Whataburger branded food trailer. Austin is known for
its mobile food trailers. We discussed the possibility of having a
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11. Whataburger trailer downtown during South by Southwest or having it at Austin City
Limits, but our focus group participants convinced us that this would not be a wise
plan because people go to food trailers for unique food
experiences. These are often brought to them by unknown
names, not for food that they can find all over the state, such
as Whataburger. However, we do think if this idea were to
be reworked into a classic hamburger stand, from which
Whataburger got its roots, it could be a nice addition to a
park-like atmosphere like Barton Springs.
Whataburger’s current media mix includes outdoor, television, and radio. We would
recommend using these traditional media outlets to advertise the menu add-ons and
changes and also to spread the word about What-a-Time and new Whataburger menu
offerings.
(All images used taken from Google Images.)
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