Fast food in slow traffic? Burger King wants to deliver to drivers stuck in jams in Shanghai, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Sao Paulo
- Pilot programme launched in Mexico City last month with app that recognises voice orders and uses real-time location information
- Burger King still refining proposal to avoid issues, including possible traffic violations
Burger King is planning to start a service that delivers its hamburgers to drivers stuck in traffic in China, North America and South America – specifically, the cities of Shanghai, Los Angeles, Sao Paolo and Mexico City.
The fast-food giant began a pilot programme in Mexico City last month using an app that recognises voice orders and uses real-time location to bring food to drivers in motion.
Gustavo Lauria, chief creative officer of We Believers, the ad agency responsible for the campaign, said Burger King is still refining the service proposal, including how to avoid some obvious traffic violations observed in the original ad, like navigating between lanes to hand the order to the driver.
Burger King will use Google’s traffic reports to spot heavy jams and to set maps for navigation, Lauria said. One key issue is that the delivery has to be made within a 3km (1.9-mile) radius of the customer to guarantee that the burgers and fries arrive hot and that the beverages are cold.
The company has typically used the Rappi app, which employs bikers and motorcyclists for deliveries of all sorts of products, to get its food to customers in several cities across Mexico.