Dive Brief:

• Burger King is displaying messages of gratitude for employees on digital kiosks and menu boards in its restaurants for one week, ending May 29, the company shared with Marketing Dive.
• Customers could leave thank-you messages to employees while placing an order through the mobile app. From May 7 to 10, the fast food chain generated 5,100 messages of appreciation.
• This effort, called From Our Home to Yours, was created with the agency David Miami.

Dive Insight:

Burger King has been leaning on its digital strategy to drive in-app orders during the pandemic as a way to protect employees from the general public and maintain most operations. This latest effort gives a nod of appreciation to those workers who have shown up to prepare and deliver meals, and may help to build community and loyalty among both employees and customers. Integrating the message submission in its core app reduced friction for customers, and likely led to more messages of gratitude than had Burger King required users to submit elsewhere.

Customers seemed to have embraced the opportunity to write thank-you notes to the workers, with more than 5,000 messages circulating on digital kiosks for employees to see while working. This comes as many states are beginning to reopen and stores are forecast to see more foot traffic than the past few months. These customers will be able to see the feel-good messages displayed when they order at digital kiosks, a strategic move as consumers at large look to support companies that treat their employees well during the pandemic.

Burger King has been supportive of essential workers in its messaging since the crisis began earlier this year. The company retooled its "Home of the Whopper" campaign to the "Stay Home of the Whopper" in a playful way to encourage people to be heroes by staying home, while saluting the healthcare professionals who confront the pandemic daily. The fast food chain also donated meals to the American Nurses Foundation and called on consumers to donate money to the organization.

While the latest effort honors employees for working during the crisis, it could be seen by some as not enough. Employees from fast food chains in various parts of the country called on these companies to shut their restaurants or provide better cleaning and personal protective gear to protect front line workers from catching the virus. Employees from McDonald's, Burger King, Checkers, Pizza Hut, Popeyes and Starbucks participated, Eater Miami reported.