Many experts say that the economic doldrums are not the right time to cut back on marketing your restaurant.  Burger King has certainly taken that to heart and unleashed a series of unconventional advertising campaigns, from a burger-scented cologne to “Angry Grams” (picture a burger hollering and bouncing around your computer screen).  They’ve just pulled the plug on their latest project, however.  It was known as the “Whopper Sacrifice” Facebook deal.  “De-friend” ten Facebook friends and you could’ve earned a free Whopper—but not anymore.  The Chicago Tribune cites the number of “de-friended” Facebook users as 233,906 and that was enough to get the attention of the higher-ups at Facebook.  Because the “Whopper Sacrifice” program included notification to those people who’d been “de-friended,” Burger King had to choose to comply with limitations on notification or drop the promo.  They chose the latter.  And although the campaign lasted less than a month, it’s been talked about on nearly every foodie blog online and, obviously, in many print publications.  That’s a lot of publicity for a very small investment.

Free publicity notwithstanding, I think there are better ways to get peoples’ attention; what kind of marketing have you found effective for your restaurant?