A&W is embracing the growing popularity of smash burgers with a limited-time menu addition and accompanying promotional campaign rolling out nationwide.
The LTO rolled out across Canada on May 25 after being teased in Toronto last week with giveaways at a “Smashed A&W” pop-up at 780 King St. W. that included warped custom signage and branded glass mugs and interior decor.
A wider 360-campaign, built around guests eagerly devouring the burgers and the messy aftermath they create, will run through June 29 and spans online video, OOH, digital and social content. Rethink led creative and PR and iProspect is on media, while SDI Marketing developed the pop-up installation.
A&W Canada’s VP of marketing, Tom Newitt, tells strategy that the company noticed a gap in the Canadian QSR market, with large burger chains yet to bring the viral trend to scale despite a surge in popularity in recent years.
“Most Canadians don’t expect to find a smash burger on a QSR menu because it has never been done at this scale,” Newitt says. “As a fresh new beef innovation for A&W, we wanted to introduce it as a limited-time offer first, as a way to invite longtime A&W fans and new guests alike to experience this burger trend in a whole new way.”
A&W is targeting Gen Z and millennial consumers driving the food trend popularized by Canadian restaurants like Rosie’s Burgers and Burgers n’ Fries Forever and competing American shops such as In-N-Out and Shake Shack. According to Trendly data, content about smash burgers – patties flattened to maximize surface contact, creating a crispy, caramelized crust – has generated more than 178 million TikTok views and roughly 673,000 Google searches per month.
Newitt notes that the innovation builds on A&W’s recent “Stands For What’s Good” platform launched in January, which reintroduced the brand’s high-quality grass-fed beef burgers and refreshed its visual identity.
