Dairy Queen, long known for its treats, is making a move to improve its food standing, better to compete with the likes of McDonald’s and Hardee’s.
Part of this effort is the recently announced
market-by-market North American rollout of its new line of quarter-pound GrillBurgers. (And since everything these days must have a marketing theme, this one goes with “burgers with something to prove.”) DQ plans to roll out the burger line to more than 3,400 locations by March 2005.

“Even though nearly half of our business is in food,” said Michael Keller, executive vice president of marketing for Dairy Queen, “our brand is still most synonymous with treats. By introducing high-quality, cravable food menu items, such as the GrillBurger line, we will further enhance our position in the quick service restaurant category.”

The GrillBurgers are quarter-pound hamburgers made with real cheddar and Swiss cheeses, green, leafy lettuce, and thick-cut tomato all served on toasted buns. Included in the are the Classic GrillBurger, Classic with cheese, half-lb. with Cheese, Bacon Cheddar GrillBurger; California GrillBurger; and the Mushroom Swiss GrillBurger.

Local market advertising will support the initial GrillBurger rollout. A national advertising campaign will break in the spring of 2005 when the Dairy Queen system-wide rollout is completed.