Sometimes, certain marketing promotions pay off big-time for QSR and fast-casual restaurant operators. This kind of success can make it tempting to re-use those same promotions or marketing tactics. But there comes a point where this strategy may backfire - in a big way.

Take Burger King, for example. With same-store sales slumping (down 0.5%) across the USA and Canada leadership at the brand need only look to one place in particular:

Cheetos Chicken Fries.

While the predecessors to the Cheetos Chicken Fries (Chicken Fries and Mac ‘n Cheetos) made a relatively decent splash in the market, the latest iteration of the fries fell flat. Very flat, in fact.

The CEO of Restaurant Brands International Inc (Burger King’s parent company) claimed that there was a “softness” in the industry that caused the slump and explains why this cool, but not very innovative, product failed to impress the masses.

That understandable – it seems logical that, after time, customers get a little tired of gimmicks that seem a little on the weak side – or gimmicks that are overdone in the market. And that, on the surface, appears to be what’s going on with the King’s latest branding idea.

But if you dig little deeper, you’ll see that this claim loses some of its strength.

Consider Restaurant Brands International's other QSR property - Tim Hortons, the venerable Canadian coffee and doughnut chain - had a decent increase in same-store sales during the same time. On top of this, Burger King’s overseas numbers are far better - seeing close to a 10% jump in sales in some areas.

So what do Tim Hortons and Burger King’s overseas operations have that North American Burger King operations does not?

In a word: Gimmicks. Tim Hortons has bucked the trend of gimmickry and focused on building menu items that have a more broad appeal from a culinary perspective as opposed to a pop-culture-inspired approach. And it’s paying off - Tim Hortons has grown to be a wildly popular breakfast and lunch destination in Canada and the USA and has gone from being a coffee shop to a premier brand for breakfast and lunch.

Adding menu items such as grilled wraps and potato wedges only helps the brand stay away from the risk the comes with adding the word “Cheetos” to any of its offerings.

Do you buy into gimmicks? Or do you stay away from them? Let us know in the comments.