Mc Donalds Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy is very much important for developing any of the business. Without it , the effort of the business to attract customer is random and very inefficient . the main focus of your strategy must make sure that your product should fulfill the demands of the customers and as well as it maintains the long term relationship with those consumers. To achieve this, you will have to initiate flexible strategy that responds to change in customer demand and perception. It may also give brand name to your product which will help you to run your business in new markets smooth and efficient manner. First of all the main purpose of your marketing strategy should be to identify the weather the target customer’s are satisfied with your product and services of your business.

Once you have created and implemented your strategy, try to identify the feed from your customer and if any changes or improvement is required apply it for the maximum satisfaction of customers  This helps you to identify that, where your strategy needs to be improved and how it can be developed, so that it can be implemented for effective action. Before applying any strategy in the business proper planning programs must be organized within the members of the organization

Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage . A marketing strategy should be centered on the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal

Business Advantages
* Identifies needs and wants of consumers
* Determines demand for product
* Aids in design of products that fulfill consumer needs
*Outlines measures for generating the cash for daily operation, to repay debts and to turn profit
* Identifies new product areas

* Identifies new and/or potential customers
* Allows for test to see if strategies are giving the desired results

Mc Donald’s

The McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948 they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth. A McDonald’s restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself.

The corporation’s revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald’s revenues grew 27 percent over the three years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9 percent growth in operating income to $3.9 billion. McDonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes, the company has expanded its menu to include salads, fish, wraps, smoothies, and fruit.

Global operations

McDonald’ s operations in international markets |

McDonald’s is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving 52 million people in more than 100 countries each day. It is one of the world’s most well-known and valuable brands and holds a leading share in the globally branded quick service restaurant segment of the informal eating-out market in virtually every country in which it operates|

McDonald’s has become emblematic of globalization, sometimes referred to as the “McDonaldization” of society. The Economist newspaper uses the “Big Mac Index”: the comparison of a Big Mac’s cost in various world currencies can be used to informally judge these currencies’ purchasing power parity. Norway has the most expensive Big Mac in the world as of July 2011, while the country with the least expensive Big Mac isIndia (albeit for a Maharaja Mac—the next cheapest Big Mac is Hong Kong). Thomas Friedman once said that no country with a McDonald’s had gone to war with another. However, the “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention” is not strictly true. Exceptions are the 1989 United States invasion of Panama, NATO’s bombing of Serbia in 1999, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2008 South Ossetia war.

Some observers have suggested that the company should be given credit for increasing the standard of service in markets that it enters. A group of anthropologists in a study entitled Golden Arches East. looked at the impact McDonald’s had on East Asia, and Hong Kong in particular. When it opened in Hong Kong in 1975, McDonald’s was the first restaurant to consistently offer clean restrooms, driving customers to demand the same of other restaurants and institutions. McDonald’s has taken to partnering up with Sinopec, the second largest oil company in the People’s Republic of China, as it takes advantage of the country’s growing use of personal vehicles by opening numerous drive-thru restaurants. McDonald’s has opened a McDonald’s restaurant and McCafé on the underground premises of the French fine arts museum, The Louvre. The company stated it will open vegetarian-only restaurants in India by mid-2013.

McDonald’s and its external environment
Political/legal factors

Political factors include laws, agencies and groups that influence and limit organisations and individuals in a given society. The dimensions being evaluated include the government attitude to foreign markets, the stability and financial policies of a country and government bureaucracy.Political and legal forces are highly important as they cover many aspects of companypolicy. Government policy affects industry as a whole through regulatory bodies such as the Department of the Environment and the Department of Trade and Industry. These bodies develop policies on the trading, restrictions and standards within their particularfield. The policies created can affect businesses in various ways; in how their products are produced, promoted and sold.Multinational companies should understand that the political background is different across the regions of the world. Many former centrally planned economies, for example, are still heavily protected by the government. In such a climate, it is more likely that proposals for a joint venture will be accepted. It is argued that the legal ramifications of marketing a product internationally are very complicated.

Each country has their own legal system and when a company internationalises then it must keep within these legal systems. A legal issue occurred in Russia for McDonald’s when, in 1993, a law was passed in Moscow requiring all stores to have Russian names, or at least names translated intothe Cyrillic alphabet. This meant the company had to translate its brand name to.This enabled McDonald’s to at least retain the sound of its name. Thisalso occurred in Japan where the pronunciation of its name was changed to MaKudonaldo(Daniels et al., 1998).Moreover, the law in Russia states that at least a three-quarters majority vote is neededto approve important decisions.

Therefore, the representatives of McDonald’s and the CityCouncil must agree on all major decisions, which could hamper opportunities identified by the company (Daniels et al., 1998).When it comes to developing marketing mix elements in foreign markets, thecompany’s approach may have to be adapted. The legal environment must be assessed to determine whether it would affect the launch of a product into a new country. In many countries, government and regulations have a direct influence on product design. Law often imposes minimum or special product standards, which may necessitate the shape,kind, components or even the brand name of a product used.

Government regulations and restrictions regulate the content of promotion. The lawrestricts the advertiser’s freedom, particularly with regard to the advertising message and visual presentation. Promotional activities also may have to be changed, depending on the country involved and the legal systems that take place. For example, in France and door-to-door selling cannot be used as it is prohibited (Vrontis and Vronti, 2004). Moreover, Germany forbids superlatives or comparative claims.

The words ‘better’ and ‘best’ are words to be avoided. In the case of product comparisons, the manufacturer withwhose products the advertised products are compared may be able to sue for damages.Price regulations may be another factor that a company needs to look at when launching into internationalisation. In some countries governments may control the price that is set for products. For example, Ghana controls the manufacturers’ profit margins, which indirectly controls the price paid by customers (Muhlbacher et al., 1999)

Economic factors

Economic factors include factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns.Economic trends are again, to a large extent, bound up in government policy and are a crucial issue to businesses and marketers because of the way they affect consumer spending power. In periods of relative prosperity, a consumer’s disposable income will be relatively high and, therefore, there is a willingness to spend more money. Price becomes a less sensitive issue and this affects marketing strategy itself. During a recession, however, spending power decreases making price more relevant. The differences that exist between countries in different stages of economic and industrial development have a profound influence on price setting. Differences in income levels may suggest the desirability of systematic price variations.

It is, therefore, important for McDonald’s to understand that, in countries with a lower stage of economic development, it is necessary to set a lower price. The limited purchasing power in developing countries, often combined with low levels of literacy, poses special problems for marketers on promotion. Although theoretically a company has a wide choice of promotional tools, in practice the choice of effective tools is somewhat limited. For example, in foreign markets with low economic development, McDonald’s should try to use cost effective methods of promotion, otherwise the final price would be beyond the reach of most customers.

Socio-cultural factors

Shifts in spending power are also affected by sociological demographic trends. Analysis of population fluctuation suggests to marketers in which age groups there is going to be the largest demand for particular goods. A baby boom, for example, will increase the need for baby products initially then, in following years, a greater demand for toys, educational products and children’s clothes etc. Another emerging trend is the changing family, with the traditional family unit of mother, father and two children in decline. The increase in one person households creates different needs in home products as homes require smaller products and money is spent due to more frequent home movement. Changes in demographics can, therefore, affect things such as the development, designing, packaging and promotion of products. It could also shape the organisational setting of strategies and strategic planning.

In the case of McDonald’s, several social forces greatly affected its success in US. One factor was the prevailing family structure in the US and the trend towards a youth-orientated culture. In the 1960s and the 1970s the decision-making role had changed to such an extent that children often made the selection of a place to eat. McDonald’s special emphasis on children and teenagers as advertising targets was successful largely because the strategy capitalised on these existing social trends. Another important factor was that the value that US society placed on time favoured the consumption of meals with minimum time effort. Saving time, in fact, created the desire for meals purchased outside the home on an unplanned or impulse basis.

The result was a burgeoning demand for low-priced food that was available any time and that could be purchased with minimum shopping effort. Economic factors are important for McDonald’s in determining a consumer’s ability to purchase a product. Whether a purchase actually occurs, however, depends largely on cultural factors. Therefore, to understand markets abroad, the company must have an appreciation of buyer behaviour. Culture could be defined as institutions and other forces that affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences and behaviours. Culture includes the entire heritage of a society transmitted by word, literature or any other form. It includes traditions, habits, religion, art, education, language, family and reference groups.

While satellite television and the international media are shrinking the world and homogenising consumer tastes, culture continues to pull in the opposite direction. Traditions and religious beliefs run deep and could often conflict with international media messages. When McDonald’s entered India, the chain decided not to launch its Big Mac burger as a result of deferring to the Hindu prohibition against beef consumption. The company instead served chicken, fish and vegetable burgers. This was the first McDonald’s without beef. A so-called ‘Maharaja Mac’ was also created, using a patty made from lamb. In some countries, McDonald’s has been forced to change its food preparation methods as well; in Singapore and Malaysia, for example, the beef that goes into burgers must be slaughtered according to Muslim law.

In terms of language, when McDonald’s expanded in Puerto Rico in the early 1980s the company employed US TV commercials dubbed in Spanish. When prospective customers objected, the company eventually relented and developed a Spanish language campaign just for Puerto Rico. Sales showed a considerable increase.

Moreover, in Southern China, McDonald’s is careful not to advertise prices with multiple occurrences of the number four. The reason is simple: in Cantonese, the pronunciation of the word four is similar to that of the word death (Whalen, 1995). In Japan, where family ties are strong, McDonald’s has enjoyed a surge of popularity as, in its approach, it invites consumers to associate the restaurant with family members interacting in various situations. Starting in 1996, McDonald’s campaign in Japan depicted various aspects of fatherhood. One spot showed a father and son bicycling home with burgers and fries; another showed a father driving a van full of boisterous kids to McDonald’s for milkshakes.

Structure of the market/competition

The issue of the competitive environment must be seen as probably one of the most important issues. By gathering continuous data about competitors, such as their strategic strengths and weaknesses, their objectives, strategy, tactics and reaction patterns and the sort of marketing activity/budget, a company can decide its own position in relative terms and be prepared for what challenges are facing them in terms of competitor attacks. This information also can be used to interpret sudden moves by competitors and how they willrespond to a move you are considering taking.Porter (1980) and Doyle (1983) are both proponents of positioning strategy. Porter considers the external factors which impact upon a firm’s competitive positioning.

Doyle refers to the choice of target market segment which describes the customers. A business will seek to serve and the choice of differential advantage which defines how it will compete with rivals in the segment. Porter claims that competition is at the core of success or failure of the firm and that a successful competitive strategy can establish a profitable and sustainable industry position.

He claims that there are two fundamental questions underlying the choice of a competitive strategy: firstly, how attractive is the industry with regard to profitability and secondly, what are the determinants of a competitive position within an industry. According to Porter there are five competitive forces that will govern the rules ofcompetition and these rules will prevail in any industry both in domestic and internationalmarkets. The five forces are: _ the entry of new competition to the market

_ the threat of substitutes or replacement products
_ the bargaining power of buyers
_ the bargaining power of suppliers
_ the rivalry between firms of the same sector.

Threat of rivalry/competitors

The concentration of firms within the fast food industry is low due to the established presence of McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC. However, in certain markets, McDonald’s will face competition from established domestic fast-food outlets.

Threat of new/potential entrants

The barriers to entry are quite high for new entrants, as the size of McDonald’s means they have achieved economies of scale and have preferential access to raw materials and distribution channels. New entrants may find that a high cost of investment is required in securing plant and machinery.

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MCDONALD’S FACTS

* McDonald’s opened in 1940, when Dick and Mac McDonald opened a restaurant in San Bernadino, California. Businessman Ray Kroc bought the rights to develop the chain in 1955 and launched the McDonald’s Corporation. * The Filet-O-Fish was created by an American McDonald’s franchisee in 1963 after he realised that trade in his restaurant in a Catholic area of Cincinnati was low on Fridays – the day Catholics abstain from red meat. * Its value share of the UK hamburger market is 75%. Nearest competitor Burger King has just 15%.McDonald’s serves 38 million people across the world, every day. * One million British people eat at McDonald’s each day. * A survey by Interbrand ranks McDonald’s as the most recognised brandin the world – beating even Coca-Cola to the top slot. * It operates 23,000 restaurants in 109 countries.

* In 1998, McDonald’s profit excluding charges was dollars 1.77bn (pounds 1.09bn) on sales of dollars 35.98bn (pounds 22.13bn). Strongest growth came from Europe, with fourth quarter operating profits up 17%.

How McDonald’s conquered the UK market
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/59278/mcdonalds-conquered-uk When McDonald’s opened its first UK restaurant in Woolwich, south London, 25 years ago, Ed ‘Stewpot’ Stewart was the personality who turned up to cut the ribbon, along with the local mayor and hundreds of people who had already heard about ‘The Difference at McDonald’s’.

The manager of the outlet was Paul Preston, who has gone on to become chairman of McDonald’s UK. The serving staff were mostly middle-aged women who looked like dinner ladies, and the queue stretched down the road. One customer opened her first burger and turned to her friend, ’There’s no butter in these rolls’ she tutted. ’No, and no knives and forks, either,’ her friend replied.

But the McDonald’s revolution had arrived. Since 1974, the burger giant has changed the face of Britain’s high streets, altered what and how we eat, and led the way in customer-focused marketing. McDonald’s made eating out a leisure experience for families. It promised fast food, a quality environment and, most of all, fun.

McDonald’s approach and brand originally traded on its American heritage and novelty factor before gradually evolving into a part of family life tailored for a UK market. When it opened its first British restaurant it had to educate consumers about this new concept of counter-service, fast eating. But the public took to the product and the number of restaurants grew from ten in 1977 to almost 200 in 1985. By 1996, there were 738

One of the most important reasons for McDonald’s success has been brand consistency. The emphasis on quick service, a functional interior and a standard selection of products available at value-for-money prices underpins the business today as much as it did in 1974. As McDonald’s spread throughout the world in the 1970s and 80s, the standard nature of the offering became more crucial, epitomised by the credo of quality, service, cleanliness and value.

The almost military planning of the company means that, from Birmingham to Beijing, if you walk into a McDonald’s and order a Big Mac and fries, you know how it will taste and what the wrapping will look like. It was the first real example of what a strongly defined brand could achieve.

This standardisation of food, training and restaurant design – even down to how much ice goes into a cup of cola – was particularly important in helping franchisees stick to the ’McDonald’s Way’. Globally, 70% of McDonald’s restaurants are franchise operations, but in the UK thisfigure is just 26%.

The franchise system was instituted early in McDonald’s US developmentas a way to increase the size of the business with minimal capital outlay.

Franchisees sign up for 20-year contracts and hand over 4.8% of theirsales to fund marketing. The unique nature of the UK market reflects the management of the company and is a perfect illustration of the ’thinkglobal, act local’ maxim

Flexibility for managers

Although standards of food, service and processes are tightly adhered to, UK managers have more flexibility in marketing and advertising than in other countries such as the US, where the high franchisee level inevitably leads to product and price-focused promotion and advertising.

Country managers are also given flexibility in sourcing ingredients, and are encouraged to buy locally if possible. For McDonald’s UK, this meant the chain stopped using British beef during 1996’s BSE crisis. But the best example of the burger chain’s tailoring of UK strategies is its advertising. John Hawkes, McDonald’s UK senior vice-president, chief marketing officer, has total control to make the brand’s image as British as possible, working with its agency of 13 years, LeoBurnett.

Advertising has always been one of the most innovative aspects of McDonald’s marketing strategy. When the company hit our shores, the ads played on its American heritage. The first UK advertising used the slogan, ’There’s a difference at McDonald’s you’ll enjoy’, and reflected the novelty and ’come join the party’ feel that McDonald’s wanted consumers to tap into. Early ads concentrated on images emphasising McDonald’s products andservices to educate a population familiar only with chip shops and Wimpy bars for their fast food.

But by the late-80s, when the McDonald’s national roll-out was completed and competition from rival chains KFC and Burger King was hotting up, the ads changed tack. McDonald’s appointed Leo Burnett in 1986 to help with a new approach. It needed to go beyond simply reiterating product benefits – which could now be copied by competitors – and to establish a more emotional link to consumers.

’Marketing food isn’t the primary objective for McDonald’s,’ says JohnPrior, UK and Ireland marketing director of KFC, and former marketingchief of Burger King. ’They see the whole restaurant experience as beingmore important – it’s a very different strategy from Burger King, which pushes food quality.’

McDonald’s has always poured a healthy budget into its campaigns. Last year, its pounds 44m spend dwarfed Burger King’s pounds 15.6m presence.

Since the mid-80s, advertising has been split into three strands. Although the campaigns have different goals, they illustrate how tactical communications can be made to complement branding messages.

The TV branding campaigns are responsible for maintaining the sense that McDonald’s is at the centre of British family life. These ads took on particular importance after market research undertaken in 1991 showed that consumers were beginning to perceive the chain as arrogant and inflexible.

This was the first sign that its American roots, although understood to be behind efficient service and value food, were alienating the UK public. After this, TV ads became more reflective of British life, and attempted to show the softer, more humorous side of the burger giant.

The second element of McDonald’s advertising fits in with one of the company’s most consistent propositions appealing to children. It understood early on that if you get the kids on side, the adults will follow. Those children rushing down to the first restaurants in themid-70s are probably parents now.

Happy Meals – the major pull for children – have always been well supported by advertising. These ads, like the current one showing a young boy buying a Happy Meal for his sulky older sister, are also designed to pick up on the ’fabric of British life’ theme by using everyday family situations.

The third element is promotional tie-ins. McDonald’s has always been eager to link activity with major film launches, such as the current A Bug’s Life promotion. Past link-ups have seen Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules and Pocahontas goodies given to children buying burgers. Since 1996, when McDonald’s negotiated ten years’ exclusive rights with Disney, all the studio’s children’s blockbusters have been accompanied by a flurry of themed merchandise in the restaurants.

McDonald’s is also a big believer in the power of product promotions, typified by the rather too successful two-for-the-price-of-one Big Mac offer last month. McDonald’s had expected demand for Big Macs to rise fourfold, but when eight times more burgers were needed, the system collapsed.

Full-page apology ads and crowing tabloid headlines followed. Although the episode proved the popularity of Big Macs and the effectiveness of the advertising, it also showed that even McDonald’s legendary logistics system is fallible. Biggest Promotion Yet

But the problems with the Big Mac deal will at least make the burger giant doubly sure it has enough supplies for what is likely to be its biggest promotion yet – Beany Babies.

Giving away Beany Babies – squidgy dolls – was hugely successful in the US. When the promotion hits our shores later this year, possibly to coincide with the the 25th anniversary on October 11, McDonald’s is hoping the sales momentum will set it up to enter the new millennium with confidence.

But, of course, McDonald’s is not marketing in a vacuum. It may have had little competition when it launched – only Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wimpy offering any competition – but Burger King is here now. It emerged as a real competitor in 1989 when Grand Metropolitan bought the Wimpy chain and rebranded many as Burger King.

Many of McDonald’s promotions are used tactically to compete against Burger King. When BK launched its new King Fries at the end of January, McDonald’s ran a campaign for its ’Easy Cheesy’ promotion, offering three different sizes of cheeseburger at knockdown prices.

McDonald’s statement to the press in relation to King Fries is reflective of its attitude to its far smaller rival: ’We are aware of the Burger King product – a similar french fry was trialled and rejected by McDonald’s some time ago. Burger King appears obsessed with taking on McDonald’s.

With just 15% of the market, they try these sort of promotions every now and then.’ The release adds that sales of McDonald’s french fries increased by 7.4% in the US when BK launched King Fries there a year ago.

’This is typical of its arrogant, dismissive attitude,’ says one fast-food industry insider. ’Size matters and McDonald’s is a very powerful organisation. It can afford to be confident.’

This view of McDonald’s is one that the multinational has been especially keen to counter for the past two years, as it fought to minimise the effects of the McLibel saga.

McLibel – the court case which followed McDonald’s decision to sue two British environmental protesters over claims in leaflets about the chain’s practices – was a public relations disaster. Almost overnight, McDonald’s was being talked of in the same breath as the worst excesses of American corporate culture. It had to deal with a huge amount of publicity that ensued from being cross-examined over its record in employment, nutrition, environmental matters, and the deliberate targeting of children in its ads.

By the end of two-and-a-half year trial, McDonald’s had won a legal victory but was the clear loser in terms of image. Many wondered why it had pursued such a case.

However determined Helen Steel and Dave Morris were, their protest campaign was insignificant until the moment McDonald’s lawyers decided to sue them – at a reported cost of pounds 10m.

Although there is no evidence that sales have been affected, McLibel was the kind of incident that directly contradicts McDonald’s carefully crafted image of family fun, honest and down-to-earth eating. An appeal by the two environmentalists is now under way, prolonging the potential for bad publicity.

As it faces the next 25 years, McDonald’s knows there is a tougher job to do sustaining growth than there was starting from scratch. Profits, although climbing, are growing at a slower rate as the chain runs out of high street locations for its restaurants.

New types of sites – on ferries, at football grounds, even in Guy’s Hospital – are part of the answer, but the future may require a different approach.

While McDonald’s taught everyone the trade of fast food, those lessons have now been learned. The eating environment is changing and if curren trends in nutrition, health and the general increase in consumer cynicism continue, these could all be areas of concern for McDonald’s.

But there is no disputing that the brand’s strength and formidable marketing skills have managed to turn a US invader into a very British burger.

ADVERTISING

McDonald’s has used four advertising agencies in its 25 years in the UK, beginning with an eight-year relationship with Colman & Partners (nowEuro RSCG Wnek Gosper) that ended in 1982. Two relatively short stints, with DMB&B and Saatchi & Saatchi, were followed by the appointment, in 1986, of Leo Burnett.

McDonald’s UK promotional work has been carried out by Simon Marketingsince the brand’s launch in this country.

1976: ’There’s a Difference at McDonald’s You’ll Enjoy’ was the first ad for the chain, shown on TV just as McDonald’s opened its first restaurants in London’s West End. Heavy on shots of food and restaurants, it aimed to explain this new concept of US-style eating to a wary British public.

1987: Meals on Wheels. One of the first ads by Leo Burnett, this campaign heavily promoted the takeaway side of the business by showing a series of people rushing out of McDonald’s, food in hand.

1990: Directed by Tony Kaye, ’A Day in the Life’ is seen by McDonald’s as a watershed campaign. Showing the action in one restaurant from dawn until dusk, it features customers giving their orders straight tocamera. The idea was to illustrate how one McDonald’s restaurant touches so many lives in just one day.

1998: Putting Alan Shearer into Eric Cantona’s role in a parody of the Eurostar ad proved a master stroke. Shearer’s version of Cantona’s philosophical ramblings – complete with Bi

MC DONALDS INDIA

McD entered india in 1196 . the first Mc Donalds restaurant was opened on October 13th at basanth lok in vasant vihar . Mc Donalds in india is a 50 50 joint venture between Connaught plaza restraints and hard castle restraints. Which are owned and managed by Vikram Bakshi and Amit Jitia respectively Connaught Plaza Restraunts operates in western india.

After opening their outlets in various metro cities, the company is now trying to expand in cities like pune and jaipur also , but , the Indian consumers avoid burgers made from beef and pork which is a taboo according to their religions . So in order to evade this problem the Indian menus of Mc Donalds was indianised and specifically design in such manner that it can bosst its products to Indian consumers , the menu includes chicken burgers , veg burgers, veg pizza’s, happy meal for chicken’s, beverages and deserts. Today there are 79 outlets in north-east and more than 53outlets in south west india

Business Strategy
Franchise module

As per franchise model of Mc Donalds only 15% of the total number of restaurants are owned by the company. The remaining 85% is operated by franchises . the company follows all the frame work of training and monitoring of its franchises to ensure that they achive good QUALITY, SERVICE, CLENLINESS AND VALUE FOR THE MONEY offered by the company to its customers.

PRODUCT CONSISTENCY

By developing a sophisticated supplier network operation and distribution system ,the company has been able to achieve consistent product taste and quality across the nations of the world Strategy as per indian market

RE-ENGINEERING THE MENU-Mc Downlads thinks according to the customer’s tastes , value systems lifestyle, language and perception. Globally mcdonalds was famous for its hamburgers which are prepared from beef and pork burgers. But, most Indians religion does not allow them to consume beef or pork. So in order to satisfy demand as per Indian preference, Mc Downlad’s came up with chicken lamb and fish burgers to suite the Indian diet The vegetarian customer-india has a huge population of vegetarians. To satisfy this customer’s demand, the company came up with a completely new menu of vegetarian items like mcveggie burger and mcalootikki. The separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections is maintained throughout the various stages Segmentation, targeting and positioning

Mc donalds uses demographic segmentation strategy with age as the parameter. The main target segments are children, youth and the young urban family . If they take children into consideration, children are more attracted towards toys and delicious meals including today’s youth prefer such places for their entertainment and the urban families select mc donlads on various occasion like birthday party, treat to their children etc.

As shown in the above diagram, kids are on the top most level in FMCG purchase related to food products. So to attract children’s Mc DONLADS has happy meals in which they gift one toy on each happy meal, there are toys ranging from hot wheels to various walt Disney charaters. Example of the latest range is the toys of the movie Madagascar For this, they have a tie-up with Walt Disney. At several outlets, it also provides special facilities Like ‘PLAYING PLACE’ were children can play arcade games , air hockey, etc.

This strategy is targeting in making McDonalds a fun place were you can enjoy both playing and eating. This also helps Mc Donalds to attract the young both playing and eating. This also Mc Donalds to attract the young urban families who wanted to spend some time, while their children can enjoy every moment of Mc Donald’s. To target the teenagers and young youth, McDonalds has priced several products aggressively , keeping in mind the price sensitivity of this target customer. In addition, Facilities like wi-fi are provided to attract students to the outlests, example of such outlets is of Vile Parle situated in Mumbai.

“McDonlad’s MEIN HAI KUCH BAAT” projects McDonlad’s as a place for the entire family to enjoy. When McDonlads entered in india it was mainly targeting the urban upper class people. But, today it had positioned itself as an affordable place to eat without compromising on the quality of food, service and hygiene. The outlet atmosphere and mild background music highlight the comfort that McDonald’s promises in slogans like “YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY.” “FEED YOUR INNER CHILD”. This commitment of quality of food and service in a clean hygienic and relaxing atmosphere has ensured that McDonald’s maintains a positive relationship with their customers

cDonald’s is embracing its Aussie nickname with selected stores around the country changing their signage to “Macca’s” from today. The world-first change – a temporary measure – comes after a branding survey commissioned by the fast food chain found that 55 percent of Australians called the company by its shortened name. “We’ve been a part of Australia for over 40 years now and we’re incredibly proud to embrace our ‘Australian-only’ nickname,” said Mark Lollback, chief marketing officer for McDonald’s Australia.

“What better way to show Aussies how proud we are to be a part of the Australian community than by changing our store signs to the name the community has given us?” Lollback said 13 restaurants around the country would change their signage this week as part of the company’s celebrations of Australia Day. The first stores involved Tuesday were in the southern Sydney suburb of Engadine and an outlet in Queensland’s Kangaroo Point. McDonald’s signage will return to each site from early February. Australia is the only country in the world that refers to McDonald’s as Macca’s and the restaurant has formally submitted the word to the Macquarie Dictionary for consideration in their next update. The restaurant has said the abbreviation reflects its place in the Australian community, which has a penchant for jocular nicknames.

McDonald’s re-launching Italian food. In Italy

Do you know that the world largest hamburger maker has recently endorsed the much-lauded Mediterranean-diet? Do you think this is a joke? You are wrong, it is not! It’s just McDonald’s changing its sales and marketing strategies. The American multinational has recently signed a deal with Barilla, one of Italy’s oldest pasta manufacturers, to collaborate on new dishes. Among them, a new pasta salad advertised as a “balanced and skillful mix of tuna, tomatoes, peppers, capers and olives, seasoned with a pinch of oregano and salt”, sold for 4.9 euro.This marketing choice has been followed by mixed reactions: some people say it looks like a union between devil and holy water, highlighting that Italy should be more careful in supporting a multinational whose products might negatively affect the “Made in Italy” prestige.

Other people still remember what happened in 2010, when McDonald’s launched the “McItaly” burger, made of beef patty, Asia go cheese and artichoke, feeling that this is not the best strategy to promote Italian food all over the world, while just a few commentators (in Italy) seem positive about this initiative. In this debate on whether McDonald’s commercialization of Italian food is positive or not for Italy, it should be highlighted that, for now, the American multinational is testing its new recipes in Italy, where its consumers might easily find a “more Italian” alternative at any price.

It should be interesting to take a look at what kind of consumer will choose McDonald’s pasta salads: Italian people who love McDonald’s but don’t like eating unhealthy hamburgers every day? Foreigners choosing to eat in a foreign fast food when they are in Italy where they can easily access authentic local food? Foreigners abroad, in case McDonald’s will add pasta salads to its menu abroad, as well? It seems that endorsing Italian food as the healthiest one McDonald’s has made a huge marketing choice that might benefit Italy as well, especially in the long-term. If fast-food healthy food is Italian, McDonald’s campaign might actually stimulate Mediterranean dishes consumption all over the world. The cheapest will be sold by McDonald’s. The more authentic (and even healthier), by Italian restaurants abroad.

McCafe Showing Great Success

Food/Beverage outlet observers have proclaimed McCafe is the most important McDonalds innovation since its breakfast line.McDonalds Europe has flatly stated it sees itself in time via the McCafe concept becoming the largest coffee retailer in Europe. Some McCafes even have separate seating areas. Many variations are being tested for success in varying national markets.The European Division is proclaiming it will soon have 1,200 McCafes in its theater of operations. For Europe, McCafes have been a feature in Irish outlets for the past few years, and have spread to Germany, France, Italy and other national markets.

McDonald’s Meeting Cultural Needs

* McDonald’s latest effort to “go Italian” The McItaly Menu * Items on the McItaly menu are 100% Italian Products * Italians have always supported locally grown and homemade products. Now Italy’s government has allied itself with McDonalds to source food locally. * Italy’s Agriculture Ministers supported the new “go Italian” wearing McDonald’s apron at the launch of the ‘McItaly’ * Two new sandwiches and a salad featuring all-Italian produce. * The new sandwiches will use 1,000 tons of Italian agricultural products a month * Will help Italian farmers grappling with tough economic times. * The McItaly menu offers various types of locally grown fruits and salads as well.

Mc Donalds in Italy – Success factors

McDonald’s bought out their competitor, Burghy, a chain that belonged to Italy’s largest meat producer, Cremonini. McDonald’s took over all Burghy restaurants and I exchange Cremonini became the sole meat supplier for McDonald’s in Italy and parts of Europe Turning the young into McDonald’s fans was easy, but convincing older generations was quite difficult. To win over the parents McDonald’s introduced healthier food options like salad and pasta bars Business agreement with Italian oil giant Agip.

This agreement allowed the opening of many more restaurants in Agip gas stations, giving those on the road a one-stop shop-and-gas option Introduction of franchising, moving away from a controlled corporate environment. Franchising led private citizens and small businesses to invest and to spread the chain. McDonald’s Teamed Up With Italian Government – political influence and support Focused on locally grown and homemade products , to source food locally – helped convince Italian people.McDonald’s to add $4.8 million monthly to the Italian economy due to its use of local produce.

Local Competition

In 2006, McDonald’s was met with defeat in the city of Altamura. It turns out that the local residents of Altamura, a small town in southern Italy, were very proud of their local food and the culture that was threatened by the introduction of a McDonald’s in early 2001. Luca Digesu, a fourth generation baker, opened Antica Casa Digesu, a small bakery right next to the McDonald’s. He opened the store with the intention of stealing some customers away with the more preferred local tastes.

“’What took place was a small war between us and McDonald’s,’ said OnofrioPepe, a retired journalist who founded an association here devoted to local delicacies. ‘Our bullets were focaccia. And sausage. And bread. It was a peaceful war, without any spilling of blood.’” The McDonald’s didn’t do well but was able to stay open for five years. When the McDonald’s realized that their local competition was going next door, they started offering school field trips to visit their kitchens, free rentals for children’s birthday parties, coupons for the children, and a large-screen television for customers to watch football. In the end, the local competition won out. McDonald’s closed its doors in 2006.

Competition in Italy

* Burger King  * Burger King sponsors local concerts to try to get their name in the public eye. This is an innovative way to advertise and is something that McDonald’s was not currently doing. * This isn’t much information available about McDonald’s second biggest rival, Burger King, in Italy. McDonald’s third largest competitor, Wendy’s, hardly has a presence in Italy. * McDonald’s innovative advertising

* McDonald’s renews their UEFA EURO sponsorship until 2012. Upon doing this, they became the sixth global partner for the flagship national team competition. This sponsorship includes integrated broadcast rights in Europe as well as the exclusive rights to a number of marketing and promotional campaigns across the restaurant chain in Europe giving fans a chance to compete for relevant sports tickets.

New Menu Items

* In 2001, McDonald’s Big Mac was selling well. McDonald’s took this as a good sign and rolled out the “Pizza Mia” and the “McToast.” They also introduced fresh squeezed red orange juice from Sicily. This was an attempt to “take the plunge into pizza” products. The toast comes with Italian cheese. * At the same time, Burger King added “Spizzico Pizza” made by Italy’s own Autogrill chain. * From March 9 to May 24, 2010, McDonald’s offered kiwi-on-a-stick at select stores across Italy. This was the first time that Italian fruit was offered at a fast food chain. McDonald’s is directing this new offering at women since kiwi is rich in vitamin C and has good nutritional value. This was also an alternative to the apple currently offered in the Happy Meal combination.

Where McDonald’s is Now

* McDonald’s, as well as other fast food chains, have become more accessible in the 21st century as heavy traffic and changing working hours no longer allow the time for elaborate home-cooked meals. * Despite McDonald’s lackluster sales in the United States, its global sales continue to climb. Since the late 1990s, more than half of McDonald’s sales have come from abroad. In 2008, more than 60% of McDonald’s’ $23.5 billion sales came from outside the United States. Specifically, McDonald’s attributed a lot of these out-performances to sales in Europe. * And objectives of the consumer

Marketing plan: McDonald’s Switzerland and Special weeks
I. Market analysis
A. PEST Analysis
B. Analysis in terms of threats and opportunities
C. The priority target markets
II. The conventional cosmetics market: consumption
III. The market for cosmetics and essential oils
D. Competition
E. The regulation of organic products
F. Consumers

Today, the area of the fast food sector is prevalent around the world.McDonald’s, the world leader, is subject to intense competition, and is ever-expanding. To avoid losing its market share, McDonald’s has to innovate in this area. The hamburger, typically American, is not enough for the chain to sustain the markets. The company is obliged to propose a new concept. The latter must take into account the values and objectives of the consumer.Therefore, McDonald’s is required to adapt to the desires of local consumers. To achieve this, it is important that it focuses on the economic and sociocultural aspects of the local market including: the preferences and tastes, the purchasing power, the level of education and literacy, the consumption patterns and culture. McDonald’s wants to get closer to local cultures, away from the American symbol. For this reason, special weeks have been created. McDonald’s wished to establish itself as the market leader in fast food.

The term “fast food” has been associated with a negative connotation. McDonald’s prefers to use the term “informal eating out” to describe this type of restoration. It provides more tasty food that is served quickly, in a friendly atmosphere and clean rooms. Moreover, McDonald’s employs anonymous testers to rate the speed of service, the temperature of food, presentation and taste, clean countertop, table and equipment. Fast food is not a phenomenon of recent onset. In the early 19th century could already perceive the first signs of fast food. This is due at the beginning of the industrial era: people had to work 12-14 hours a day, they were left little time for long breaks. Thus were born before the factories, the first shops and other eating places frugal. Nowadays, the meals eaten outside in fact belong to our way of life.

The origins of fast food are to be found in the changes of lifestyle changes characterized by: the professional activity of many women or both parents; increasing the number of single person households; long journeys to get to school or the workplace; short lunch breaks. The world leader in fast food, McDonald’s menu offers at great prices. To minimize operational costs, all sandwiches are made from the same basic ingredients, namely: bread, meat, salad and sauce. Despite this limited choice,McDonald’s is able to offer its customers a variety of products through different combinations. There are three kinds of McDonald’s restaurants: owned which is 40% of their restaurants; company which also constitutes 40% of their restaurants; and mixed which constitutes 20% of their restaurants.

These restaurants are dependent on the holding and have, therefore, very little freedom. For example: the development of all McDonald’s restaurants is the same, all employees have the same basic training, and the same overalls. Today people are becoming more stressed and prefer fast food. So there is a steady increase in fast food. In 2000, the Swiss came out less often eat out. Instead, they spent more on average, according to market research conducted by GastroSuisse 2000. Foreign cuisine, catering and corporate catering and leisure gained market share. McDonald’s Swiss Burgers’ Multicultural Marketing Plan

What The Cheesecake Factory and Applebee’s are doing with place-named burgers here, McDonald’s is doing in Switzerland, only in more-complex style. The complexity for the “Swiss Weeks” burgers campaign comes from Switzerland’s multilingual, multicultural makeup. Each of three burgers not only is named for a region, it incorporates local ingredients and is being advertised in the language—German, French or Italian—appropriate to that part of the country. Priced at 7.90 Swiss francs each, or approximately $8.52, McDonald’s here moves up to fast-casual burger pricing, or perhaps even to casual-dining level. “Welcome to the culinary event of Switzerland,” McDonald’s site declares in introducing these three burgers:

McRomandie is available first. What’s interesting is that in addition to including beef, tomatoes, lettuce and “deluxe sauce,” the burger is described as having Kaltbach-brand Gruyère cheese and the Paillasse Bread® popular in Romandy, the French-speaking region. The use of brand names here is unusual and interesting as a precedent. The TV commercial for the McRomandie is in French. McBärn goes on the menu next. It’s named not for barns but for Bern, the city in the central, German speaking region. It also boasts a popular brand name—Emmi Kaltbach-brand Emmentaler cheese—along with a hash-brown patty the size of the burger and bacon.

The TV commercial is in German. McTicino, named for Ticino in the region bordering Italy, is distinguished by its use of that town’s signature segmented bread. Toppings are basil, fresh tomato and Emmi-brand mozzarella, and Italian is the language of the TV spot promoting it. The common idea uniting the TV commercials is that you have to be Swiss to know the “secret” way to order these burgers. For example, in the McRomandie commercial a man speaks his order to a fire hydrant and then drives up the street, where he receives his sack of food from an arm that extends from a bush. This “just for us” wink nicely ties these multilingual elements into a single, national campaign.