Role of marketing communication in Mcdonald Brand

 This article discusses about the McDonald's brand business strategy . Brand consistency is what has differentiated McDonald most from its peers and gave it much success. Its stress on quick customized service and a standard selection of products available at a very affordable price has kept the company very profitable since its inception in 1974. With its global expansion during 70’s and 80’s, more importance was given on the same kind of brand messaging and standardized product offering throughout the world. Pinpoint forecasting and planning from the company’s part ensured that, from New York to New Delhi, if one visits a McDonald’s and orders the world famous burgers, they know how will it taste and what will be the packaging like. McDonald’s is one of the most efficient examples of what a strongly defined brand can do.

 Two most frequently used communication channel for McDonalds UK have been

1. Advertising

2. Promotional Activities.

The most important and innovative aspects of McDonald’s marketing strategy is its advertising through different mediums. The first UK advertising of McDonalds had the slogans, ’There’s a difference at McDonald’s you’ll enjoy’, ’come join the party’. These slogans reflected the brand differentiation and epitomized the friendliness of the brand. Due to its target market based primarily on the kids the communication strategy was very apt.

The ads which were being used in the beginning generally was centered around images which emphasized McDonald’s products and services to make the population knowledgeable about the offering of this new and the then exotic chain. In the later part of the 80s decade, when the McDonald’s completely finished its national expansion and was facing stiff competition from KFC and Burger King they changed the nature of their advertisement. Leo Burnett was appointed in 1986 as the new creative head for incorporating a fresh outlook for the advertisements. They wanted to form an emotional link with the customers and offer them more beyond the basic products. They were trying to augment their products and thus brand offerings.

The budget allocated for McDonalds advertising campaign has historically been pretty high in comparison to its peers. It has been seen that they spend more than three times of money that their competitors like Burger King or KFC spend. This has been a decisive factor for the brand awareness of McDonalds. Since the mid-80s, the management of McDonalds have trifurcated their advertising activities. These campaigns having separated goals, showed the way of complementing branding messages and activities with strategic communications.

Television advertisements were at the very core of this branding exercise. They tried and succeeded in making McDonalds an English brand. A market research in 1991 grasped the message that the brand was perceived as arrogant and inflexible by the customers of UK. Most probable reason for this was the American origin of the brand. This factor was creating some misconception amongst its UK customers and was alienating them. After this, the Television commercials were adopted more to show nuances of British life and they projected this chain as a very friendly and humorous brand.

Four advertising agencies have been used by McDonalds UK yet. First was Colman & Partners (now Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper). Their stint ended in the year 1982. They then appointed DMB & B and Saatchi & Saatchi, which were followed by the appointment, in 1986, of Leo Burnett. 1976: The first had the slogan ’There’s a Difference at McDonald’s You’ll Enjoy’. It was aired on television after McDonald’s opened its first shop in UK. The main intention of this campaign was to break the ice with the unknown US customers who had some pre-conceived negative notions against the brand. It wanted to make them familiar with the way US people ate by showing the shop and its photos.

1987: “Meals on Wheels” was the next notable campaign. Leo Burnett had designed this campaign. This campaign was aimed at making people aware about the take-away idea which was immensely popular in US. It had the graphics of people buying food and coming out of the shop. 1990: The campaign was designed by Tony Kaye, ’A Day in the Life’ was the name of the campaign. It comprised of live shooting inside a McDonald’s store. Customers ordered directly to the camera. This indigenous campaign was meant to convey the way McDonald’s interact with people’s daily life.

1998: This very famous campaign for world cup showed the then famous England soccer player Alan Shearer parodying Eric Cantona, another famous Manchester United player. It was actually a satiritical take on the ad of Eurostar. 

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