Posts Tagged ‘McDonald’s’

How to goose Mickey D’s sales …

November 19, 2012

For the first time in awhile, McDonald’s reported a drop in same store sales … and fired the U.S. President.

Now, industry mavens are proffering advice for turning things around …

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Reported in USA Today, here are some of the ideas:

  • Push new products, new meal occasions and acta bit less fast-food-ish and a bit more like Panera or Chipotle.
  • Fix dinner … dinner is where McDonald’s struggles most … make dinner far more inviting with a dish that isn’t just another sandwich … such as a more upscale chopped steak platter … add baked potatoes at dinner
  • Serve breakfast all day … “bring back customers who come for McMuffins, but not burgers.”
  • More monthly specials … limited-time-only products, such as McRibs, are huge …have a new one every month to keep folks returning.
  • Sell sausage …  put a $1 bratwurst — not a hot dog — on the menu
  • Stop price creep … food got too expensive at McDonald’s ..  “reinvigorate” the $1 price point “to reconnect with price-conscious consumers.”
  • Consider home delivery …  Burger King is testing home delivery, and McDonald’s should, too.
  • Lure Millennials. Much like the Republican party, McDonald’s must appeal more to women, minorities and Millennials.

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Ken’s Take:

1) Geez, don’t panic guys … there is a tough economy out there

2) Stay true to your core … remember when Taco Bell tried to go upscale and started to lose its base – young males looking for cheap food.

3) It’s all about the dollar menu – the McDouble for $1 is a powerful magnet !

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McDonald’s reverts to dollar menu to build loyalty … say, what?

October 23, 2012

According to the WSJ …

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McDonald’s  reported a 3.5% decline in third-quarter earnings as sales slowed more dramatically than expected because of a sluggish economy and a disappointing marketing campaign.

McDonald’s … conceded that it needs to be more aggressive in advertising low prices.

In a weaker economy, customers may not go out to eat as frequently and tend to stop getting extras like drinks and desserts and premium items like Angus burgers, which all offer higher profits.

McDonald’s move earlier this year to shift its marketing focus in the U.S. to the higher-priced and more profitable “Extra Value Menu” from the successful “Dollar Menu” didn’t “resonate as strongly” with consumers.

“We’re going back to talk of the Dollar Menu.”

The company hopes that focusing attention to its lower prices will attract more customers and gain their loyalty.

This way, when the economy starts to improve, McDonald’s will have a larger consumer base and more ability to raise prices.

OK, I understand that low prices move burgers.

In fact, I think the McDouble for a buck is the best food value on the planet.

But, face it Mickey, low prices appeal to price-sensitive customers … not loyalists.

Trust me, when you try to jack the prices up, their (and my) “loyalty” will shift quickly to the new “value” burger joint.

Just ask Subway.

I’m sure they’ve been wondering “where’s Ken?” since they shifted from $5 Foot Longs to … a couple at $5, some at $5.50, some at $6.50, etc.

Let me repeat: you don’t build loyalty with bargain basement pricing … you just move a ton of burgers at low prices.

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McBaguette, s’il vous plait …

March 5, 2012

Punch line: Is Mickey D. is going haute cuisine? No, not really.  The Mickster is just sticking a burger on baguette and charging the French a premium price.  Mon dieu.

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Excerpted from the WSJ “To Tailor Burgers for France, McDonald’s Enlists Baguett”

In France the fast-food giant is gearing up to offer a burger served on baguette, part of a wider effort to add more locally inspired fare to its menu and attract more upscale diners.

McDonald’s restaurants across France will test the McBaguette — a burger topped with French-made Emmental cheese and mustard.

The promotion is in line with the  company’s successful global strategy of updating its restaurants to appeal to a broader clientele, while offering a more varied menu, up and down the price scale.

In France that involves tapping into a national obsession: bread.

  • 98% of French people eat bread every day.
  • The French each consume about 55 kilograms (a21 pounds)of bread a year.
  • 65% of the two billion sandwiches sold each year in France are baguette-based.

The McBaguette will be sold for €4.50, more than a euro above the average price of a sandwich in France.

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Ken’s Take: “Obsession with bread”?  I thought the French were obsessed with something else.  Live and learn …

Thanks to AGC

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Don’t you dare call me the “Egg McMuffin” of anything !

January 18, 2012

Punch line: In the old days, Cadillac was the badge of excellence.  Calling something the Cadillac of its category was high praise.

Well, Mickey D. wants to fill the void with the Egg McMuffin … suggesting that this breakfast sandwich is somehow synonymous with excellence.

Based on social networking indicators, the idea is getting some traction.

Gotta make you proud to be a marketer …

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Excerpted from adweek.com, “Is This Egg McMuffin Ad the Egg McMuffin of Ads? Breakfast sandwich gets new catchphrase”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nn1IGSCp2yI#t=0s

Casting the Egg McMuffin as shorthand for excellence is about as odd as grouping it with healthy foods and casting it as a wholesome dietary choice.

But McDonald’s latest commercial for the breakfast sandwich does just that, starting with a girl telling a guy that he’s “the Egg McMuffin of boyfriends” and proceeding from there.

That phrase has caught on quickly, with the Boston Globe reporting on the adoption of the phrase in social media — used ironically or not — with something like 11,000 tweets and 1,200 Facebook mentions.

Check Twitter for various clever uses. It even made Craigslist, where a New Jersey residence was described as “the Egg McMuffin of 2 BR apts in downtown Hoboken.”

Returning to the ad, my favorite part is the Egg McMuffin of cars bit.

That’s how a friend of mine used to describe his old vehicle because it leaked oil and smelled gross.

click to view the commercial
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Edit by KJM

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Taking the mystery out of “mystery meat” …

December 22, 2011

TakeAway: McDonald’s is giving consumers transparency into their agricultural suppliers to boost the image and quality of their food.

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Excerpt from AdAge: “McDonald’s to Launch Campaign Focused on Growers”

On Jan. 2, McDonald’s will launch a campaign featuring four of its U.S. beef and produce suppliers.

“We thought putting a face on the quality of the food story would be a unique way to approach this,” said U.S. CMO.

“We acknowledge that there are questions about where our food comes from. I believe we’ve got an opportunity to accentuate that part of our story.”

The campaign will include TV, print and digital, as well as additional paid and earned media.

“Consumers want transparency — disclosures of everything from menus to labor and local-sourcing practices,” Technomic said.

“A small but growing number are serious about nutrition, labeling, sustainability and community involvement, and they are using such knowledge to make purchasing decisions.”

Edited by ARK

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Creative marketing: Mickey D goes from “free” to “almost free” …

December 2, 2011

San Fran parents said kids were pressuring them to buy non-nutritious happy meals to get the free toys.

So, the San Fran city council passed a  law making it illegal for fast food chains to include free toys in happy meals.

According to the Wash Post, McDonald’s crafted a creative workaround: for 10 cents, patrons can buy a toy to go along with a happy meal.

10 cents isn’t “free” it’s “almost free”.

The kicker: all the dimes all go to charity – the Ronald McDonald Houses.

The downside: consumer behavior is such that there’s a big fall off in demand when a price is raised from free to almost free.

So, Ronald McDonald Houses probably won’t get much money from the program

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Mickey D says he deserves a break today … a tax break, that is.

November 9, 2011

Reported in the UK Telegraph …

McDonald’s CEO says: Curb spending and cut taxes

“America must cut taxes and reduce government spending in order to kick-start an economic recovery, Jim Skinner, the chief executive of McDonald’s, has warned.”

“In order to create jobs in America, you’re going to have to cut taxes… particularly in the business community.

“We pay some of the highest [corporate] taxes around the world. There needs to be some levelling.”

For the record, in 2010, McDonald’s paid the Feds $1 billion on $2.624 billion in profits … pardon the pun, but that’s a whopper: 38.9%

I think Mickey (and Ronald) may have a point …

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