Abstract
This paper is on the topic of McDonalds and its Promotion strategy & Public Relations. We will discuss the advertising program of McDonalds in the first section of the paper. In the second section we will discuss the Public relations plan and sales forecast. In the final section of the paper we will discuss the competitor’s marketing techniques and McDonalds sales trends & income for the next financial year.
Promotion Strategies & Public Relations – McDonalds
Introduction
McDonalds is the brand well known for being the biggest food service operator with operations in more than 117 countries. The Golden Arch logo and their Big Mac burger are recognized globally. Over the years, McDonalds have changed their menu to provide customers with more nutrition and promote healthy eating habit. They have also kept changing with time by launching products like smoothies to meet with market demand and need for change.
McDonalds Advertising Program
At present McDonalds operates in many markets and has many advertising plans for each market. One of the advertising program which has produced great results in past has been the loyalty program named McCafe Rewards which encourages customers to try the coffee and hot drink served over the counter. This plan has been quite successful in the UK and Canada markets, under this plan for every 7th purchase of McCafe products made by McDonalds customers they get the 8th product for free.
This campaign can be ran through a nationwide advertising campaign which includes billboards, 30-sec television advertisement in English and regionally language. For buying and selling media an Ad agency has to be hired, the choice should the agency which already has extensive experience in this industry (Laird, 2013).
Public Relations Program for McDonalds
For the public relations program it is necessary to create positive perception in the minds of McDonalds customers. This can be done by:
• Creating advertisements which depict how McDonalds affects local community in positive ways.
• Creating advertisement which promotes concern which McDonalds have for their customers and how they want to make a difference.
• Increasing the accessibility and availability of healthy, affordable beverages and foods.
• Strengthening state wide, regional and local infrastructure for promotion of coordination between partners (Urbanski et al, 2012).
Sales Forecast
Sales forecasting for McDonalds can be done by taking following measures into consideration:
Projection by sales unit
Start by forecasting for a single unit. Businesses like McDonalds who sell products can easily project sales in unit basis as it is clear and gives better idea of the number of sales of each product line.
Using Historical Data
Historical sales data is best for forecasting purposes. Some statistical techniques can help in projecting the sales projection on the basis of past data. By using charts and sales data of last two years, sales projections can be made about the future. But these techniques cannot be sure shot as future is quite unpredictable.
Considering New Products
Addition of new products to the restaurant’s menu can make sales projection difficult. Any projection about a new product is an educated guess based on products of similar category, price range or line (Berry, 2005).
Competitors and their Marketing techniques
McDonalds is the biggest Food service retailer in the world but it faces competition from other retailers like Mos Burgers in Japan, KFC in China, Pizza Hut in South-East Asia and other local start-ups. In Greece, McDonalds face competition from a local start up called Goody’s. Starbucks is the biggest competitor for McDonalds in food service industry in Unites States. The marketing strategy has been the reason for Starbucks’s success. Their strategy is 4-fold:
1. Market segmentation.
Starbucks from its initial days have maintained their image and pricing as upper scale coffee retailer which competes on the basis of its comfort rather than convenience, which is contrast of McDonald’s policy of convenience.
2. Execution.
The company has over time focused on original products and service with great coffee, excellent service and soothing environment for customers to come and hang around.
3. A Superb leadership.
Howard Schultz the founder of Starbucks has managed to come up with many innovative products for expanding the product portfolio of Starbucks.
4. Chinese Expansion
Last year Starbucks opened 500 more stores in China after measuring the high demand for their coffee in Chinese market. This increase has led to Starbucks owning 1500 stores in China and creating an alternative market for growth (Mourdoukoutas, 2013).
Sales Trends and Income
In FY 2013, McDonalds reported a profit of $1.52 billion which rose from $1.46 billion I the previous year. The revenue shot up by 2.4% to $7.32 billion and the sales at stores increased by 0.9% (Jargon, 2013)
In 2014, despite economic difficulties faced in past FY and several economic downturns due to increasing cost of commodities, added cost of labor and stagnation phase of dining industry. McDonalds officials are still confident that they will be able to increase their growth rate by 305% in the FY 2013-2014 (Brandau, 2013).
Conclusion
McDonalds is the biggest retailer in food service industry and strives due to its promotion and public relations programs which are aimed at generating results. With time, McDonalds have kept adding something new to their menu to give customers the extra they need to visit their stores over and over again. McDonalds promotes its campaigns through Television, Print and Online measures which help them get the attention of customers and stay at top of the list of all food retailers. Despite economic downturn in last year where many businesses have suffered losses, McDonalds have managed to increase their revenue and stay profitable.
References
Laird, K. (11/15/2013). “MCDONALD’S LAUNCHES MCCAFÉ LOYALTY PROGRAM”. Retrieved from. www.marketingmag.ca/news/marketer-news/mcdonalds-launches-mccafe-loyalty-program-94101
Urbanski, S., Wissen, T., Kammer, M., Wilde, T. & Abbatiello, C. (11/30/2012). “McDonald's Public Relations Plan”. Retrieved from. http://www.wissendesign.com/images/McDsPresentation.pdf
Jargon, J. (10/21/2013). “McDonald's Global Sales Growth Rises but Disappoints”. Retrieved from. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303448104579149250975536262
Brandau, M. (11/14/2013). “McDonald’s maintains growth plans despite difficulties”. Retrieved from. http://nrn.com/corporate/mcdonald-s-maintains-growth-plans-despite-difficulties
Mourdoukoutas, P. (4/25/2013). “Starbucks And McDonald's Winning Strategy”. Retrieved from. http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2013/04/25/starbucks-and-mcdonalds-winning-strategy/
Mourdoukoutas, P. (7/22/2013). “McDonald's Big Challenge At Home And Abroad”. Retrieved from. http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2013/07/22/mcdonalds-big-challenge-at-home-and-abroad/
Berry, T. (5/1/2005). “Creating a Sales Forecast”. Retrieved from. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/77674
