McDonald's Marketing Strategies and Impact

This assignment analyzes McDonald's marketing strategies, examining their various campaigns, initiatives like McDelivery and Happy Meals, and the effectiveness of their approach. It also delves into their competitive landscape, highlighting key competitors and how McDonald's differentiates itself in a crowded market. The analysis draws on provided references to support its claims.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s 1
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Discussion....................................................................................................................................................2
Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function at McDonald’s.......................................................2
Strategy development.........................................................................................................................3
Market research..................................................................................................................................3
Advertising...........................................................................................................................................4
Events..................................................................................................................................................4
Managing dealers and agency businesses...........................................................................................4
How key roles of marketing function relate to the wider organizational Context...................................5
Production and Operations unit..........................................................................................................5
Finance department............................................................................................................................5
HR department....................................................................................................................................6
Sales Department................................................................................................................................6
Evaluation of the ways how McDonald’s apply Marketing mix to the marketing planning process to
achieve business objectives.....................................................................................................................8
Product................................................................................................................................................8
Place....................................................................................................................................................9
Price.....................................................................................................................................................9
Promotion............................................................................................................................................9
People................................................................................................................................................11
Process..............................................................................................................................................11
Physical Evidence...................................................................................................................................11
Development and evaluation of a marketing plan for McDonald’s.......................................................12
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................14
References.................................................................................................................................................15

McDonald’s 2
Introduction
I have chosen McDonald’s for carrying out its detailed marketing analysis being an
assistant to Marketing Manager of the company. McDonald’s is a fast food producing
organization based in America having its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois (Area Development,
2018). It is a multinational company having branches in hundreds of countries all over the world.
McDonald’s is specifically famous for its hamburgers but they also deal in French fries,
beverages, breakfast products, ice creams, and salads etc. This paper will discuss the detailed
marketing analysis of McDonald’s which includes key roles and responsibilities of the marketing
function of the company. It will explain the ways, how company applies the marketing mix to the
marketing planning process and also covers the evaluation of marketing plan for McDonald’s.
Discussion
Key roles and responsibilities of marketing function at McDonald’s
The marketing department is a very essential part of any organization. It helps in the
growth of revenue, enhance the share of the company in the market and increase the profitability
of the company. Marketing department consists of a team of a number of people responsible for
multiple functions such as publicizing, new announcements, and events organizing etc.
McDonald’s has a brand image in the market which is more than just being a food store.
McDonald’s invest huge amount in its marketing and promotion activities. It spends over $800
million (McClellan, 2016) every year on its marketing, advertising and promotional events.
Some of the most important roles and responsibilities of its marketing functions are explained
here.

McDonald’s 3
Strategy development
Senior managers working in the marketing function make marketing strategies after
considering the common goal of the organization. These strategies are related to enter a new
market, increase distribution channels, and launching new products etc.
McDonald's marketing function also deal with building the marketing strategies for its
upcoming and already existing items to always keep it as a preferential food brand among
consumers. In the past, McDonald’s image was brought down by calling it as an unhealthy junk
food brand. To deal with this issue, McDonald’s started began to provide a nutrition card along
with the food. They also started marketing slogans describing the quality of hamburgers and
potato rich food. McDonald's also introduced nutritious food such as salad, crisp vegetables
(Click Americana, n.d.) etc. in its menu.
Market research
Before entering a new market, to launch a new product or to develop any other strategy,
the market department needs to conduct a market research which helps the team to recognize
new opportunities in the market. Research also helps them to identify consumer needs. By doing
a market research, they can also develop a strong strategy to deal with the competition.
McDonalds’s marketing team also conducted enough research to make it a favorite brand
for kids and adults. In the United Kingdom McDonald’s targeted the kids from the age of two to
eight year. They advertised their brand with the help of a song that children can always
remember. This research was made by the company to position the brand in the mind of kids and
attach their appetite with McDonald’s. The company also did market research to target youth by
offering them discount coupons and other benefits which were extremely liked by the young
people.

McDonald’s 4
Advertising
Marketing team arranges communication stuff to advertise the product through the
medium of campaigns, social media, leaflets, and promotional events etc.
As explained earlier in this paper that McDonald’s spend a huge amount on its
advertisements and promotional activities. Some of the examples of its famous advertising
campaigns are McDonald’s stretched restaurant hours, campaign on you tube to answer
questions of people regarding food quality at McDonald’s Canada(Tubular Insights, 2015),
Digital happy meal gaming zones and chance to win a free iced smoothie playing games etc.
Events
It is the responsibility of marketing function to take care of various events, seminars,
campaigns, and exhibitions etc. to increase the visibility of the product and the company in front
of consumers.
McDonald’s marketing team always actively participates in the local events to increase
its visibility among consumers. Moreover, it has also been participating in the global events such
as world cup, Olympic Games, and other local sports club events to increase its market presence.
Managing dealers and agency businesses
Marketing function manages the dealers, vendors and agencies responsible for supplying
all the stuff and materials related to marketing and promotional activities.
In McDonald’s, Marketing managers have the responsibility for establishing the
personality of the company as a brand in front of consumers. They consider various methods for
its promotion and make this company a recognizable brand in the market. They also keep a track
of the dealers and agencies accountable for supplying materials related to marketing, advertising
and other promotional activities. They coordinate with different agencies for sponsoring various
local and global events.

McDonald’s 5
How key roles of marketing function relate to the wider organizational
Context
Marketing function surrounds the complete business and it looks at the business from
consumer’s point of view. Marketing function works after considering all the areas of businesses
and derive its strategies considering the company’s main objective. Marketing function works
closely with different areas of business and its key responsibilities areas interrelate with other
functional units. In McDonald’s, marketing team works closely with operations department,
finance department, human resource department, sales department, and various other
departments to ensure a smooth and effective working and to avoid any conflict between various
functional units before implementing any marketing plan.
Production and Operations unit
The marketing department at McDonald’s work with production and operations division
to make sure that
 Enough research has been conducted to fulfill existing and forecasted needs of
consumers
 Number of orders initiated by the marketing team are completed within the scheduled
time
 Deliveries are made in stipulated time in all the outlets to cater to the expected number of
consumers
 Replace the discarded items to meet the health and safety needs.
Finance department
The finance department is a unit that allocates specified budget to all the units of an
organization. The marketing department at McDonald’s work with finance department to meet

McDonald’s 6
the budgetary requirements of market research activities, promotional activities, distribution
activities, advertising and campaigning etc. It also works with Finance department for increase or
decrease in its budget of promotional activities in order to take advantage of the new profitable
opportunities.
HR department
The marketing team at McDonald's also need to work closely with Human resource team
to ensure that right candidate is recruited to
 Research and establish new product plan
 Fulfill targets of production
 Work towards company goals
 Develop a competent sales team
 Understand customer requirements
 Ensure quality of food etc.
Sales Department
The marketing team at McDonald’s work with sales department to analyze the sales of
the company and build strategies to improve them. Sales team forecast the sales of existing and
new products and Marketing team invest in technology, promotions, digital innovations and
other activities to meet those sales.
Moreover, the marketing department at McDonald’s also works with procurement and
supply chain department for managing the timely movement of products and its distribution to
various outlets to serve the optimum number of consumers. It also works with the managers at
restaurant chains to ensure world-class services and feedback from customers so that future
strategies could be derived based on consumers suggestions. McDonald also works on loyalty

McDonald’s 7
programs (Fobes.com, 2016) to enhance the customer service and to enhance its brand image
among consumers.

McDonald’s 8
Evaluation of the ways how McDonald’s apply Marketing mix to the marketing
planning process to achieve business objectives
The marketing mix is a functional model of marketing. It consists of all the tactics that an
organization considers for promoting itself in the market. The 7Ps of marketing mix consist of
product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. After doing a market
research, every company evaluates the strategies and come up with the solutions to develop a
marketing plan. McDonald’s also evaluates its various tactics and apply 7Ps to the marketing
planning process to achieve its business objectives.
Product
Product describes the features and taste that should be included as per the customer’s
requirements. It should also be manufactured in a way that leaves a long-lasting impact on the
consumer. Its design and services associated with the product should be according to the
convenience of the customer. McDonald's consider various aspects of designing its products,
packaging, and appearance etc keeping customer’s need in mind. It has customized its burgers
differently for consumers of different countries keeping their preferences and tastes in mind.
McDonald’s conducts a market research, understands the behavior of consumers of a particular
country and then develop its products. For example, it includes pork, beef, and mutton burgers
etc in its menu in western countries where maximum people are non vegetarian while in various
other countries like India, it does not include these burgers in its menu as Indians don’t prefer
these food items and most of them are vegetarian consumers. McDonald’s also keep improving
items in its menu as per the changing preferences of consumers. Design and packaging of its
burgers are designed in such a way that is easily carried by consumers anywhere. It also ensures
to bring the awesome quality of its products as per the demand of customers.

McDonald’s 9
Place
The place should be selected by the company in a way that is easily accessible to the
consumer and it consists of the stores or outlets of the organization. The place should be nicely
located and its appearance should be liked by the consumers.
McDonald's has also developed its outlets based on the needs and accessibility of the
customers. It provides clean and hygienic outlets and good ambience which is mostly liked by
the consumers. It provides Wi-Fi facilities and good music that is loved by young people. It also
provides fun areas for kids and space for kids parties (McDonald's, n.d.).
Price
Product’s price should be represented as a fair value of money. It should not be too less
or high and should be according to the worth of the product. Sometimes, very less priced
products are disliked by the customers as they may consider them as low-quality products.
Strategies related to price should be made in a way that attracts consumers. Companies should
always build discount strategies which are preferred by consumers. Price of the product should
also be decided considering the price of competitor’s product. Price is an aspect that determines
the revenue of a firm so it should be given immense importance. McDonald’s design its product
after considering requirements of different income group of consumers and it also provides
combo meal offers to them such as happy meal (McDonald's, n.d.), family meal, and other
combo deals to attract them.
Promotion
Promotional activities convey the message of the company to the consumers. The ways to
represent promotional activities are advertising, campaigning, personal selling, public relations
and sales promotion etc. Promotional activities should be chosen in such a way that could be able
to nicely position the product in front of the target group. McDonald's spend a good sum of

McDonald’s 10
money on its promotional activities and position its product very well to the target customers.
Some of the successful advertising campaigns of McDonalds are “I am lovin it”, “Food folks and
fun” and “every time a good time” etc. Promotional strategies adopted by McDonald’s help it to
easily transfer its communications to the target group such as kids, youth, and other people. By
adopting these successful promotional tools, it has managed to become one of the largest burger
food chains in the world having thousands of successfully running outlets. Mcdonald’s set its
promotional tools in front of consumers in following ways: Advertising: McDonald’s make those kind of advertisements which are remembered by
the target customers. It focuses on advertisement which makes consumers aware of the product
and leaves a long-lasting impact on their minds. Personal Selling: McDonald’s employees working in various outlets create a delightful
experience for customers by providing good services and effective communication. Sales promotion: McDonald’s arrange various sales promotional activities to enhance
sales of its products such as discount coupons, combo meal offers etc. Public relations: Employees working in McDonald’s outlets always try to build good
customer relations and try their best to stand apart from their competitors. They make the
customers feel a happy and delighted customer. Direct Marketing: McDonald’s provide home services to consumers by delivering the
products at their doorsteps(McDonald's, n.d.). It also keeps updating its websites with new
products and offers, and also provides the list and contact details of nearest available outlets.
People
McDonald's is known to focus on internal as well as external marketing. It trains and
motivates its employees in an effective way so that they could provide a delightful experience to
its customers which ultimately results in victorious external marketing.

McDonald’s 11
Process
The process describes the ways in which a product or service is delivered to its
customers. McDonald’s has designed its processes to serve various types of customers and it has
trained the staff at its outlets to serve the customer in an effective way. McDonald's have various
outlets that operate late night as well. It has drive-thru option (McDonald's, n.d.) in most of its
outlets where consumers need not come to the outlet to order their stuff while they can collect
the same from the drive-thru while sitting in their vehicles if they don’t have enough time to visit
the outlet.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence is the intangible services that a company offers to its customers which
make the customers visit again in their outlets or stores. McDonald's provide clean and hygiene
outlets to its customers and ambience in its stores are also liked by the customers. McDonald's
have designed various fun and gaming zones in its outlets for kids which attract the kids and
make them visit repeatedly in McDonald's outlets. Its burgers are also packed in a way that is
easily carried away by the consumers.
Development and evaluation of a marketing plan for McDonald’s
Although McDonald’s is considered one of the most preferred food outlets for consumers
and have its market presence in a number of countries, it needs to expand itself more to sustain

McDonald’s 12
its image and deal with the competition. There are a number of competitors available in the
market such as Subway, Dominos, pizza hut, KFC, and burger king (Downie, 2018) etc. The
market for McDonald's has become saturated and its expansion is becoming difficult. It is also
slow in terms of innovating new items in its menu. Due to the presence of other food brands, its
market share is also declining. Change in the prices of various currencies is also affecting the
revenue and growth of McDonald’s. It needs to develop an effective market plan for its
expansion and sustainability in the market.
 Product: As explained earlier, McDonald’s is slow in terms of innovation, it should add
more variety of food items in its menu and try to target all age and income groups of people. Its
food items should not just be limited to kids and youth. McDonald’s should inculcate healthier
items in its menu. It should also include fruit-based items and juices, which can attract older age
group of people as well. Place: Company should expand its reach by opening its stores in small places also. It
should cover malls, big cities, highways and small cities etc. It should also develop its outlets
near competitor outlets and try to attract their customers as well.
 Price: McDonald’s should develop sufficient strategies to price its products in
comparison to the competitor’s products. It should include more products with different prices to
target every income group of customers. It should provide more discount offers to attract more
customers. Promotion: McDonald’s should develop promotional strategies to target non-buying
customer groups. McDonald's should use all the promotional mediums to target customers such
as social media, print media, telephone, mobile apps, brochures and digital marketing etc.

McDonald’s 13
McDonald's should engage more untapped consumers through its effective advertising strategies.
It should expand its delivery services in all the countries. People: As explained earlier, McDonald’s focuses on internal as well as external market
strategies. It should also include Customer relationship management and data base management
to more effectively serve its customers. Mc Donald’s should make an alliance with other
companies and agencies to increase its reach and sustain its presence in the market. It should tie
up with railways, flights, and cruise etc for supplying its food items for their customers. Process: McDonald's should put efforts to make processes that reduce costs and focus on
customer delight. It can be done by introducing technology, convenience in making payments
and delivery of products. It should try to retain existing target group of people and make
comfortable processes to target older generations as well. In the past, McDonald’s have faced
various satisfaction issues as it was put across as unhealthy food producing brands. So,
McDonald’s should build more feedback strategies and customize its foods to target every kind
of customer. It should try to increase more satisfied consumers groups. Physical evidence: McDonald’s should try to redecorate its outlets according to modern
services. It should develop self-serve options across its outlets. It may also try to offer
conventional dining by offering table services to its customers. It may also try to offer
candlelight dinner or other special dining offers on special occasions and festivals. All these
innovating services may attract more consumers and company may sustain itself for long years
even in the presence of competitors in the market.

McDonald’s 14
Conclusion
Hence, the paper has discussed the key roles and responsibilities of marketing function at
McDonald’s. It has further explained the applications of seven P’s of marketing by the company.
Lastly, it explained the development and evaluation of marketing plan for McDonald’s after
considering all the Ps of the marketing mix. Today, in the era of huge competition in the food
industry, every company is adopting different marketing strategies to expand its reach and to
create a better brand image among consumers. McDonald’s should also use effective business
strategies as explained in this paper to improve its Global viability. It can also reduce threats of
competition by introducing more items in its menu and targeting more consumer groups.

McDonald’s 15
References
Area Development. (13 Feb 2018). McDonald’s Relocates Headquarters to Chicago’s west loop.
(Online) Available at http://www.areadevelopment.com/newsitems/2-13-2018/mcdonalds-
headquarters-chicago-illinois.shtml (Accessed 22 May 2018).
Click Americana. (n.d.). McDonald’s salads: It’s a good time for the great taste(1987)-Click
Americana. (Online) Available at https://clickamericana.com/topics/food-drink/mcdonalds-
salads-its-a-good-time-for-the-great-taste-1987 (Accessed 22 may 2018).
Downie, R. (30 April 2018). Who are McDonald’s Main Competitors?. (Online) Investopedia.
Available at https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/102815/who-are-mcdonalds-main-
competitors.asp (Accessed 22 May 2018).
Forbes.com. (24 March 2016). Why Mcdonald’s is working on a loyalty program?. (online)
Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/03/24/why-mcdonalds-is-
working-on-a-loyalty-program/#1b5bdacc575a (Accessed 22 May 2018).
Mcclellan, S. (25 April 2016). McDonald’s $800 Million-Plus U.S. Ad Account Up for Grabs.
(Online) Mediapost.com. Available at
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/274213/mcdonalds-800-million-plus-us-ad-
account-up-fo.html (Accessed 22 May 2018).
McDonald's, (n.d.). Drive-Thru. (Online). Available at
https://www.mcdonalds.com/ae/en-ae/drive-thru.html (Accessed 22 May 2018).
McDonald's. (n.d.). HappyMeal- Fun & Toys in Every Meal/McDonald’s UK. (Online) Available
at https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/menu/happy-meal.html (Accessed 22 May 2018).

McDonald’s 16
McDonald's. (n.d.). PlayPlace & Parties/McDonald’s. (Online) Available at
https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/services/playplaces-and-parties.html (Accessed 22 May
2018).
McDonalds.(n.d.). McDelivery: Order Online Food Delivery/McDonald’s.(Online) Available at
https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/mcdelivery.html (Accessed 22 May 2018).
Tubular Insights. ( 16 March 2015). McDonald’s “Our Food, Your Questions” Video Campaign
is Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. (Online) Available at
http://tubularinsights.com/mcdonalds-our-food-your-questions-video-campaign/ (Accessed 22
May 2018).