McDonald's Marketing Management: Strategies, Processes, and Analysis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of McDonald's marketing management strategies, processes, and their impact on the business. It explores McDonald's shift from product-based to value-based positioning and its co-branding initiatives, particularly with Coca-Cola. The report discusses McDonald's marketing processes, including market focus, distribution strategies, and promotional activities, highlighting the roles and responsibilities of a marketing manager in aligning marketing activities with market trends and customer expectations. It also examines the interrelation of marketing with other departments like finance and human resources, emphasizing the importance of coordination for organizational success. Furthermore, the report includes a marketing mix comparison between McDonald's and Burger King, identifying areas of improvement for McDonald's in terms of product offerings, pricing strategies, market availability, and promotional activities. The conclusion underscores the significance of effective interrelationships between departments for McDonald's competitiveness and long-term opportunities.

Running head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Marketing management
Name of the student
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Scenario: 1
Introduction
In the current business scenario, marketing plays an important role in enhancing the
competitive advantages for the contemporary business organizations. This is due to the fact that
marketing strategies and activities of the businesses can help in attracting more customers over
their competitors along with enhancing the brand image and identity (Sok, O’Cass and Sok
2013). McDonald’s is one of the leading names in the current marketing world for their
innovative approaches. They are one of the early adopters of co-branding concept in marketing
by bundling products of Coca Cola with them. It should be noted that in the recent past,
McDonald’s followed product based positioning in differentiating their offerings against the
competitors. However currently they are following value based positioning strategy due to the
reason it is helping them in positioning their offerings based on more elements and providing
holistic experiences to the customers. This approach of McDonald’s is also helping them in
transforming from a fast food chain the developed markets to restaurant giant in the developing
markets. However, on the other hand it should be noted that McDonald’s will face the challenge
in pushing the sales of their products considering the fact that customers are becoming more
health conscious (Wirtz, Tuzovic and Kuppelwieser 2014). Thus, more healthier and fat free
offerings from McDonald’s are expected and they are yet to introduce them to cater to this future
challenge.
Overview of different marketing processes
Being a major multinational brand, McDonald’s is practicing extensive marketing
activities in different regions across the world. One of their major marketing processes is the co-

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branding with the help of which, McDonald’s has effectively leveraged on the brand equity of
Coca Cola. In addition, they also follow market focus strategy and accordingly younger age
groups are being specifically targeted. For instance, different comic characters and toy figures
are being offered with the products targeted towards the children. This is helping McDonald’s in
increasing the value proposition for the targeted customers with the help of the market focus
strategy (Iglesias, Ind and Alfaro 2017). In terms of the distribution strategy, they are following
franchise model in managing their global operations. This is helping them in having the lower
sets of risks and responsibilities along with maintaining the universal service delivery standards.
Promotional strategy of McDonald’s is also extensive including activities such as sponsorships in
leading sports events. This is helping them in increasing the visibility in the global market. This
should be noted that target customers of McDonald’s are majorly the younger generation and
sponsorships in the sporting events will be effective in creating awareness among this age group
(Resnick et al. 2016).
Roles and responsibilities of a marketing manager
McDonald’s is operating in a highly competitive business segment with having the
presence of good number of brands. Thus, the marketing holds an important part in enhancing
the business potentiality of McDonald’s. One of the major roles for the marketing manager in
McDonald’s is to ensure the alignment of the marketing activities with that of the external
market trends (Jarvinen and Taiminen 2016). This is due to the reason that current business and
market scenario is rapidly changing and it is important for McDonald’s to have their activities in
accordance to these trends. Thus, the marketing manager should determine the external business
factors and design the marketing activities accordingly. For instance, toy figures being offered to

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the children with McDonald’s lunch box are being designed in collaboration with latest movie
franchises. It helps them to offer latest concepts to the customers at any point of time.
It is also the responsibility of the marketing manager to determine the requirement and
expectation of the target customers and design the marketing activities accordingly. This is due
to the fact that expectations from the customers are getting changed in periodical manner and
marketing activities should be aligned with these expectations. In the case of McDonald’s,
change from product based positioning to value based positioning is being implemented by the
marketing manager. It was the responsibility of the marketing manager to determine the change
in the expectations of the customers and accordingly they have started to position them as more
holistic restaurant service provider (Magnusson et al. 2013). Marketing manager also plays an
important role in introducing new products in the market to meet the criteria of the target market.
This is due to the fact that product development process will be effective only when it can cope
up with the changes in the taste and preference pattern of the targeted customers. The
development and evolution of the products of McDonald’s is result of the proper role playing by
their marketing manager.
Influences and interrelation of marketing with other departments
Marketing is having major influences in the business operation of McDonald’s due to the
fact that McDonald’s is customer based and focused organization. Thus, marketing department is
the primary source of gathering information regarding customers for the organization and it is
enabling the marketing department to have their influences on the activities of other department.
In the case of McDonald’s, finance and human resource department are working in coordination
with the marketing department (Mintz and Currim 2013). This is due to the fact that coordination

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is helping in getting the fund allocated for different marketing activities initiated by the
marketing department. Finance department is working with the marketing department in
determining their needs and allocating funds accordingly. On the other hand, human resource
department is determining the needs of skills and training for the marketing people and
accordingly they are developing the human resources. Thus, McDonald’s is having right people
for right job with having proper skill and expertise, which is further helping in improving the
service process for them.
Value and importance of marketing
The major importance of marketing for McDonald’s in gaining competitive advantages in
the market. This is due to the reason that the major competitors of McDonald’s such as KFC,
Dominos and Burger King are competing hugely and effective marketing process will only help
McDonald’s to stay ahead in the competition. In addition, marketing activities are also helping
them to create more brand awareness among the existing customers as well as among the new
customers. Thus, the rate of acquisitions of new customers is getting increased for McDonald’s.
Moreover, with the help of the marketing, McDonald’s is being able to determine the trends in
the market and can offer their products accordingly. Hence, the level of customer satisfaction is
also getting increased for them along with the retention ratio.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that coordination and effective interrelationships between the
different functional deportments is important for the organizational success. In this report, the
influence of the marketing department on the organizational affairs is discussed. In addition, the
advantages being gained by McDonald’s from the effective interrelationships between the

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departments are also identified and evaluated. It is identified that McDonald’s is known for
innovative approach towards marketing strategies from the past and this is creating differences
for them as compared to their major competitors (Mulhern 2013). This is made possible due to
the effective coordination and interrelationships between the different departments of them.
Hence, this concept is significant for the competitiveness of McDonald’s and this will also help
them in creating favorable opportunities in the long term also.
Marketing mix comparison
The major competitor for McDonald’s is Burger King as they are also offering similar
products across the world. However, analysis on the basis of marketing mix strategies of both the
brand, a few differences can be identified. Moreover, it will also help McDonald’s in identifying
the areas of improvement over their competitors. The following sections will discuss about the
marketing mix strategies of both McDonald’s and Burger King and compared them. In addition,
the areas of improvement for McDonald’s will also be discussed.
McDonald’s Burger King
Product McDonald’s is having diverse product
portfolio with having different items
for catering to different customer tastes
and preferences. Both the vegetarian
and non-vegetarian items are being
sold by McDonald’s across the world
(Collett Miles 2013). In this case, it is
identified that McDonald’s has
Compared to the product portfolio of
McDonald’s Burger King is having
narrow product line. This is helping
them to offer only the core products to
the customers across all their stores
without getting diluted. They are also
offering vegetarian and non vegetarian
items in different markets. However,

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initiated market adaptation strategy in
offering the products according to the
local market trends.
standardized products are majorly
being practiced by Burger King with
minor adaptations. The extent of
market adaptations of Burger King is
less compared to McDonald’s.
Price McDonald’s is offering more mass
market and penetration pricing
compared to the premium pricing of
Burger King. This is helping them to
cater to larger section of the customers
in the global market. Moreover, market
penetration pricing is effective for the
extended product portfolio of
McDonald’s (Crawford 2015).
However, some of their products are
priced at premium, which are only
targeted to the higher end customers.
Burger king is following premium
pricing over their competitors across
all the locations. This is due to the
reason that they are having limited and
narrower product line compared to
McDonald’s Thus, with the help of the
premium pricing strategy, Burger King
is following niche marketing strategy.
Place McDonald’s is available in both offline
and online mediums and thus the
market availability is favorable.
However, McDonald’s is one of the
largest fast food chains in the world in
terms of store number (Seo and Jang
Burger King is also having both offline
and online presence but less compared
to McDonald’s. This is due to the
reason that they are having lower
number of stores across the world
compared to McDonald’s. However,

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2013). Thus, the market coverage of
McDonald’s is more over Burger
King. In the recent time, McDonald’s
is having their stores in the tier II
cities, which is further increasing their
target market segments.
the premium pricing of them is helping
Burger King to have higher average
profitability compared to McDonald’s.
Market availability of Burger King in
the Tier I cities are more compared to
McDonald’s.
Promotion McDonald’s is having extensive
promotional and marketing activities.
In this case also, they are following
market adaptation strategy due to the
fact that it is helping them to have
different promotional activities in
different regions. Thus, cultural
integration for them is more. They are
also following Omni Channel
promotional strategy.
Burger King is also following Omni
Channel promotional strategy
involving both the offline and online
mediums. They are also following
market adaptation in promoting their
products (Ghobadian and O’Regan
2014). However, product base
promotional strategy is helping Burger
King to have competitive edge over
their competitors.
People McDonald’s is having diverse
workforce across the world. As their
business model is based on
franchising, responsibility and risks of
managing the employees are less.
Human resource management process
of McDonald’s is also effective and
Burger King is also having diverse
workforce across the world and
approaches towards management of
human resources are similar to that of
McDonald’s. Both the brands are
operating in the service sector and thus
the service quality and standard is

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efficient, which is beneficial in
maintaining the service quality and
standard (Uggla 2015).
important for them.
Physical
evidence
Physical evidence of McDonald’s
includes the products offered to the
customers along with the gift items.
The gift items are being carried over
by the customers and this is helping in
better recall value for McDonald’s
(Srivastava, Mithas and Jha 2013).
Physical evidence for Burger King
includes the unique and distinctive
products in terms of size, taste and
forms. This is enabling Burger King to
create better and favorable image
among the customers.
Process McDonald’s is known for their
effective and fast service delivery
process. They have also introduced the
concept of drive in stores for the faster
delivery. Thus, in terms of process,
McDonald’s is having effective and
efficient mechanism (Khan, Dongping
and Wahab 2016).
Burger King is also having effective
process in place, which is helping them
to have faster and accurate service
standard. However, they are having
more transparency compared to
McDonald’s. This is due to the fact
that customers are having the access to
witness of their orders getting
prepared.
Areas of improvement
From the above analysis, it is identified that McDonald’s should have more premiums
positioning in the market. This is due to the reason that competition is getting intense in the price

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level where they are currently operating. On the other hand, the premium fast food segment is
having lower sets of competition, which can pose opportunities for McDonald’s. It is
recommended that they should separate branding for their premium products, which will help to
cater to both premium as well as mass market customers. It is also identified that McDonald’s
should follow market adaptation in their service delivery process. This is due to the fact that
currently standardized service is being offered across the world by them and offering cultural
specific services in different regions will help them to gain competitive advantages in terms of
differentiated service process. Moreover, they will be able to mitigate the risks of Burger King
by offering more cultural specific services to the customers. For instance, they are having major
collaborations with the superhero franchise movies of Hollywood in co branding the products.
Thus, if they can collaborate with different film industry relevant in different countries, then the
attractiveness can get enhanced.

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Marketing plan
Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the situational factors being faced by McDonald’s. In
addition, this report had also discussed about the marketing mix strategies to be followed by
them. Other elements such as budget, controlling and evaluation aspects are also discussed in this
report.

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Introduction
Marketing plan is important for McDonald’s in the current business scenario as it will
help them to design their marketing strategies according to environmental factors. This
marketing plan will discuss about the situational analysis to identify the external and internal
factors relevant for McDonald’s. In addition, this report will also discuss about the marketing
mix of McDonald’s along with the allocated funding process. Evaluation and controlling
mechanisms will also be discussed.
Situational analysis
PEST analysis
Political  McDonald’s is facing diverse and different political challenges relevant
in their host countries.
 More countries are imposing tax for fast food, which is posing
challenges for McDonald’s in selling their products (Nandini 2014).
 Diplomatic issues between the countries are also affecting the business
viability as this is creating issues in foreign investments.
Economical  Emergence of global economic recession will reduce the potentiality of
business for McDonald’s.
 Increase in the competition will further affect the profitability of
McDonald’s (Telang and Deshpande 2016).
 Initiation of cost leadership strategy will reduce the profitability and
will also affect the long term financial capability.
Social  Social preferences are changing in rapid pace and thus McDonald’s is

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having the challenge to cope up with.
 Ill impacts of fast food are getting more communicated in the recent
time and thus customers are reducing their consumption (Vracheva,
Judge and Madden 2016).
 Thus, social preferences for McDonald’s will get reduced in the long
term.
Technological  McDonald’s is well ahead in the fast food industry in terms of
technological development.
 Automation is practiced by them in having cost effective and faster
service delivery process (Shabbir 2018).
 However, added cost will be incurred in coping up with the rapid
development in technology in the food sector.
SWOT analysis
Strengths  Branding of McDonald’s is huge across the world.
 They are having extensive market coverage across the world.
 They are having diversified product portfolio.
Weaknesses  They are not having presence outside the metropolitan cities.
 Being accused for different unethical practices in different time.
 Lower market penetration in the developing countries.
Opportunities  Offering healthier items will increase the business for McDonald’s.
 Diversifying their business will help to target new customer segments.

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 Increasing the presence in the developing countries will help to have
more customer base.
Threats  Emergence of economic recession will reduce the business.
 Entry of new competitors will reduce the potentiality.
 Introduction of new regulations will pose challenge in the business
operation.
Marketing mix
Product  Diverse product portfolio
 Market adaptation strategy to have different and local market based
products
 Helps in catering different target customer segments
Price  Market penetration pricing is followed by McDonald’s
 Helps in targeting larger customer segments and more business revenue
 Getting more brand identity in the global market
Place  Both online and offline distribution strategy are being followed.
 Market availability of McDonald’s is huge compared to their
competitors.
 New concepts such as Drive in facility are further generating more
revenue.
Promotion  Omni Channel promotional strategy is being followed by McDonald’s
(Rodrigues, Nikhil and Jacob 2016).

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 Social media marketing is being extensively used to gather customer
data.
Budget
Marketing Tools Amount
(in €)
Digital Media Marketing Tools
Facebook €4,000
Twitter €5,000
Youtube €6,500
Total Social Media Marketing expenses €17,500
Other Online Marketing Media
E-mail Marketing €25,000
Online Display advertisements €10,000
Other Online promotional Campaigns €29,000
Total Budget for Online Media €64,000
Traditional Marketing Media
Newspapers €11,000
Magazines €29,000
Total Print Media €40,000
TV Channels €70,000
Billboards €35,000
Total €105,000
Total Required Budget for Promotion €225,500