MKTG340 Unit 3: McDonald's Organic Food Media Outlet Analysis

This report analyzes the strategic selection of a media outlet for the launch of McDonald's new organic food products. The author proposes Facebook as the ideal platform, targeting individuals aged 25-45 who are inclined towards organic food consumption. The report justifies this choice by highlight...Read More

Running head: PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA OUTLETS
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA OUTLETS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Abstract
This paper focuses on the selection of an adequate media outlet and also the creation of an
adequate media story for the new organic food products that McDonald’s intends to launch. On
the basis of the analysis, the media outlet of internet or more precisely the social networking
website Facebook had been suggested for the launch of the media story related to the new
organic products of McDonald’s.

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Introduction
As stated by Hutchins and Tindall (2016) the marketing public relation (MPR)
professionals within the different business corporations are entrusted with the work of creating
appealing advertisements or media contents which will captivate the customers and thereby
influence them to purchase their products or services. Michel, Ruggiero and Yang (2016) are of
the viewpoint that this is important since the customer buying behavior substantially depends on
the effectiveness of these media stories or the advertisements and also the media outlets which
are being used for the same. More importantly, the MPR professionals need to select the kind of
media outlet for the publication of these advertisements or media stories which is not being
widely used by their target market but easily accessible as well.
Overview of the Company
The corporation that had been selected for creating the media story is McDonald’s.
McDonald’s, established in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald, is the largest fast-food
restaurant chain of the world in terms of the annual revenue generated by it (Mcdonalds.com,
2020). The concerned corporation is known for the large variety of fast food products which are
being offered by it and also for the high quality of the same which as a matter of fact are in
synchronicity with the taste requirements of its target market. More importantly, in the recent
years it had been seen that the concerned corporation had expanded its business to more than 180
different nations of the world (Mcdonalds.com, 2020). In this connection, it needs to be said that
an important factor that had directly contributed towards the significant success attained by the
concerned corporation over the years can be attributed to the customer-centric marketing or
promotional advertisements created by the MPR professionals of the corporation. Furthermore,

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the corporation under discussion here had decided to launch a new line of organic food product
for which the MPR professionals of the concerned corporation need to create a new media story.
Media Outlet and Target Audience
The media outlet which had been selected for the release or for that matter the publication
of the media story is the internet or more precisely the social media networking site Facebook.
The selection of this particular media outlet can be explained on the basis of the fact that the
corporation under discussion here intends to focus on the individuals related to the age bracket of
25-45 years of age who in the present times have shown a higher propensity towards the
consumption of organic food products. In this regard, it needs to be said that the majority of the
individuals related to this particular age bracket are avid internet users and also frequently use
social networking websites like Facebook and others not only for the purpose of interacting but
also to get an idea about the different products or the corporations offering the same (Ikonen,
Luoma-aho & Bowen, 2017). More importantly, presently it had been seen that the different
social networking websites, the advertisements placed over there and also the reviews left by the
customers on the pages of the corporations have been instrumental in influencing the buying
behavior of the customers (Xie, Neill & Schauster, 2018). It is in the light of these aspects that
the corporation under discussion here had decided to use the media outlet Internet and the social
networking site for the publication of the media story related to the new product line that it
intends to launch.
Attention-Grabbing Opening
The attention-grabbing opening statement that the MPR professionals of McDonald’s had
decided to use for the promotion of the organic product line that the concerned corporation

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intends to launch is “Get a taste of the best organic food products at McDonald’s at the most
affordable prices”. The MPR professionals are hoping that this statement will enable the
concerned corporation to grab adequate number of customers for the new organic product line
that it intends to launch.
The Hook
Are you concerned about the ever-increasing number of health ailments that you are
suffering from? Wondering why you are suffering from these health ailments and what might
have caused the same? Well, an important reason for this is the large amount of fast food and
junk food that you consume on a regular basis. To help you to overcome this issue McDonald’s
had launched a new organic product line the consumption of which will enable you to stay fit
and also to reduce the large number of health issues faced by you as well.
Background Information Supporting the Pitch
As stated by Kidd and Loxton (2018), 67.9% people of the nation of USA are presently
suffering from one form of health ailment or the other and an important factor that had directly
contributed towards this can be attributed to the unhealthy eating habits of the people of the
concerned nation. Taylor and Nichter (2016) are of the viewpoint that eating fast foods or for
that matter the different kinds of junk food products had become a way of life for the American
people despite knowing the negative connotations of the high consumption of the same. More
importantly, the lack of healthy or organic food products that are available to the individuals
within the nation of USA had also given rise to the higher consumption of the junk food products
or the fast food products (Marlatt et al., 2016). Thus, it had been seen that a significant
percentage of the people of the nation of USA are presently showing a higher propensity towards

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the consumption of organic or for that matter healthy food products which in turn had created a
higher demand for the same within the concerned nation. In the face of this, it is likely that the
new organic product line launched by McDonald’s would be appreciated as well as accepted by
the people.
Support Materials
Dhobale et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the individuals have the opportunity to
significantly reduce the health issues faced by them through the consumption of healthy as well
as organic food products. However, the major issue arises since organic food products are not
easily available to the people and also the restaurants which sell the same charge exorbitant
amount of money from the customers. Thus, McDonald’s had launched its organic product line
which the customers would be able to purchase at all its outlets and also they would not have to
pay exorbitant amount of money for the same.
The Action Step
The media story that the MPR professionals of McDonald’s had created related to its new
product line would be published over the social networking site Facebook since the majority of
the customers that it intends to target for the concerned product actively use the concerned
networking site. More importantly, this particular media story would not only include the details
of the concerned product but also the benefits that the customers would be able to derive
through the consumption of the same so as to influence the buying behavior of its target market
in the best possible manner.

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Follow-Up Step
The MPR professionals would frequently post different product related questions over the
concerned media outlet so as to collect the feedback of the customers. Furthermore, the
customers would also be encouraged to provide their suggestions regarding the manner in which
the organic food offered by the corporation could be improved. These opinions, feedbacks or
suggestions would be taken into account for the improvement of the quality or the nature of the
organic food offered by the corporation.
Special Considerations for Pitching a Blogger
The MPR professionals need to ensure the fact that they do not misuse the media
database, fit their media story adequately within the blog, pitch their product related information
adequately and others while pitching to the bloggers.
Conclusion
To conclude, the MPR professionals need to select the right kind of media outlets on the
basis of the target market that the corporation they are associated with offers. Furthermore, they
are also required to create captivating media stories or advertisements so as to influence the
buying behavior of their target market in the best possible manner.

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References
Dhobale, R. V., Kumbhar, S. G., Gore, A. D., Waghachavare, V. B., Kadam, Y. R., & Dhumale,
G. B. (2017). A study of food fads and overweight in adolescents from an urban
area. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 3(4), 813-817.
Hutchins, A. L., & Tindall, N. T. (2016). New media, new media relations: Building
relationships with bloggers, citizen journalists and engaged publics. In Public Relations
and Participatory Culture (pp. 123-136). Routledge.
Ikonen, P., Luoma-aho, V., & Bowen, S. A. (2017). Transparency for sponsored content:
Analysing codes of ethics in public relations, marketing, advertising and
journalism. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 11(2), 165-178.
Janssen, H. G., Davies, I. G., Richardson, L. D., & Stevenson, L. (2018). Determinants of
takeaway and fast food consumption: a narrative review. Nutrition research
reviews, 31(1), 16-34.
Kidd, C., & Loxton, N. J. (2018). Junk food advertising moderates the indirect effect of reward
sensitivity and food consumption via the urge to eat. Physiology & behavior, 188, 276-
282.
Marlatt, K. L., Farbakhsh, K., Dengel, D. R., & Lytle, L. A. (2016). Breakfast and fast food
consumption are associated with selected biomarkers in adolescents. Preventive medicine
reports, 3, 49-52.

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Mcdonalds.com, (2020). McDonald's - Official Global Corporate Website. Retrieved 6 January
2020, from https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd.html
Michel, A. I. G., Ruggiero, T. E., & Yang, K. C. (2016). How Public Relations Practitioners
Perceive Social Media Platforms?: A Media Richness Perspective. In Managing Public
Relations and Brand Image through Social Media (pp. 1-19). IGI Global.
Taylor, N., & Nichter, M. (2016). Studying body image and food consumption practices. In Food
Culture: Anthropology, Linguistics and Food Studies (pp. 58-69). Berghahn Books.
Xie, Q., Neill, M. S., & Schauster, E. (2018). Paid, earned, shared and owned media from the
perspective of advertising and public relations agencies: Comparing China and the United
States. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 12(2), 160-179.