1 Effective Advertising Planning and Implementation Paper Name Date Instructor 2 Effective Advertising Planning and Implementation Paper McDonalds Fast Food McDonalds is the largest chain of fast food restaurants that was founded in 1940 in San Bernardino California by Ray Kroc The company is currently headquartered in Oak Brook Illinois There are 47 million customers served each day in the franchise The total employees that were recorded in 2008 were 40 000 which are spread all over the world in 119 countries and territories McDonalds has expanded into many international markets and the firm has become the symbol of globalization worldwide McDonalds 2009 More than 70 of McDonald s restaurants are owned and operated by local business people independently Although they are one of the largest fast food restaurant chain in the world their focus is not on being the bigger restaurant but rather on being the better restaurant The customer focus plan for McDonalds is to influence people on their products place price and promotion McDonald s applies a strategy model that is based on differentiation and cost based competitive advantage and fast service People often come to a fast food restaurant on a quick break knowing what to expect McDonald s offers quality convenience service and value McDonalds created the Happy Meal that includes a toy and was marketed to children to add a differentiating advantage in their markets But not only did they add a toy they also added a specific toy for a girl or a boy to bring a more personal experience for family dining or carry out whichever each family decides on their night out McDonalds advertising strategy is always changing and reinventing themselves to meet the current market conditions The company is willing to modify its strategy depending on internal or external forces keeping them flexible and fresh to the public Competition in the fast food market changes daily so keeping strategic planning open and knew is a must for McDonalds to stay competitive in this high demand market Over the past few years customers have become 3 more conscious about what they choose for their diet In response to that McDonald s has added healthier items to the menu such as salads fruits and smoothies In 2007 the company gave children a choice among milk fruit and vegetables as well as apples cut like french fries rather than unhealthy french fries as a part of Happy Meal and used the movie Shrek to promote the healthier alternatives McDonald s also incorporates geographical strategic plans to keep them connected with individual markets McDonald s operations are divided into five regions United States Europe Latin America Canada and Asia Pacific Middle East Africa which are further sub divided into more regional segments In Europe for example the focus is more on stores design and upgraded food range offerings for a more sophisticated premium product Part of McDonald s business strategy is also social responsibility which shows that the company is committed to environment people practices animal welfare employment and diversity In the United Kingdom McDonalds created an open dialog with customers and stakeholders to receive real feedback on products and service They also visited farms and suppliers for quality assurance and education This provides extensive marketing and advertising information to better knowledge of customers and potential McDonalds strives to be one of the quickest serving restaurants and provide outstanding quality service hygiene and superior values to their customers leaving them happy and satisfied Customers value high quality service bringing McDonalds repeat customer business customers worldwide Promotional Strategy and Target Market of McDonalds 4 McDonald s Corporation is one of the largest and the most famous and valued brands in the fast food industry having franchises in 121 countries in serving 36 million customers a day and generating profits of over 3 billion annually The differentiated market segmentation strategy has been successfully used by McDonald s by targeting families particularly children with their Happy Meals toys and reasonable pricing Traditionally McDonald s has used a low price strategy to offer a lower priced meal than other fast food chains to help gain the large size families patronage The location of its restaurants has played an instrumental role in making McDonald s successful It was the first fast food chain to expand into the crowded downtown areas and suburbs of large urban cities Greco Michman 1995 With target marketing a subgroup of the larger market is selected as the focal point for the marketing and advertising campaign Target marketing uses demographic information so that the advertiser can select effective media to reach the segment targeted McDonalds has effectively done this For one commercial advertisement it is possible to target multiple audiences at a time and achieve a wider spectrum affect McDonalds is also involved in charity work throughout the world focusing on a global fundraiser which benifits Ronald McDonald House Charities Helping children and families in need is one of the most important things that the global corporation does for the local communities A large percentage of McDonald s fast food chains worldwide are owned and operated by local businessmen and businesswomen individually and they support Ronald McDonald House Charities together Comparing McDonalds with other fast food chains it is not wrong to say that McDonald s seem to be on the top of the fast food chain race This is in large part attributed to 5 the different strategies that the fast food chain patterns in response to their customers in different geographic locations The success of McDonald s in the world wide markets has been the restraints tradition of adapting and responding to the conditions of local demand such as serving a non beef fast food in India and halal burgers in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries while offering a teriyaki burger in Japan and falafel in Egypt Another important aspect of McDonald s strategy in world markets is its program to develop local suppliers in Brazil where they invested a significant amount of resources into helping farmers master the cultivation of potatoes Carrada Bravo 2003 The success of McDonald is largely a result of articulation of its product and services with changing social and cultural conditions in the United States and then a global economy that enabled the fast