Branding, or a brand, takes the form of a symbolic construct created by a marketer to represent a collection of information about a product, in this case the McDonalds Corporation and its fast food products. This symbolic construct typically consists of a name, identifying mark, visual images or symbols, or possibly, in some cases, mental concepts which distinguishes the product. A brand often carries connotations of a product’s promise, of the point of difference between the product and its competitors which makes it unique. This is often implemented by a firm to give the product a personality, an image even. Due to this, the branding of a product usually takes huge importance in the advertising element of a company. It serves as a quick and helpful way to introduce and inform the consumers as to what the supplier to offer to the market.
McDonalds needs to make effective use of branding in order to differentiate itself from its competitors, otherwise, if all products in the market seem relatively similar, the consumer will just choose the cheapest option, and so McDonalds will stand to gain a higher profit margin by effective use of branding in order to communicate with their target audience. Products that are well known, for example the Big Mac, are said to have acquired brand recognition. Similarly, when a brand has gained a highly positive reputation amongst consumers, marketers say that its owner has obtained brand equity. It is also advisable, when dealing with branding, that a firm protects its brand name via legal protection so that the brand name becomes a trademark.
There have been many McDonalds TV campaigns and slogans over the last few decades, currently taking the shape of the “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign. If the marketing of a company is good, then its profit margins will be similarly good. If the marketing department of a company can make their product seem superior to its competitors then the consumer will be willing to pay more for this good, helping the company to gain a significant market share. It is claimed by the McDonalds Canadian Corporate website that the commercial campaigns have always focussed on the “overall McDonalds experience”, rather than just the product. The purpose of the image has always been “portraying warmth and a real slice of every day life.” Some people could argue that a yellow suit wearing clown with red hair and full make-up, serving you hamburgers, isn’t really a slice of every day life, but over time McDonalds has moved with the times. In the last decade or so the company has moved away from its cartoonish image and child driven advertising, more towards the serious and healthy option. This can be partially contributed to the rise in obesity in its nation of origin, the USA. During this rise, McDonalds has had an awful press and has been blamed publicly, not least in the recent documentary, Super Size Me, where a middle aged man ate nothing but McDonalds for a month, putting on massive weight, suffering severe health problems, and even being told at one stage that if he carried on with his project that he risked death. To counter this, McDonalds added a healthier side to their menu, introducing salads and fresh fruit as part of a new, serious image. As of the last few months, the company has even scrapped its Super Size option in the USA.
McDonalds could almost be said to have revolutionised the practice known as branding. Other brands of that era, such as Uncle Ben’s rice and Kellogg’s breakfast cereal illustrated a branding problem at the time. The manufacturers of these wanted their products to appear and feel as familiar as the local farmers produce. From there on in, with the help of advertising tools, manufacturers quickly learned to associate other kind of brand values, such as youthfulness, fun or luxury, with their products. McDonalds had a firm role in this, especially with its array of characters, and later Happy Meals, appealing to children, whilst still managing to keep a moderately high popularity level with adults.
Conclusion
When McDonalds was first starting out, one of the main concerns for the company was brand management. This is using marketing methods on a specific product, product line, or, in this case, brand, in order to increase the product’s perceived value to the consumer. A brand is seen as a promise that the level of quality people have to come expect from a brand will continue with all current and future purchases of the same product. A good reputation can be gained, or lost, easily based on this, and can help to increase sales by making comparisons with competing products more favourable. This can also enable the manufacturer to raise the market price of the product due to the demand levels for the good. The value of the brand is determined by the amount of profit it generates for the manufacturer. This results from a combination of increased sales and increased price levels. To continue to be as dominant as they are in the market, McDonalds needs to maintain that they have a good brand name and reputation. A good brand name should:
- Be legally protectable
- Be easy to pronounce
- Be easy to remember
- Be easy to recognize
- Attract attention
- Suggest product benefits
- Suggest the company or product image
- Distinguish the product’s positioning relative to the competition
The main reason for McDonalds continued success is that they move with the situation and environment the surrounds them. For instance, in the last decade they have moved into Eastern European and Middle Eastern markets. Moving into these markets wasn’t a completely smooth operation, particularly the Middle Eastern markets. Some of the chains there have been targets of arson and other violent acts due to the fact that to some people the McDonalds name represents an invasion by American business and culture, a culture that they oppose based on ideological and nationalist beliefs. Again though, McDonalds adapted to the situation by modifying their products to cater for local tastes, such as taking into account special dietary laws, such as in Muslim countries, like Malaysia, bacon is not served in burgers or in its breakfast options, due to pork not being halal and against religious beliefs of some Islamic dietary law. Similarly, in Jerusalem McDonalds has taken into account its Jewish customers by offering a ‘Passover Bun’ for the eight-day period in which practicing Jews abstain from leavened bread. McDonalds also offers local brands in some countries, often outselling the international brands, such as in Scotland they serve Irn Bru, which in turn outsells Coca-Cola in that region of the world.
When dealing with branding, a company must remember that a successful brand is a mixture of a good product, an individual identity, and also some added values, such as the previous example of local tastes in Scotland with the popularity of Irn Bru being at a higher level than that of Coca-Cola.
References
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Marketing Management, 2nd Edition, Kotler