Marketing Communications in McDonalds - Essay Example

Marketing Communications in McDonald’s Table of Contents Marketing Communications in McDonald’s 1 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 About McDonald’s 2 Marketing Communications of McDonald’s 3 Plan for effective Marketing Communications Campaign 7 Brief of Creative Work for the Marketing Campaign of McDonald’s 10 Conclusions 12 Bibliography 17 Appendix 18 Working Creatively for the Brief 18 Timing Plan 18 Proposed Budget 19 Introduction The paper aims to present the idea of generation and use of Integrated Marketing Communication relating to a global restaurant company, McDonald’s. It would aim to generate both theoretical and practical discussions relating to the planning of Integrated Marketing Communications plans conducted in a multi-channel environment relating to the use of different mediums like online, audio-visual, telemarketing, mobile marketing and also the use of the print media. About McDonald’s McDonald’s is observed to be a global retailer in the foodservices category that operates based on 35,000 different retail outlets spanning across different international regions, The large number of outlets of the company contributes in serving the needs of around 70 million consumers spanning across 100 nations. The company aims in generating a place where consumers can effectively visit for eating and drinking activities. McDonald’s aims enticing the customers through provision of quality foods sand services such that the same helps in meeting the parameters of quality, cleanliness and value addition to the customers. The meeting of the above parameters is taken to rightly contribute in generating effective customer experiences such that the same encourages in making the customers to gain frequent visits to the stores (McDonald's, 2014). McDonald’s aims to expand along different countries through development of franchisees in that the same contributes in helping the company to effectively blend its corporate culture with the national culture of the region. The company operates based on serving the needs of both its internal and external stakeholders like employees and customers respectively through working based on needed integrity and ethics. It also works in meeting of sustainable objectives pertaining to taking care of natural and social environment where it tends to conduct its business operations (McDonald's, 2014). Marketing Communications of McDonald’s Marketing Communication activities are conducted between the business organizations with its targeted customers, both existent and of potential nature along different stages relating to pre-sales, sales and finally relating to the post-sales stage. Marketing Communication activities are conducted by a company in an integrated fashion such that different types of promotional and communication tools are utilized to rightly communicate with targeted individuals, and other potential groups and interested communities. Different types of marketing and promotional tools like use of advertising through use of print, broadcasting and online mediums, direct marketing activities, sales promotion, personal selling and also through use of publicity campaigning can be effectively integrated to generate considerable awareness among the targeted consumers relating to the products and services marketed. The above tools are utilized in the form of marketing and promotional mix that contribute in effectively communicating with the different potential and interested stakeholders like people relating to the wholesalers and retail communities, existing and future consumers and also to the society at large. The same is reflected through the use of the following diagram. (Trehan and Trehan, 2010) The main elements related to the marketing communication activities can be effectively represented in the following diagram. (Trehan and Trehan, 2010) Advertising is viewed as an effective paid form of communication activity that is conducted based on myriad mediums like use of print, broadcasting, online and also outdoor media to help in transmitting the message and information of products and services to the customers. In terms of Personal Selling the merchandises are traded in a one-to-one fashion through direct communication between the seller and purchaser either carried out in a retail framework or through the visits of sales persons. Use of public relation campaigning is made by the company in terms of generating different types of social events like expos and sponsorship programs to rightly communicate with potential stakeholder and consumer groups (Percy, 2014). Similarly the company can effectively focus on the generation of discounts and also in the generation of loyalty cards and schemes and also in the form of trade shows, sweepstakes and other free gifts to help attract the interest of the consumers. Similarly where direct marketing activities are conducted in the form of using telephone and internet based marketing the use of social media platforms, websites and development of blogs can be rightly used for designing of marketing contents to help in addressing the information needs of a larger consumer base (Trehan and Trehan, 2010). Based on the above discussion the marketing communication activities related to McDonald’s can be evaluated on a practical level to help understand the efficacy of the theoretical understanding of the integrated marketing communication practices. The marketing and promotional communications at McDonald’s is conducted through the integration of different types of ‘above the line’ marketing and promotional tools like audio-visual mediums like radio and television, print mediums like magazines and newspapers, online marketing mediums and also use of other outdoor advertising mediums. Apart from the use of advertising as an effective communication the use of different types of sales promotions, communication based on direct mails and telephones, use of loyalty schemes and public relation activities is observed to be used for communicating with the target consumer groups. Different types of in-store promotions is also potentially planned by McDonald’s to help in attracting and sustaining consumers to the stores. The different types of marketing communication channels are used by McDonald’s to generate needed awareness about the services offered by the restaurant to the larger society and targeted consumers (Shimp and Andrews, 2013). Other types of marketing communication activities are also conducted by the company in the form of generating sponsorships to different sporting events both of Olympic category and also relating to regional and national basis. Acting as the official sponsor in a sporting activity like London 2012 is observed to generate mix responses relating to the company. The sponsorship of McDonald’s relating to the sporting event was observed to reflect a sense of democracy such that it endeavored to reflect an equal opportunity for each of the different participants to excel in the sporting event. Thus the above marketing activity of McDonald’s is observed to be generated to help in enhancing the positive image of the brand in the target market. The above marketing communication activity was also formulated by McDonald’s to also help in enhancing the level of affinity of the consumers to the McDonald’s restaurant brand (Marketing Society, 2013). Marketing communication activity carried out in McDonald’s is observed to largely focus to help in attracting the children communities as the target consumer groups. Estimates reflect that during 2007 the company spent around $2.5 million on a daily basis to capture the consumer mindset relating to the United States market. Different types of marketing communication plans based on the use of advertising, sales promotions, external promotions and in-store competitions and events with also the incorporation of online marketing activities was conducted in an extensive fashion by the company to help in maximizing the level of brand awareness in the US Markets. The marketing communications activity of McDonald’s aiming to attract the children consumers in United States not only focused on the use of different food characters but also aimed in the use of different types of taglines and jingles like Playlands and Happy Meals to help in attracting the children consumers. In-store promotional activities of McDonald’s aimed in attracting children consumers focused on the incorporation of different types of games, competitions and also regional and international sponsorships to rightly attract and sustain potential customers and children to the stores. Apart from the use of the above marketing communication activity, McDonald’s to focus on attracting the women and mother community to the restaurants has focused on the use of an innovative marketing communication strategy. The women and especially the mothers are encouraged to gain visits to the restaurants for evaluating the nourishment value and the food quality of the food products generated by the company (Flinders University, 2010). Plan for effective Marketing Communications Campaign One of the most effective and significant plan related to the development of an effective marketing communications relate to the development of Database Marketing techniques. Through the use of Database Marketing techniques the different outlets of McDonald’s can focus on the incorporation of digital technology in creating a database of customer profiles which would contain information relating to the personal, demographic and psychographic parameters. Where on the demographic front information relating to age and income levels would be gained; information relating to the psychographic front would tend to reflect on the type and frequency of purchases made by the customers and also which media and promotional mediums tend to largely influence the customers. Information gained and restored by such mediums contributes in designing the right promotional content and also in using the right medium to considerably influencing the customers in making their purchase decisions relating to products and services. Further the company can also focus on the production of transaction based websites that would encourage the customers to conduct purchase and sales transactions on an online basis. The same would contribute in helping in the formulation of effective database for future relationship based marketing activities with customers (Fill and Hughes, 2008). The future marketing campaigns can be formulated by McDonald’s based on the incorporation of multi-channel marketing activities. Incorporation of multi-channel mediums relate to the use of different types of marketing channels like mobile, internet, audio-visual, print and other outdoor marketing mediums in a synchronized fashion to help in appealing to a larger customer base or market. Incorporation of the multi-channel marketing mediums is taken to require the organization to generate specific contents relating to the different mediums which in turn would contribute in creating the needed appeal to the targeted customer force. Activities relating to integrated communication can be effectively carried out in the multi-channel medium where brochures can be rightly designed to communicate with the masses through the use of print mediums. Development of e-mails, websites, blogs and contents for social networking sites meet the requirements of the users of internet and mobile internet mediums. Along with designing of online campaigning based on the use of electronic mails, marketing campaigns can also be designed relating to telemarketing activities. Designing of potential messages along the different marketing channels contribute in generating a larger influence on the purchasing activities of the consumers (Fojt, 2005). The multi-channel marketing campaign requires the conducting of activities based along six different steps that can be underlined as follows. Designing of a multi-channel marketing campaign in the first case requires the marketer to effectively understand the needs of its customers such that the expectations and experiences of the customers can be rightly recorded through use of audio-visual mediums or can be effectively documented for future use. Inferences can be gained relating to the factors for which the products and services are increasingly demanded by the customers and the different alternatives they tend to expect in case of non-availability of the products. The multi-channel marketing campaigns also reflect on the use of social networking and other digital mediums that can be used effectively for generating of large scale consumer awareness relating to the product or service. Similarly use of the social networking mediums like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus contribute in gaining of effective feedbacks from the consumers relating to the product or service. The same would also help in understanding of consumer perceptions relating to the products and services generated by its competitors and also in gaining of potential suggestions from the customers relating to improvement of quality of product and service (Harrison, 2013). Designing of multi-channel marketing campaigns also relates to the designing of marketing and promotional messages for specific consumer groups identified based on marketing segmentation. Generation of products and messages directed to meet the needs of the specific consumer groups would contribute in enhancing the appeal of the products and services in the target market. Similarly the feedbacks gained from the customers through use of social media platforms and other modes contribute in understanding the changes in the preference pattern of the consumers which in turn help in designing the product or service to meet tailored ends. Marketing campaigns developed through the incorporation of multi-channel approach gains effectiveness through the evaluation of the channel preferences of the customers. The marketers would need to understand the preference pattern of the customers relating to use of communication channels such that the same contributes in enhancing their knowledge about the products and services offered and also contribute in helping them to rightly interact with the company management. Thus decision of the right channel mixes gains success in that the same helps the company to maintain relationship with the target customers (Kaputa, 2012). Relating to the case of McDonald’s the use of the multichannel strategy can rightly focus on the use of internet based marketing through use of e-mails, social networking mediums and also through designing of Smartphone applications such that the same contributes in helping the company to potentially interact with the customers. Interactions can be conducted in a mutual fashion such that where the company introduces offers, promotions and also new product launches to the customers; the latter can also generate potential suggestions and feedbacks to the company. Generation of multi-channel based marketing campaigns also require the company to incorporate different types of rating and analytical tools that contribute in rating the effectiveness of the marketing contents. It also helps in understanding the potential of the different marketing channels in rightly tapping the consumer mindset. The incorporation of call centre agents to help interact with the customers on an enhanced level is also considered one of the most effective ways the marketer can use in interacting with the target consumer groups. Engaging of third party mechanisms profoundly contribute in penetrating the messages of the company to a larger market base. Thus McDonald’s in addition to the use of web; print and audio-visual channels for interacting with customers can also integrate an effective call centre such that the same acts as a 24x7 medium in sustaining relationship with the potential customers. Planning and management of events is also considered as another effective tool that would help in spreading large scale awareness about the product or service marketed. This requires McDonald’s in teaming up with different event management bodies and organizations to help in designing of street shows and contest programs meant for attracting target customers (Ma, 2014). Brief of Creative Work for the Marketing Campaign of McDonald’s Different types of creative activities can be generated by the marketing agency employed by McDonald’s to help in generating mass awareness about the product and service generated. The marketing agency can work on creative pursuits like the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques that aims in the incorporation of needed keywords for development of a marketing program that would help in matching the needs of the organization based in different geographical territories. Other than the use of SEO marketing the marketing agency can also focus on the use of Paid Search mechanisms that aim in the designing of marketing strategies generating due sophistication and which can be run along different search engines like Google, Yahoo and also on other sites like Bing. The same would contribute in generating greater optimization of the keywords used for enhancing the ratings of the company site over its other competitors. Different types of emotional constructs need to be generated in the online marketing campaigns to contribute in the growth of customer visits to the different sites and also in enhancing the level of customer conversion. Likewise the marketing agency also needs to focus on the development of social media marketing campaigns like Facebook and YouTube where videos and pictures relating to the processing of food products by McDonald’s can be effectively generated for gaining of effective viewership by the targeted customers (Elmansy, 2013). Similarly creating a Facebook page can also amount to encouraging the customers to generate effective views and comments relating to the services and the food products generated by McDonald’s. The above marketing campaign is taken to contribute in the enhancement of word-of-mouth marketing activities for the company to help in enhancement of the market shares and brand awareness of the company in the target market (Bailey, 2012). The marketing campaign strategy relating to the design of event marketing plans can be generated by the agency through the formulation of flyers among the target customer groups such that the same contributes in introducing the objectives of the event marketing program. Further in terms of generating considerable awareness about the event or marketing program the use of different types of media like television, radio, online and also the print media can be rightly incorporated which would help in spreading the marketing message to the larger consumer market (Wakefield, 2007). Similarly the selection of the venue needs to be made like university campuses and other areas of public gatherings such that the same contributes in spreading the message to the customers in an effective fashion in the form of organizing functions and events. Awareness about the promotional and marketing events can be generated through the use of social networking platforms like Facebook and YouTube such that it would contribute in generating mass awareness about the promotional events. Different types of promotional events like the generation of contests like sweepstakes and also the conducting of other trade and cultural events can be conducted by the company relating to different occasions based on the national culture to help in associating the product and company brand to the targeted consumers relating to the different regions (Goldblatt, 2010). Finally relating to the mobile marketing campaign the marketing agency can focus on working on a collaborative fashion with a technical team in the designing of effective applications for the Smartphone devices. Designing of such applications would contribute in helping the companies effectively interacting with the target customer groups relating to new product launches and offers. Similarly based on such applications the customers can effectively order for the products through the use of their mobile phones and also help in addressing the surveys conducted by the company relating to the effectiveness of the products and services generated by McDonald’s (Haig, 2002). Likewise the use of SMS based marketing activities can also be generated by the marketing agency relating to the use of mobile phones such that the same contributes in generating awareness about any new product and promotion generated by McDonald’s. The SMS based marketing campaigns rightly contribute in the enhancement of brand awareness of the company both in existing and new markets (Richardson, 2010). The above entailed are the different creative pursuits that can be taken by the marketing and promotional agency for McDonald’s to help in generating potential awareness about the company and its products and promotions. Conclusions The paper tends to reflect the planning and conducting of Integral Marketing Communication by different business organizations such that the designing of different types of communications meant for the audio-visual mediums, online mediums and also the use of print and outdoor media can be effectively planned to generate needed awareness among the target consumer sphere. It reflects on the marketing objectives that are needed to be kept in mind by the marketer in the course of planning for the different mediums. Coupled with theoretical insights the paper also reflects pragmatic considerations that ought to be taken in the designing of marketing contents by a global restaurant company, McDonald’s. Further the paper also reflects on the creative activities that ought to be conducted by the marketing agency to help in the enhancement of market share of the company in the target market sphere. The planning and execution of marketing activities along the multi-channel frameworks is effectively reflected in the paper such that it contributes in the meeting of the marketing and promotional activities of McDonald’s. References Bailey, M., 2012. Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day. United Kingdom : John Wiley and Sons. Brown, T., 2013. Top 10 Healthcare Technology Hazards for 2014. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 11 September 2014]. Elmansy, R., 2013. Teach Yourself VISUALLY Search Engine Optimization (SEO). United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons. Fill, C. and Hughes, G., 2008. Marketing Communications. New York : Routledge. Flinders University., 2010. Targeting Children with Integrated Marketing Communications. Australia: Flinders University. Fojt, M., 2005. Marketing. United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing. Goldblatt, J., 2010. Special Events: A New Generation and the Next Frontier. United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons. Haig, M., 2002. Mobile Marketing: The Message Revolution. 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To plan for the event marketing programs to be conducted for the company in terms of depicting road shows and also in integrating the support from different mediums like radio, television, print and internet to generate needed awareness. To focus on the designing of applications and SMS based marketing campaigns related to the Smartphone users. Timing Plan   Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Creation of Campaign Cover                   Planning of contents for different mediums                   Test marketing of the contents                   Gaining and analysing feedbacks from customers                   Generating needed modifications                   Formulation of final campaign                   Proposed Budget Objectives Tasks Cost USD Time line No# Budget GBP Generating brand awareness TV ads 90,000 6 Months 10 5,400,000 Newspapers Ads 10,000 6 Months 4 240,000 Facebook Ads 8,000 6 Months 12 5,76,000 Google (place of listing) 2,000 6 Months 1 12,000 Generating Promotions Contests 8,000 6 Months 6 48,000 Outdoors Ads 10,000 6 Months 6 60,000 Giveaways 1 6 Months 20,000 20,000 Events 7,000 6 Months 6 42,000 Total 63,98,000 Read More