McDonalds Reposition to Adapt Brand to Personality, Lifestyle and Values

As a young child, I remember once a week my family and I would splurge on the luxury of dinning out at McDonalds. The iconic Happy Meal always fascinated my sister and me and I think I was more motivated to go for the toy rather than the meal. The fast food giant has been a very good example of changing their brand to adapt to the needs of consumers of every culture.  McDonalds primarily motivates consumers on a basis of the Biological Needs theory meaning that every human needs food to survive. Even a basic theory such as Biological needs can become more complex as societal changes require an evolution in the Fast Food Industry.

McDonalds PlayLand as I remember as a Child

            As a young child, I related well towards the companies marketing tactics towards children. I remember it was a treat going to the McDonalds Play Land and having fun in the coloured ball pit and climbing though tubes and various obstacles. The McDonalds brand however as adapted well towards the changing needs of consumers and the pysopgrahic needs of multiple target markets. Recently, the company has been successful in their worldwide expansion efforts. They now serve India and even have adapted a menu towards the vegetarian demographic of the country. They even removed beef extract from their deep frying oil.

            Fast food generally meets the needs of those with a fast paced life style or those who require more of a convenience need. McDonalds has also been good at delivering a pricing strategy to meet a variety of income earners. In North America, they have a value picks menu with a large selection of items priced $1.89 allowing low-income earners such as students to use their product. In Asia, The Company has adopted a luxury model. In Japan, the McDonald’s operates a full service at the “Restaurant M” with an upscale menu.

New McDonalds design in Rotterdam 

            The Interior’s of most restaurants have also been given a facelift to reflect the new brand. Most restaurants have a crystal bed fireplace, Wi-Fi, and bar stools. The menu has also responded reasonably well towards social needs. The chain was a muse of much controversy when the documentary “Super Size Me” was released. While the nutritional value of fast food is still questionable, McDonalds has responded with new healthier alternatives to meet the needs of health conscious consumers.

            I don’t eat McDonalds every day but I am a huge fan of their McCafé line. When I was working In Sault Ste. Marie ON last summer, they were a McDonalds across the street from my office. I loved being able to get a large coffee and a muffin for under $2 every day and sometimes two times daily. I also like the design of their McCafe cups. I find they keep my coffee warmer for longer and they also have a rewards sticker. I probably have over a dozen free beverages now. I used to have a Starbucks reward card but I loose those frequently and it’s hard to keep track of gift cards and reloading my card periodically. I like the tangible stickers you place on your rewards card. I’m old fashioned but it works well for me.

McDonalds ad responding to Green consumer movement with healthy menu items.

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/mcdonalds-high-end-tokyo-sit-pop/story?id=32592353

The Self – Masculinity and Gender Bending

Gillette logo and slogan

I’m generally very frugal with my money and I tend to push my products to the limit. My razors are not exception to the rule. I have been using the same Gillette Pro-Glide razor for 2 ½ years and I’ve only replaced the blades once. Prior to disposing this razor, my skin was rather rough and damaged. Regardless, I am impressed with the durability of the product and Gillette is in my evoked set so I purchased a new Gillette Fusion Ball kit. I must say it has a very smooth shave and it looks sleek and cool with the stainless steel, dark grey and orange. Gillette is a very good example of a product geared towards masculinity and the male consumer. The companies’ slogan is “The best a man can get” which summarizes their market perfectly. I notice that many companies are starting to expand their portfolio to meet the needs of the male consumer. Even brands that is typically feminine in nature. Companies such as Dove and Clinique have launched a product lines for men. These product lines typically have dark grey colours and black shades on their products. It seems that darker colours are starting to associate with masculinity. I think that Clinique’s extension to male skincare products is a great example of a gender-bending product. I think that more gender bending products are becoming practical as metrosexual consumers are becoming more common in today’s marketplace. The term metrosexual came about in 1994 and it applies to men who live in an urban, post industrial and capitalist culture. Since 1994, I think the market segmentation of this demographic has increased significantly.

Clinique Mens product line

Dove for Men

Product Placements with James Bond

I am a huge James Bond fan and the new movie “Spectre” will be released in theatres soon. I think its fair to say that James bond has always been associated with class, sophistication, luxury and adventure. I feel that the topic of Learning and Memory relates to James Bond as a model in the observational learning process. Through the Bond franchise’ history, they have been many product placements used within the film. Some product uses define his personality and I feel that the concept brings value to the product. I also found a video featured by Bloomberg that is posted below outlining the history of product placements and James bond. There is even a Wikipedia page outlining every product or service that has been used in every movie. I think there is a lot to be said about product placement changes in such a long running medium.

Heineken James Bond Ad

Belvedere Ad features limited edition bottle

The previous move “Sky fall” featured Heineken beer, as a new placement and I found that interesting. I thought it was funny in a way because every product is typically upscale and more affluent in pricing. Heineken is probably the only relatable product that I would willingly purchase. I do not really have funds for an omega watch, Austin Martin or luxury resort villa. They are probably a few people within the demographic of Bond fans that can afford these luxury products but I’m seeing more placements that are geared towards the general public such as Sony phones and computers, and maybe even Belvedere vodka for the martini connoisseur. 

The James Bond franchise earns a great amount of money from this but I wonder what I think there is a balance for the image of James Bond as well as the markers who use this. I think the markers have benefited a lot from having Bond use their products but I think it’s important for the creators to still keep the Bond image. Products of a lower quality can actually diminish his image.

Sources: 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-10-26/james-bond-a-history-through-product-placement

Perception Tactic use in the Airline Industry

I came across a couple of articles that describe some new trends in the airline industry. Some of these trends are good and some are bad for the consumer but generally perception has allowed airlines to maximize profit and improve passenger experience.  New technology advances have paved way for the concept of interior mood lighting. Airlines are modifying their aircraft to have mood lighting in the cabin. Mood lighting is an interior lighting system where calm and neutral lighting is seen throughout the aircraft. Calm blue lights, purple lights and orange or yellow glows simulate a different time of day during flight and can streamline the boarding and inflight experience process. 

Iceland Air Hekla Aurora Livery

Mood lighting has been said to relax passengers, reduce jet lag and actually simulate time changes. I felt this relates to the topic of perception when the stimuli of colour and vision affect consumer patterns.  Iceland air recently reconfigured a flagship aircraft with this technology and called the aircraft Hekla Aurora. The aircraft was even painted with a stunning northern lights livery. For Iceland, this technology was used for a unique purpose for simulating northern lights, which is commonly seen within the remote northern country. For Iceland air, mood lighting was a way to incorporate the natural beauty of Iceland and create a consumer experience based on the visual display. I visited Europe last year and unfortunately, for me, the aircraft did not have mood lighting and I experienced jetlag for the first time.

Hekla Aurora Northern Lights Interior

While mood lighting has advantages, they are a downside to some practises. Airlines are secretly making the standard economy class seat much smaller than the standard norm in the past. Airlines do this to accommodate more passengers, increase revenue and decrease operating cost per passenger. While it benefits airlines, it may not benefit passengers in some cases. An article I found mentions that a Boeing 777 300 ER which is a commonly used passenger jet is more commonly configured with 10 abreast seating (3-4-3) as compared to the original 9 abreast (3-3-3). The seat pitch (distance between seats) is also being reduced by putting less padding on the seats and making them thinner. I remember flying to Europe last summer and I actually was on a new American Airlines Boeing 777 300 ER when I flew back to North America. I was seated in economy class and the configuration was 10 abreast. I am 6 foot 2 and I did find it uncomfortable. I don’t think passengers of a smaller stature would be affected but I’m not a huge fan of this trend. It’s interesting how marketers are using a few tools with a basic understanding of perception and changing a whole interior to maximize profit.

Market Demand Changes for 10 Abreast seating

Sources: 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-22/airlines-add-mood-lighting-to-chill-passengers-out

http://www.icelandair.ca/hekla-aurora/

https://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/12/30/nippon-airways-cautiously-enters-high-density-economy-seating/

Cash Diet Challenge

I'm a huge fan of personal finance and I believe it relates very much to consumer behaviour. I watch Suze Orman, and Gale Vaz-Oxlade's Till Debt do us Part and Princess. I was browsing online and found lots of articles regarding cash-only-diets including the article I posted below. In a world of credit cards, debit and plastic payments it seems that cash has become a rare tool in consumer transactions today. After reading some information, I decided to try it for myself. Starting today, I will pay for all my expenses only in the form of cash (except rent, cell phone and some other transactions). At the beginning of December, I will see how much money I save as compared to using plastic to cover purchases. Research suggest that cash is a tangible tool and when you see it go, you are more likely to change your spending habits without even knowing. Credit cards and debit cards have a set amount but consumers are less likely to notice and may subliminally spend more than usual without noticing.

Sources:

http://gailvazoxlade.com/othervoices/show-me-the-money/