Marketing in the News: McDonald’s

By Rino Tanahara

 

    I have chosen to write about McDonald's, a major fast food restaurant. I was born and raised in Japan and McDonald's is the most popular fast food restaurant in Japan. When I visit McDonald's, I see people of all ages, from children to the elderly, visiting McDonald's. I used to see McDonald's advertisements on TV all the time. However, now I do not have a chance to watch TV. Because I watch Youtube. Also, in this day and age, many people avoid going out because of Corona, but McDonald's continues to be the leader in the industry. What is the strategy behind this? I decided to take a closer look at McDonald's strategy.

     The article I have chosen to write about McDonald's announcement that it will be the first major sponsor of OfflineTV, a collective of online content creators specializing in the gaming field. McDonald's also stated that the deal aligns with its ongoing commitments to highlight diversity in media. McDonald's also noted that it continues to strengthen its ties with the gaming community, following Generation Zers who are glued to the channel and put greater stock in what online influencers have to say.

　The partnership with OfflineTV is also intended to serve a bit of a dual role for Big Mac marketers. Also, the partnership is in line with Big Mac marketers' recent efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI), in addition to increasing confidence in the game. On the other hands, McDonald's has come under fire for some of its DEI practices and is currently facing a $10 billion discrimination lawsuit from media magnate Byron Allen, who claims the company operates a tiered advertising structure that discriminates on the basis of race.

    I think this ever-changing era is making their job more difficult. Because in the past, advertising was about making commercials. Now it's the age of social media. I think it's becoming more important what kind of posts they routinely make and what kind of campaigns they use to get attention. In this day and age, uniqueness is more important than brand strength. Also, because they are a large company, they have to be very careful when advertising because there are people with different points of view and thus people who don't think well of their ads may sue them. This does not mean that we should limit their ideas and possibilities. Striking a balance between the two will be a challenge for them in the future.

    From the above, we can see that they are changing their advertising and marketing methods in accordance with the changing times. Collaboration with popular creators also allows them to build stronger bonds with younger consumers who eschew traditional media like linear TV in favor of social media and streaming. This marketing method is great because online influencers and McDonald's can join forces to help each other's fans have a positive influence on their respective collaborators.

    Also, when it comes to gaming, many people stay at home and play games, but now that food delivery platforms such as Uber eats are gaining popularity these days, I think this collaboration will encourage more Generation Z to pick up McDonald's.

    This marketing method will become more prevalent in the world in the future. McDonald's products will not change much, but this sponsorship deal is good marketing and has a kick of uniqueness that is only possible in this day and age. As we discussed in class, it is not the product that is important, but how the idea is spread, and McDonald's has been successful in this marketing, which is why it has become so large and continues to lead the industry.

Link: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/mcdonalds-sponsors-offlineTV-gaming-creators-Pokimane/626636/