Marketing in the News - McDonalds

    

    Mcdonald’s announced their goal of being a net-zero emission business by 2040, alongside three new 40 second advertisements that focus on reducing waste and promoting sustainability. Their “change a little, change a lot” campaign outlines some of their new implementations including recycling plastic cups into greeting cards, converting used cooking oil into biodiesel gasoline, In addition to recycling old happy meal toys to be used in playgrounds. Not to mention their plan to go even further to source quality and sustainable ingredients, by supporting farmers and suppliers. Furthermore, Mcdonald’s pledges to help 1 million people gain new skills, give job opportunities, and introduce youth workers into every restaurant by 2024 as a part of their “plan for change” movement. The value proposition of Mcdonald’s new “Change a little change a lot” campaign will likely work in their favor as they’re not only making attempts to be more sustainable within their own supply chain, but they’re adamant on helping better the lives of millions of people by helping develop skills, and giving job opportunities.

    The relevance of this article can be seen through the many cries for help regarding global warming where recently news stations have been covering stories surrounding global warming and how we’ve reached a point where the damage done is now irreversible. Despite the fact, Mcdonald’s has a minimal toll on the bigger picture of global warming, the fact a big company like Mcdonald’s stepped up to make change won’t go unnoticed and will likely push other rival companies to create change within their own business. Although the motive behind these new implementations wasn’t totally clear in the text, I can infer the challenge Mcdonald’s is trying to overcome in this campaign, looked to be to improve their overall brand image. Mcdonald’s is widely known for its cost-friendly food and quick service, however, to some people this gives the perception of lower quality ingredients, and food that’s pre-prepared rather than freshly made. Their new campaigns toward promoting sustainability in their supply chain, development of skills, assistance in job opportunities, and supporting farmers and suppliers, will likely work to polish their brand image. Something I found interesting about their new marketing approach is the way in which they aim to recycle the waste they produce. What stood out to me was how they're not only recycling old happy meal toys to be used in playgrounds, but they're converting their old cooking oil into usable biodiesel gasoline for delivery cars in their supply chain.

    Something I would do if I were a brand/product manager for Mcdonalds, would be to go more in-depth on how they're providing support for farmers and suppliers, as well as be more transparent about how the food they're consuming goes from farm to restaurant. I feel that not only transparency about how the food is sourced but the improvement of the overall quality of the food will boost consumer confidence in that what they're buying doesn't go against their personal values. Additionally, sourcing higher quality meat could work to their advantage, as consumers who hear this may be left curious about how different the quality of food actually is, in turn driving up sales. Prior to reading this article, I was under the impression that Mcdonald's wasn't really too concerned with their brand image. For instance, the last time I saw something regarding Mcdonald's in the media was over 10 years ago when Mcdonalds was denying claims that their Mcnuggets were made from pink slime. Overall this article definitely changed my perception of the company by detailing its values and goals through its plans to improve its supply chain and sustainability.