Running head: MCDONALD S MARKETING MIX 1. McDonald s Marketing Mix. Larry Miller MKT/415. February 28, 2013

Transcription

1 Running head: MCDONALD S MARKETING MIX 1 McDonald s Marketing Mix Larry Miller MKT/415 February 28, 2013

2 MCDONALD S MARKETING MIX 2 McDonald s Marketing Mix In marketing experiments, the independent variables of interest sometimes called the marketing drivers are often one or more of the marketing mix elements, such as a product s features, price, or promotion (like advertising messages or coupons) (Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius, 2011, p. 209). These elements are what companies look at when deciding on a marketing strategy. These are the elements needed the public pays attention to when deciding on a purchase. The fast food chain McDonald s would be a good organization to examine how these elements work in the marketing mix. Organization with Domestic and International Operations McDonald s is a corporation with both domestic and international operations. McDonald s first opened in 1948 in California and grew to be an international fast food chain in 1967 when opening in British Columbia and Cost Rica. At the end of 2008 there was a McDonald s in 118 countries (James, 2013). Currently McDonald s has a little more than 145 items on their menu, including ham and cheese burgers, chicken sandwiches, healthy wraps, salads, breakfast items, desserts, snacks, and many beverage items to choose from ("McDonald s.com", ). McDonald is number one in the fast food industry. With this many items in so many different locations, marketing is important to keep McDonald s profitable. Affects of the Four Marketing Elements Product, place, price, and promotion are important in any organization. These elements are examined for a marketing structure. American food is not always everywhere or desirable in different countries. The product of course for McDonald s would be the food. New products are always advertised for the organization such as the new Shamrock Milkshake

3 MCDONALD S MARKETING MIX 3 ( McDonald s.com, ). With new products and promotional items constantly available, customers are always returning. Place means not only location but also access to the product. McDonald s has recently made many of the new locations more effective to go through the drive through with two lanes instead on one. This strategy helps McDonald s look more attractive and faster than the other fast food restaurants around. Price and promotion depends on the item. Prices of certain items that are considered a promotional item at the time can be adjusted making that particular item on the menu seem more attractive. It is hard just to discuss one example of the four marketing elements McDonald s uses and how. McDonald s has been a highly successful business for years, and it is that they experiment on many ways to make the business more attractive to the public no matter if the location of the restaurant is domestic or foreign. How the Four Elements are Implemented The implementation of product, place, price, and promotion are important for a large organization like McDonald s. Depending on where the location is in the world, product can be of much concern. Diversification for what type of food in the area can be of great concern and may need adjusting of the menu. The place and price go hand-in-hand when implementing these two factors into the marketing strategy, depending on the location of the restaurant, meaning national or international, prices are different because the economies are different from domestic. This includes wages and salaries of the employees as well. McDonald s implements promotional items not only for items on the menu, but also the toys in the Happy Meals. For years McDonald s has advertised the toys available with the Happy Meals and have even made a deal with popular movies, such as Toy Story to use those figures as the newest and latest toy available if a Happy Meal is purchased ("Squidoo", 2013). This idea has made McDonald s so popular

4 MCDONALD S MARKETING MIX 4 with kids because almost every parent agrees that the kids pick where they will eat dinner and with a meal and a toy, McDonald s would be the most popular place to have dinner all over the world. Industry Overview The fast food industry is a high demand and well diversified market. Fast food does not just mean hamburgers and fries but also includes Mexican food, Oriental Food and, Greek food. When speaking of the fast food industry there are many names that come to mind but the main ones include: Wendy s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and McDonald s. Today, the United States boasts of the largest fast food industry in the world, and more than 100 countries around the world have American-owned fast food restaurants. Fast food preparation and food servicing provides employment to approximately 2 million U.S. workers in the USA ("Buzzle.com", 2013). With the working world always changing, food on-the-go is always in demand. The fast food industry has grown over the years to be one of the largest attractions with Facebook, phone apps, TV commercials, and young children advertising websites and other digital media s. These technological advertisings have made the fast food industry attractive to the average every day busy consumer who is not able to have a dinner at home family time (Rudd Center, 2013). Conclusion With a large organization like McDonald s, marketing is important. Considering McDonald s is one of the largest organizations globally, the analyzing of the four elements of marketing is imperative, especially if the location is not domestic. The fast food industry has been a huge competitive market for years, but with McDonald s implementing the four elements into their marketing strategies, especially the Happy Meal toy, they seem to be remaining in the number one spot around the globe.

5 MCDONALD S MARKETING MIX 5 References Buzzle.com. (2013). Retrieved from James, R. (2013). TIME. Retrieved from Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2011). Marketing (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. McDonald s.com. ( ). Retrieved from s.com/us/en/full_menu_explorer.html Rudd Center. (2013). FastFood Facts. Retrieved from Squidoo. (2013). Retrieved from