McDonalds-arch delux burger - Essay Example

?Advertising Table of Contents MCDONALDS- ARCH DELUXE BURGER 3 Ineffective Advertising Campaign 3 Target Audience 4 Positioning Strategy 4 Media Strategy 5 Shortcomings 6 Recommendation 7 References 8 MCDONALDS- ARCH DELUXE BURGER The study aims at discussing the case of advertisement failures of McDonalds’s Arch Deluxe Burger, which is counted among the top ten advertisement failures. The motive is to understand the shortcomings of the company due to which the advertisement failed, the mistakes in their advertisement design and the significant issues like the target customers, positioning strategy, media strategy for the product of McDonalds. After a detailed analysis, recommendations would be stated for this case. Ineffective Advertising Campaign McDonald’s hired an advertisement agency named Fallon McElligot for the advertisements of Arch Deluxe Burger. The amount ascertained for such advertisement campaign was $100 million. The advertisement showed that the children are getting confused as they could not understand what the Arch Deluxe Burger are all about, neither are they liking its look or taste, not any toys are given away with these burgers. It is known as rebel marketing. The motive was to show that the Arch Deluxe Burger was not for the children. Another advertisement of Arch Deluxe Burger showed that the executive chef of McDonalds is explaining the professionals in the elevator why the Arch Deluxe Burger is tasty and motivates them to eat (Kord “McDonalds Arch Deluxe Burger Commercial”). This advertisement was considered awful and was not liked by the people. The message that was delivered through the advertisement was also another drawback which led to the downfall. The message said that “Burger with the Grown-up Taste.” It was tagged as sophisticated product not for kids. In one of the commercial it was seen that the children motivated her parents to go to McDonalds by just saying Arch Deluxe Burger. In McDonalds the ID proof of the child was asked for saying Arch Deluxe Burger (Celluloid “Introducing Jessica Biel & the McDonalds Arch Deluxe Commercial”). Target Audience As already mentioned the target customers were the adults and not the children. Just to specify that advertisement campaigns were made to show that children should not consume it. It was very odd that McDonalds were parents visit especially to accompany their children as it serves foods which is thoroughly liked by the children and the parents, is offering menus with is not for the children. The product Arch Deluxe Burger was for the adults as the taste of the product was considered more sophisticated. The advertisement campaign for the Arch Deluxe showed only adults loved to consume this burger, while the children hated it, as they did not like its taste. McDonalds spent heavily to reveal that its target customers were not children. In a family restaurant if a particular menu is restricted to only adults, then problems are bound to occur. This was the case for Arch Deluxe, and the customers discarded the product completely (Lubow “Steal This Burger”). Positioning Strategy Arch Deluxe Burger was a failure because of the way the product was positioned. The whole idea behind the positioning of Arch Deluxe burger was to show that it was a product not meant for children. It was revealed that no one went to McDonald to have sophisticated food or delicacies. People visited McDonalds for fun, convenience and to have delicious burger. The customers went to McDonalds because of their friendliness, tasty burger, cleanliness, and consistency. With this type of product positioning, McDonalds lost touch with its customers, and the children who are the major customers of the company also lost interest somehow in the burgers offered by the retailer. It was said that the product, Arch Deluxe burger was the result of a comprehensive research. This research revealed that people would like to have those burgers which are specifically designed for the adults or grownups. However, when the actually product was launched and positioned, the plan back fired. This was may be because the positioning was done in such as manner, that it restricted the children from even tasting the products as they would hate to have it. This was the point where McDonalds went wrong. Media Strategy McDonalds was identified by the customers through its golden arches. Moreover, McDonalds have always believed in advertising their products in such a manner, that it draws attention of the customers. The customers should get to see the products, and feel it’s delicious just by looking at it. This was the reason why television advertisements were preferred by McDonalds. Apart from this, advertisement through print medium such as on magazines, newspapers, were also a mode of advertisement. McDonalds also opted for advertisements through leaflets, and hoardings. The motive behind planning the advertisements and choosing the media was to make the product visible to the customers because in case of food items, the thing which looks delicious is always preferred by the customers, especially children (Friesen 45). The media chosen for Arch Deluxe Burger was similar like that of its other products. However, the strategy chosen for the Arch Deluxe Burger was different from that of the other products offered by McDonalds because McDonalds have always offered uniform products for every age group and the menu lists of McDonalds are not cluttered. This was why they were preferred. This time the product was positioned especially for adults, so medium specially restricted to the adults were also chosen, such as business magazines, or the advertisements on television included adults and office goers. The children were shown as haters. By doing this McDonalds created a negative image for itself through its own advertisements (Kincheloe 196-197). Shortcomings The shortcomings have been gradually discussed by explaining the target customers, positioning strategy or media strategy of McDonalds for Arch Deluxe Burger. However, here the shortcomings would be listed to give a clear idea regarding the defects associated with the promotion of Arch Deluxe Burger. They are stated below: The advertisements, especially the television commercials which revealed that the children hated the taste of Arch Deluxe Burger because they were ore sophisticated and adult in taste The positioning of Arch Deluxe Burger as an adult burger not at all meant for children The media strategy to show them as television commercials, which confirmed that majority of McDonalds’ customers that is the children cannot have them. It was a high priced burger which ensured sophisticated, rich, and highly refine in taste. Though the Arch Deluxe Burger was considered was a well-researched product, but the time the company took to actually float the products in the market was probably too long, so the demand or interest of the customers for the product died down. McDonald’s lost touch with its customers due to its differentiation promotion strategy (Verma 255-256). Recommendation Arch Deluxe Burger was an expensive flop of McDonalds and probably considered among the top ten failure products. The recommendations that can be suggested for McDonalds with regards to the promotional strategies that were designed for Arch Deluxe Burger are stated below: 1. McDonalds show goes for those things for which it is well known. This means simplicity is a part of the brand identity of McDonalds. It is a children friendly restaurant chain which offers delicious fast food such as burger, French fries, etc. The concept of sophisticated burger has excluded the children and this strategy was bound to misfire. 2. McDonald should have avoided confusion by being spontaneous, rather than being cognitive. By introducing technical, highly specific and sophisticated products like Arch Deluxe Burger, McDonalds was forcing people to think rather than just go, eat and have fun. 3. McDonalds should not have been cynical of the research which it conducted. Research was conducted to get an idea about the likes and dislikes of the customers, but it should not considered as a gospel truth, as the research results can sometimes backfire, as it did in the case of Arch Deluxe Burger (Haig 25-27). References Celluloid, Brooklyn. “Introducing Jessica Biel & the McDonalds Arch Deluxe Commercial.” YouTube, 20 May 2011. Web. 26 November 2012. Friesen, Michael E. The Internal Sell: Encouraging Executive Influence and Accomplishment. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. Print. Haig, Matt. Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time. 2nd ed. London: Kogan Page Publishers, 2011. Print. Kincheloe, Joe L. The Sign of the Burger: McDonald's and the Culture of Power. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002. Print. Kord, John. “McDonalds Arch Deluxe Burger Commercial.” YouTube, 11 June 2006. Web. 26 November 2012. Lubow, Arthur. “Steal This Burger.” The New York Times, 19 April 1998. Web. 26 November 2012. Verma, Harsh V. Services Marketing: Text and Cases. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Pearson Education India, 2012. Print. Read More