International Marketing: McDonalds - Case Study Example

International Marketing: McDonald’s Name Course Name and Code Date Introduction The case study presents information on challenges or problems associated with international marketing. McDonald’s continuously expand across the world and has to engage with different governments. The different stakeholders including customers present different views when it comes to the products such as obesity. Some governments have created and implemented, and others have proposed legislations to address obesity issues, which are associated with fast food consumption. McDonald’s image is associated with Joe Camel and cigarette ads, which is a negative image. The company also has to address the government decision to ban, include health messages on ads, and even pay 1.5 per cent tax. These problems affect the entire business operations, and McDonald’s has to implement strategies to counter the negative publicity and also to adhere to the government and other institutional directives. 1. How should McDonald’s respond when ads promoting healthy lifestyles featuring Ronald McDonald are equated with Joe Camel and cigarette ads? Should McDonald’s eliminate Ronald McDonald in its ads? The characters should be discussed differently. McDonald’s has to inform the audiences the difference between Ronald McDonald and the Joe Camel advertisement. Food and cigarettes are not the same and highlighting this requirement are important. It is also prudent to inform the importance of Ronald McDonald in advertising for the healthy lifestyle because it was used in advertising for other McDonald’s products. Highlighting the connection of Ronald McDonald in the ads is crucial in distinguishing from the Joe Camel instance. The aim of the ad should also be highlighted. Cigarettes cause cancer even if taken in moderation but obesity can be avoided easily if the customers control their respective appetites. Cigarettes do not have alternatives, but McDonald’s has different product offerings, which are healthy. Presentation of these differences is important in informing the public on the use of Ronald McDonald and the effectiveness of the entire process. McDonald’s should not eliminate Ronald McDonald because it is the symbol of the company. If the character is banned, chances increases in which sales will be affected because consumers associated the character with McDonald’s. It will also affect the perception of the customers on the brand. Therefore, McDonald’s should employ more healthy elements to create ads with more meaningful messages rather than replacing the entire figure of advertisement. The focus should be on the products and services offered through highlighting the healthiness of the products. Thus, in the entire process, Ronald McDonald plays an integral role and hence should not be eliminated but create messages and products that relate with healthiness. 2. Discuss the merits of the law proposed by France that would require fast food companies either to add a health message to commercials or pay a 1.5 per cent tax on their ad budgets. Propose a strategy for McDonald’ to pay the tax or add health messages and defend your recommendation The following are some of the advantages of the proposed legislation: The government is tasked with creating and implementing different legislations in advancing the requirements of its citizens. Therefore, the proposed legislations is aimed at controlling the standards of fast food industry contributing to effective management and quality assurance. In addition, the penalty applied to the fast food if the enterprises do not include a message would contribute to government revenues. The legislation is crucial because it allowed enterprises to have alternatives in making decisions. For instance, enterprises are required to choose either to add health messages or pay the fines. An enterprise will then review the significance of the legislation and determine, which one is appropriate based on internal strategic requirements. The enterprises such as McDonald’s would utilize the legislation to measure the quality and standards of health of their products. It ensures the requirements and needs of the customers through the legislations are integrated into the business operations The customers will benefit because the creation of awareness and associated penalties may influence their eating decisions. It means that the message on the ads becomes a form of deterrence or making informed decisions when it comes to consumption of fast food. The appropriate strategy that McDonald’s has to take is the inclusion of health message. Any company wants a positive image and does not require negative publicity, and any decision should be looked from the perspective of different stakeholders. The stakeholders include the government and the customers, and championing what is good for these stakeholders is important, which is the inclusion of the health message. Taking the alternative directive of 1.5 per cent would create a negative image because stakeholders would argue that McDonald’s are not after their health. Since it is a policy that applies to all the fast food companies, other companies may decide to include the health message while McDonald’s use the tax option. Companies using the health message would have a competitive edge compared to McDonald’s. Therefore, McDonald’s has to include a health message in its product provision. Any company tends to conform to the social and cultural dynamics of operational location. The dynamics the views of different stakeholders, which is usually achieved through corporate social responsibilities. Some companies support the sick while other introduce environment management strategies. McDonald’s has to understand the importance of adding a health message on the ads to advance social corporate responsibly. It should be viewed that McDonald’s appreciates the health of the customers through adding the health message. It will also prevent the company from negative views associated with been forced to include the 1.5 per cent tax. Hence, the best decision is to include a health message and create the message in a manner that advertises the healthy options. The health message should be used as a marketing strategy to advance the other requirements of the business. 3. If there is no evidence that obesity rates fall in those countries that ban food advertising to children, why bother? The government and other stakeholders have to be bothered because of numerous reasons in advocating for ban on fast food advertising to children: The role of the government is to champion the requirements of the citizens. Not all strategies or policies are effective but formulating and implementing policies and approaches are important. It is also crucial to note governments usually make policies after collecting information from different stakeholders through engagement and collaboration. The decision to effect the ban may be associated with specific data and reasons. Hence, the government may use the general rule, but there is some statistics or information that indicates the efficiency of the policies. Moreover, different countries across the world have different cultures and perceptions meaning if the ban is not effective in one jurisdiction, it is ineffective in another jurisdiction. Controlling and standardizing fast food industry is important to encourage health conscious products to support other body processes such as prevention of diseases. The companies usually operate in a controlled environment and the government institutions continue to develop legislations and policies based on the happenings. The decision of the government to ban may be premised on encouraging the companies to develop healthy products and services. The analysis should be based on long term data because any changes take some time to respond. The parents and children lifestyles would adjust over the long term, and the strategy is to ensure the long term aspect is incorporated into the decision making. Maybe, the current statistics of the ineffectiveness of the legislation in other jurisdictions may be attributed to the time span of implementation. The French government, for example, should collect information from these countries will similar bans and determine the reasons for ineffectiveness. These ineffectiveness reasons are then addressed through creating counter measures. The purpose is to ensure mistakes in other countries are not repeated, and the entire policy implementation should be based on a learning process. The health messages and associated banning will result in the companies taking aggressive approaches such as creating awareness and proposing alternative means to support health conscious requirements. McDonald’s, for example, will encourage the customers to participate in a physical exercise to address the obesity problem. The strategy is to illustrate there are other reasons contributing to obesity. In such a process, the government benefits because it has transferred some of the health responsibilities to private institutions. It is easier for the businesses and government to work together in advancing health conscious requirements. Customer behavior is another important component because the decisions customers make are influenced by other individuals. For example, the advertising targeting children will force the children to ask their parents for the products and services. However, the inclusion of the health messages and banning limits the amount of information the children access or even the children may start appreciating the healthy options. Hence, the banning of the advertisements addresses customer behavior ideology. 4. The broad issue facing McDonald’s in most of the Western countries is the current attitude towards rising obesity. The company seems to have tried many different approaches to deal with the problem, but the problem persists. List all the problems facing McDonald’s and critique their various approaches to solve the problems The following are some of the problems that McDonald’s face: The Western countries continue to propose legislations targeting the fast food industry including the requirement for the fast food to act more responsible. For example, in the UK, the government brought together different high profile executives to inquire into children’s obesity. These executives were grilled publically and asked the reasons for the use of celebrities in advertisements. These statements from the government and other processes negate the approach of McDonald’s to operate effectively. For example, the bans or legislations may affect marketing strategies. The movie “Super-Size Me” aroused audience’s attention on the significance of fast food, and impact on obesity. People’s attention was changed and rethought of the traditional understanding about Golden Arches. The movie illustrates the problems of fast food and impact on their health. For example, the characters including the information in the movie proof that fast food is a major problem and contributes to obesity. The quantity and content of the fast food are another problems. Arguments and views exist that indicates the large portions served contributes to obesity. However, changing the quantity may affect pricing and create financial problems for the company. McDonald’s has employed different strategies to counter the view on obesity, and the following are some of the solutions and effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the solutions: McDonald’s created an ad with a character called Yums featuring Ronald McDonald engaging kids on the importance of healthy eating. The animation requesting the kids to eat vegetables and fruits is important because it contributes to the creation of awareness and encouraging kids to eat healthy foods. The use of Ronald McDonald is also appropriate because it shows that the company does not concentrate on fast food alone but also advocates for healthy eating. The decision to use animation is important because it attracts the kids because kids usually like animations such as cartoons. The entire animation including the characters and the design of characters is appropriate because it easily engages the children. The decision to incorporate aspects from a nutritionist is important. For example, McDonald’s state that “the majority of nutritionists” believe McDonald’s products contributes to a balanced diet. Incorporating professionals are appropriate, but the limit of the analysis may not support the view of healthy eating. Audiences may ask, what about the “few” who think eating McDonald’s is unhealthy. The message should have been balanced in that views, which are both positive and negative should have been presented. For instance, eating McDonald’s products is alright but in moderation. The decision to send Ronald McDonald to schools to create awareness is also appropriate. The awareness should include the product diversity and the healthy portions. The purpose is to continue growing the business while addressing the current problems. Advocating for alternative health products and utilizing the same character result in creation and advancement of awareness. Therefore, the decision is appropriate in advancing the business operations and marketing strategic aims. Creating and informing the audiences of the importance of physical activity and balanced diet is also appropriate. It is aimed at highlighting alternative causes of obesity. It ensures focus is not only on the fast food but also a lack of physical exercises contributes to obesity. 5. Based on your response to Question 4, recommend both a short range and long range plan for McDonald’s to implement For the short range plan, McDonald’s should include healthy ads and increase the amount of products, which are healthy. For example, introducing products with less cholesterol and more fiber may make the customers to continue acquiring the McDonald’s products. Even though the strategy lies in short and long term plans, the aim is to ensure the company’s health offerings are appreciated by the customers and are aware of the different products and services. For the long range plan, the McDonald’s has to change the perception of the customers regarding product provisions. It includes participating in more social responsibilities such as creating awareness in schools. In addition, the company should contribute to addressing health problems such as supporting cancer treatment to remove the “Joe Camel and cigarette ads” tag. In addition, the company should continuous research and develop healthy focused food options to fulfill the requirements of the government to advance healthy eating. For the short and long term plans, McDonald’s has to understand its position in international business. McDonald’s continues to expand across the world and engaging with the government is important. Dealing with authorities properly in respect of business and community environment may reduce the negative publicity. Therefore, establishing a good relationship with government and other stakeholders advisable. Thus, advancing and adhering to the government regulations on banning and inclusion of health messages is important in creating a positive image and indicates the aim of the company to embrace government proposals. Read More