Trinkets, trash and adult colouring books
Your brand is your user experience
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No. This post isn’t a self-righteous rant about animal rights, or a collection of the best movie quotes ever written. It’s about how changing the outside of something doesn’t necessarily change what it really is. It’s about how people are all too often fooled by the illusion of change. It’s also about french fries!
Why? Because McDonald’s has been busy completely overhauling their exterior image and it’s definitely worth a chat.
To anyone who’s caught a glimpse of the golden arches lately, it’s pretty clear they’re targeting young urban hipsters with their flashy new exteriors and trendy interior design.
McDonald’s has always targeted youth, but in the past they didn’t have to be so obvious about it. Throw in a new happy meal toy and send Ronald around for the occasional visit and everyone’s happy. Now, despite the flashy new look and heavy advertising, little else has changed. It all looks like they’re trying to do too much with too little.
And McDonald’s isn’t alone. There was an article in Marketing Mag this week discussing the new look that A&W just unveiled. The difference being that A&W actually innovated their offering to match, adding several healthier menu options, built-in self-serve ordering kiosks, and a few green initiatives.
Does an external redesign have a better chance of being successful when the product is updated as well? Or, is rebranding on a superficial level only a token move to keep people interested?
On the other hand, I’d argue that total overhaul also carries its share of risks: would *you* want to be the guy to tell people that McD’s french fries don’t have that meta-potato taste anymore?
Miranda Voth
August 19, 2010 @ 10:55 am
The Mc Donalds at Gerrard Square has plants, flat screen TVs and a fireplace! But I don’t think any of that stuff is going to attract a different crowed. People who think Mc Donalds is disgusting (like myself) aren’t going to eat there more often because the have a classy looking store. At the end of the day McNuggets are still made from 38 ingredients (seven of which are completely synthetic) and there’s no way to package those facts to make me want to eat it.
*stats from “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”
Tweets that mention Sticking feathers up your [expletive] does not make you a chicken « Big Orange Slide -- Topsy.com
August 19, 2010 @ 11:01 am
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Akbar Singh
August 19, 2010 @ 11:39 am
Sure it helps McDonalds, without a doubt.
It makes it a much more enjoyable atmosphere. I can go in for lunch, read the paper, watch the news all while only spending about $6 for lunch.
Also, being in love with mcdonalds and going on a regular basis to locations across the province, I can tell you that they have definitely increased the percentage of seniors (age 70+)and boomers who come and drink coffee and buy other foods and spend extended time periods there.
They are trying to stay competitive with these classier coffee joints like starbucks, by offering superior coffee and a friendly atmosphere.
The youth are gonna come eat those chicken nuggets no matter what the store looks like or what ingredients are in the food. Because you know what, it tastes good and its cheap.
Brook Johnston
August 19, 2010 @ 11:48 am
An incredible amount of people (hippies and health freaks excluded) like Scrawny Ronnie’s core menu – so why fix what’s not broken.
Same successful product + refreshed image = an improvement. Perhaps not as grandiose a marketing plan as revamping the offering to reflect said image, but an improvement nonetheless.
To use an overly talked about example – look at Old Spice. New branding and kind of new products, but really they just changed the image. It’s still deodorant and body wash. And it worked wonders!
The average consumer isn’t going to walk into McDonalds and draw conclusions about the inconsistencies between their revitalized brand image and the current product set. Only advertising geeks like us will notice. To everyone else, there are just some pretty new couches in the dining area. And couches are the best.
Jon Finkelstein
August 19, 2010 @ 1:31 pm
When is Pizza Pizza going to get in on this??
Jacob Karsemeyer
August 19, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
Gilding the McLilly?
Curtis Westman
August 19, 2010 @ 4:09 pm
@Akbar: It’s not fine dining. People will eat fast food because they want consistent and cheap fare without having to wait for it. Trying to make it into some kind of “experience” is a wasted effort, in my opinion, because it simply is not about the “experience” and never has been.
Otherwise, why would the drive-through be so popular? People would rather sit in their car and eat in the parking lot than eat in the actual McDonald’s restaurant, regardless of whether or not there’s a fireplace. And in a city currently battling an epic scourge of bedbugs, I’d rather not sit on couches anywhere, let alone a McDonald’s — especially after seeing their bathrooms.
You’re right, people will continue to eat McNuggets. But those are the people that are already eating McNuggets. McDonald’s isn’t lacking in brand penetration; I’d be surprised if anyone in North America hadn’t heard of or seen a location at one point. In my experience, people either love it or they hate it. Nobody’s on the fence saying, “Gee, I sure do love those classy McNuggets. If only the restaurant didn’t look like such a toilet!”
Jim Hall
August 19, 2010 @ 5:47 pm
We can blow smoke at McD’s all day, but they have a loyal demographic, and the restaurant is trying new things to appeal to more. They’ve done so for years. How many jingles can you remember? And they make millions and millions of dollars and wouldn’t we all like them as a client?