-
The Integrated Marketing Communication Campaign
of McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
LAU Wing-yan
A Project Submitted
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Communication
Supervisor: Dr. Chen Ni
School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong July 2006
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
1
Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Chen Ni for
her advice and support throughout the process of doing this
project. It is really my honor and pleasure to have Dr. Chen to be
my supervisor. During the preparation of this project, Dr. Chen has
given me so many constructive ideas on how to develop the whole
campaign and improvements to be made making my project a better
one. I enjoy every single moment with her during consultation in
the past few precious months. On the other hand, I am also very
grateful to my family and friends for their continuous support,
encouragement and sharing. I would like to thank them for
supporting me to be tough in facing all big challenges of this
project. All research described in this project was my own original
work and was carried out by myself under the supervision of Dr.
Chen Ni.
______________________ (LAU Wing-yan)
M.A. in Communication
School of Communication Hong Kong Baptist University
Date: 3 July 2006
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
2
The Integrated Marketing Communication Campaign
of McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
I. Executive summary
Fresh Choices Menu of McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
was firstly
launched in 2004, however, the campaign failed to build up a
healthy fast food
provider image to McDonalds, and of publics perception McDonalds
is still a junk
food restaurant. In an attempt to change the public perceptions,
and to build up a
healthier public image to McDonalds, an IMC campaign is
designed.
It is a one-year campaign, before the start of the activities
was the authors research
conducted in May, and will be followed by the campaign planning
until December
2006. The campaign activities will take place in 2007 through
the year until its
evaluation in January 2008. With the theme To Refresh your New
Healthy Life at
McDonalds, the campaign activities will focus on a PR event (a
5-day tour to
Australia farmlands), of which the promotional works will be
supported by tactics of
public relations (an after-the-tour TV program), sales promotion
(the lucky draw and
the writing competition), advertising (TVC, outdoor and print
ads), direct marketing
(promotions at POPs), internet marketing (www.mcdonalds.com.hk)
and personal
selling (McDonalds Ambassadors).
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
3
The author has designed a research which has taken place from
May to June 2006. It
analyzed the situations of the company, the consumers, the
product and the market,
and so to design sets of appropriate campaign strategies. In
regard to the research
results, the households with a monthly income of HK$15,000 -
$25,000 and with at
least one child aged below 18 have been identified as the target
audience in our
campaign.
A posttest evaluation will carry out in August through December
2007 to measure the
effectiveness of the campaign. It will measure the campaign
effects, the public
perceptions and recognitions to McDonalds. The information will
provide
benchmarks for future campaigns to develop.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
4
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement page 1 I. Executive summary 2 - 3 II. Situation
analysis 5 - 33
Company analysis 5 - 7
Consumer analysis 8 - 13
Market analysis 14 - 17
Product analysis 18 - 21
Competitive analysis 22 - 28
SWOT analysis 29 33
III. Problem and opportunity statements 34 IV. Campaign theme,
goal and objective 35 V. Target audience profiles 36 - 37 VI.
Overview of the IMC strategies 38 - 42 VII. Implementations of the
IMC strategies 43 - 68
Public relations strategy 43 - 45
Sales promotion strategy 46 - 47
Advertising strategy 48 - 65
Direct marketing strategy 66
Internet marketing strategy 67
Personal selling strategy 68
VIII. Media plan 69 - 70 IX. Timeline 71 - 72 X. Budget 73 XI.
Evaluation 74 - 75 XII. Conclusion 76 XIII. References 77 - 78 XIV.
Appendices 79 - 97
Authorization form 98 Plagiarism declaration form 99
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
5
II. Situation analysis
Company analysis
McDonalds Corporation
McDonalds Corporation was founded in 1955 when Raymond Albert
Kroc, (1902
1984), acquired franchising rights from the McDonalds brothers.
The corporation
now has more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 119 countries
worldwide, and
becomes the largest fast food service restaurant organization in
the world.1
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited, hereafter called
McDonalds, was
established in 1975, when her first restaurant at Paterson
Street in Causeway Bay
offered the very first Big Mac Meal to customers. She has been
religiously following
worldwide motto of QSC&V (Quality, Service, Cleanliness and
Value)2 till today.
However, McDonalds have never stopped of being challenged by
nutritionists as a
junk food provider. The criticisms are getting worse since the
year of 2000 when the
global world is talking more about a healthy eating habit.3
People blame McDonalds
foods are high in fat, salt and carbohydrate. Some activists
even asked for health
1 www.mcspotlights.org 2 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Report Summary (2006) 3 Apple Daily (A30) (May 22, 2006)
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
6
warning labels on her foods. In 2003, McDonalds firstly
introduced her healthy
menus, with fresh salad and fruits, of which are the Fresh
Choices Menu we see at
her Hong Kong restaurants. However, the market feedback is no
good as McDonalds
has expected, for consumers can hardly associate the new menus
to McDonalds old
fashioned image of a fast food restaurant provider. (Research Q.
14.3)
Anyhow, McDonalds is now the leading Quick Service Restaurant
(QSR) in Hong
Kong.4 More than 10,000 staff serves more than 150 million
customers a year at
more than 140 restaurants in the local market.5 In a bid to meet
the needs of different
customers, McCafe was also opened in addition to the
restaurants.
4 McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Ltd. Report Summary 5
www.mcdonalds.com.hk
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
7
Table 1 Company history and milestones
Year History and development 1940 McDonalds brothers opened a
small restaurant in US 1952 McDonalds brothers operated a quick
service food chain store and
designed the golden arch 1955 McDonalds brothers sold the
franchise right to Kroc 1959 Released the first McDonalds TVC on
media 1965 McDonalds listed in the stock market 1975 Set up
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited 1993 Ranked No. 3 of the
Worlds Top 10th Brands 1996 Ranked No. 1 of the Worlds Top 10th
brands
Reported a 110 billion (US$) hamburger sales 2000 Received
severe criticisms of offering unhealthy junk food 2003 Firstly
introduced her new healthy menus of fresh salad and fruits 2004
Ranked No. 2 of the Worlds 100th Influential Brands
(2005)
Mission
McDonalds constantly looks at improving the work environment.
She opened the
World's seventh McDonald's Hamburger University in Hong Kong
which serves her
employees to learn and grow throughout their careers. Her
success was proved by her
winning of The Employer of the Year Award in 2004 in the
industry of food and
catering / hospitality.6
A good corporate citizenship has become an element in the
business philosophy of
McDonalds. She was the first restaurant group in Hong Kong to
adopt a smoke-free
policy, and opened the first Ronald McDonald House in Asia
serving ill children.
6 www.jobsdb.com.hk Employer of the Year Award 2005
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
8
Consumer analysis
Fast food consumption has become a trend for Hong Kong people,
mainly of which to
meet the fast-paced living style in many well-developed
countries. Low-calorie fast
food, on the other hand, serves as a bonus to the people when
Hong Kong has been so
prevailed with an extreme of dieting. In the past, fast food is
a solution to a busy
working life. Nowadays, people are getting aware to their health
and put focus on
what they eat in order to fulfill a healthy eating habit for
good health.
Research methodology
The author has conducted a research in May through June 2006.
And the methodology
consisted of two parts, the quantitative and the
qualitative.
The quantitative part was the interviews along with an
author-designed questionnaire,
which were delivered to a randomized sample of 80 respondents at
four selected MTR
stations (Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsuen Wan).
This part was to
identify the respondents purchasing habit of American-styled
fast foods, their
attitudes and considerations in their consumptions, and their
perceptions towards
McDonalds Fresh Choices Menu. Lastly, the demographic,
psychographic and info
graphic information of the respondents were also collected.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
9
The qualitative part was a phone-interview with a PR
representative from McDonalds
(Hong Kong) Limited. The author was attempting to have a
face-to-face interview
with the representative and to collect as much internal
information from McDonalds.
However, due to some difficulties as revealed by the
representative, a 10 minute
phone-interview was done. The interview only came across the
target audiences of
McDonalds in her few previous campaigns.
Research and discussion7
Among the 80 respondents, 97% of them were female. Most of the
respondents (56%)
fell into the age group of 35 to 44 while 38% of them were
between the age from 25
to 34. About 85% of the respondents were F.7 graduated or above,
with 39% of them
were working in service industry and 46% were in executive or
professional positions.
All the respondents were married, with 79% of them raised at
least one child aged
below 18. Most of the respondents had a monthly household income
of HK$15,000 to
$19,000, and another 36% had HK$20,000 to $24,999.
Instead of filling in the questionnaire, the 80 respondents were
asked about the 32
questions when they were intercepted at the MTR stations. The
questionnaire
consisted of three parts: the first part was intended to collect
information about
7 See Appendix B
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
10
respondents purchasing habit of low-calorie American-styled fast
foods, and their
considerations when buying the product. In the second part of
the questionnaire,
respondents were identified with their recognitions on the fast
food restaurants market,
and their perceptions and attitudes on McDonalds Fresh Choices
Menu. The last
part of the questionnaire collected psychographic information of
respondents,
including their lifestyles, and also the demographic
information.
Purchasing behavior of the target audience
According to McDonalds representative, the household with at
least one child aged
below 18 were mostly identified as target audiences in their
past campaigns.
Therefore, to have a better understanding on this target group,
the respondents
selected to take part in our research were specified.
From the research conducted, it was found that 100% of the
respondents have
consumed American-styled fast foods in the past three months.
Out of these, 90% of
them reported their experiences of buying low-calorie
American-styled fast foods.
During the same period of time, 60% of them reported a 6 to 10
times of purchasing
the product, and had 38% reported at least 1 to 5 times. They
went to the fast food
restaurants mostly with their family members (100%), and also
with colleagues (92%)
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
11
and peers (89%).
When the respondents considered purchasing the product, 96% of
them ranked
nutrition values of the product as one of very important
criteria. Other important
criteria include variety of the product (88%) and taste of the
product (79%). To
view from a communication perspective, it was found that 60% of
the respondents
agreed goodwill of the product brand were essential element when
consider
purchasing the product, and also 87% of them reported they would
be affected by
media when making the purchase decision.
Perceptions on low-calorie American-styled fast food
There are 96% of the respondents perceived the product a
solution to slimming, and
therefore to recommend it to others as seeing the product a
choice of healthy
convenient fast food. 95% of them associated their reasons of
purchase to media
effect and the convenience nature of fast food (92%).
Still, there are 88% of the respondents did not differentiate
the product from other fast
food. They did not recommend the product to others because of
their low involvement
(69%) to the product and had no concrete information about the
products nutrition
values (76%).
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
12
Perceived image of McDonalds Fresh Choices Menu
Questions to the respondents on recognizing Hong Kong fast food
restaurants in
providing low-calorie American-styled fast foods were also
included in our research.
McDonalds was the highest recognizable product provider (68%) in
the market;
while 26% for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and 4% for
Hardees.
McDonalds was also ranked as the most worthy brand among 91% of
the respondents
when they considered purchasing the product. More than 56% of
the respondents
agreed McDonalds Fresh Choice Menu is the best and credible
choice for
low-calorie American-styled fast foods.
However, there are a number of respondents did not associate
McDonalds to a
healthy fast food restaurants as 82% of them reported Fresh
Choices Menu did not
change their perceptions on McDonalds in offering fast
foods.
Attitudes and lifestyle of the target audience
It is very consistent among the respondents that 99% of them
perceived health was
very important to them. There is a slight number of respondents
(10%) agreed that
fast foods could also be their choices of healthy menu while 59%
of them showed
disagreement to the same statement.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
13
Most of the respondents (83%) tended to collect information from
media (eg. TVC
and print advertisements) when making their purchase decisions.
Appledaily (54%)
and TVB Jade (92) became the most frequently used media among
the respondents.
They usually purchased fast foods when free gifts were given
along with (44%) and
during high publicity period (34%)
The respondents spent most on household expenditure (76%)
followed by dining
(16%). Nearly half of the respondents (46%) have traveled in the
past one year, with
99% of them traveled only once. They usually traveled with their
family members
(58%), and China became their most frequent destinations (96%),
with only 18%
traveled to Europe, North America and Australia & New
Zealand in the same period
of time. Most of the respondents (92%) reported only 1 to 3 days
in a week to spend
with their families. 6% even reported less than 1 day.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
14
Market analysis
In many well-developed countries, the culture of fast food has
been so prevailing as it
fits well to the fast-paced living style of the people. In the
year of 2005, it has been
reported a 5.6% of growth in the fast food industry, and it is
believed that the business
is growing with potentials in the coming years.8
An overview of the market situation
Fast food industry is one of the most popular cultures in Hong
Kong, and there is a
huge market growth potential in the out-of-home, fast food
sector. According to a
survey conducted by ACNielsen studying consumers habits on
buying fast foods,
Hong Kong people made an average of 20 times of impulse
purchases on fast foods
per month. Among their respondents aged 12 to 54, the age group
from 12 to 19 made
the most impulse purchases with 26 times per month.9
Hong Kong fast food purchases also show a remarkable number in
the global fast
food market. As per the same survey conducted by ACNielsen, the
results showed that
30% of Asia Pacific consumers (China and Hong Kong) claimed to
eat fast foods at
least once a week, which was closely behind the US (33%).
8 www.yahoo.com 9 www.hk.acnielsen.com Press Release - A 360
View of Fast Food and Impulse Habits
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
15
In the Asia Pacific region, despite 12% of the respondents
claimed never to eat fast
foods, the region was reported having the most fast food
takeaway addicts, with 35%
reportedly purchasing fast foods at least three times a week to
as often as once a day
or more. Hong Kong, on a market-by-market basis, ranked the
worlds No. 1 in terms
of frequency of fast food restaurant visits (61%), followed by
Malaysia (59%) and the
Philippines (54%). These findings showed that, in the
out-of-home market, fast food
restaurants are the key channel for mature adults, while young
adults and teenagers
make the most frequent purchases from fast food restaurants.
In the 3rd quarter of 2005 in Hong Kong, the average spending on
fast food per head
was HK$510, almost a 7% increase over the previous quarter.10
According the
ACNielsens findings, though breakfast was the least popular
occasion for fast food
meals across major world regions, it is the most popular in Hong
Kong with 21% and
made Hong Kong into the worlds No. 1 again.11
Recent development of the industry
It was observed that the fast food culture has shaped the
lifestyles of us all. Busy
lifestyles and an ease of access to a wide variety of fast food
restaurants have proven
10 The HKSAR Census and Statistics Department (2006) 11
www.hkacnielsen.com Press Release - A 360 View of Fast Food and
Impulse Habits
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
16
to be a powerful combination. Meanwhile, the fast food business
has become
increasingly competitive with various multinational fast food
chain operators
expanding into new geographies daily, along with the emergence
of new players, new
types of cuisines and new menu choices. Smart consumer packaged
fast foods
retailers are tapping into consumers needs for convenience by
offering a wider
assortment of prepared meals than ever. And with fast food
restaurants introducing
healthier options in the form of salads and low calorie meals,
consumers today have
greater choice than ever before, and become the path of the fast
food industry in
future years.
Anyhow, to put into the new element of a healthy menu to the
fast food market will
face challenges. People say the market position of McDonalds
turns becoming
blurred when an old-fashioned fast food restaurant is selling a
healthy menu to her
customers. (, 2005) McDonalds headquarter in
the US reported a drop of the corporation total sales when their
shops over the global
markets are selling the new healthy menu as their product
highlights.12
12 Apple Daily (A30) (May 22, 2006)
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
17
Some findings for the marketers
Building a good brand image is close to the heart of most
marketers, as it was worth
nothing that brand image appeared to have certain influences on
consumers choices
of fast food restaurants. Resulting from the ACNieslens survey,
brand Image ranked
one of the important elements among the respondents with 18% in
the Asia Pacific
region.13 Among the international fast food restaurants,
McDonalds was the worlds
most popular with 68% of respondents in 28 major world countries
picking it as the
first choice for dine-in or take-away fast foods. KFC ranked the
second with 32% and
Pizza Hut ranked the third with 29%.
13 www.hk.acnielsen.com
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
18
Product analysis
When we look into the market of fast foods in Hong Kong, we can
see a variety of
foods as offered by the few dominant fast food restaurants. With
their most original
hamburgers and French fries, and recently their latest menus of
a mix & match
burger. The burger itself is more or less the same using the
similar ingredients among
the few providers. These providers, however, put focus on the
food packaging and
invest money on advertising their own products, making it a
trend in the industry and
also to provide a way for consumers to differentiate a
product.
The product Fresh Choices Menu
McDonalds firstly launched her Fresh Choices Menu () by the end
of
2004. The menu includes a variety of food ranges: grilled
chicken flatbread, Korean
beef flatbread, green salad, grilled chicken salad, corn cup,
fresh pineapple, peach &
blueberry yogurt and lemon/honey pear tea.14
Fresh Choices Menu, among a great variety of McDonalds ranges,
is chosen for
promotion in this campaign. It is believed that Fresh Choices
Menu can differentiate
itself of its low-calorie ingredients from other fast foods as
most called junk food.
This is also how McDonalds has differentiated Fresh Choices Menu
from her other
14 www.mcdonalds.com.hk
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
19
ranges, by promoting the product with the use of a slogan
Bringing a fresher tune to
your life. The most crucial attribute of the product goes to the
ingredients that have
been used in all ranges of Fresh Choices Menu, which are high in
nutrition values
but with low fat and low cholesterol. They offer a balanced diet
to people and do not
lose its nature as a convenient food.
According to the research conducted, all respondents
consistently agreed low-calorie
fast foods are a more healthy choice of convenient fast food if
they are to recommend
the product to others. (Research Q. 10) It was found that they
would consider the
nutrition values of the product as the most essential element
when purchasing
low-calorie fast food. (Research Q. 12.5) As shown on McDonalds
corporate
website (www.mcdonalds.com.hk), there is clear and detailed
analysis showing the
nutrition information of each of the Fresh Choices Menu range.
Consumers can refer
to credible source of scientific information when considering
the product as one of
their many choices among those in the low product-differentiated
market.
It is therefore convincible to say that the product could well
fulfill when consumers
are looking for, be that more than half of the respondents as
revealed in research
agreed that the product is the best and credible choice for
low-calorie fast foods.
(Research Q. 14.1)
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
20
Other factors adding the product value
It is interesting to note you that media effect, according to
the research results, is also
one of few most elements when respondents are to consider when
purchasing the
product from a similar range in the market. (Research Q. 12.7)
It is not about the
product itself, nevertheless, media effect tends to increase the
value and attractiveness
of the product in view of 87% of the respondents. Particularly
in the fast food market
which does not have a significant product differentiation, the
more favorable
attributes of a brand has, the more positive values add to a
product.
As shown in the research results, McDonalds ranked at the first
in terms of her
recognition in the fast food market (Research Q. 7) and her
product worthiness for
respondents to purchase (Research Q. 13). Respondents also
showed from the
research that they purchased the product not mainly when it was
needed but more
because of high product publicity during a launch period.
(Research Q. 17) These are
giving marks to campaign works and serve a lighthouse to a
campaigner.
Notes to future campaigners
Fresh Choices Menu does not bring a big success to McDonalds,
however, a
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
21
significant drop of her total sales during the
product-highlights period.15 As a matter
of fact, there are still a large proportion of respondents who
did not change their old
perceptions of McDonalds as a junk food restaurant. (Research Q.
14.3) This could
be partly explained by the weak image of Fresh Choices Manu as
projected in its last
campaign. The finding is therefore serving a benchmark for
future campaign works.
15 Apple Daily (A30) (May 22, 2006)
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
22
Competitive analysis
In the industry of American-styled fast food restaurants in Hong
Kong, McDonalds
and her other two direct competitors, KFC and Hardees, are
identified as the three
dominant providers in the market. According to the research
conducted, they are also
the major three names that could be identified by the
respondents when they were
asked to list the restaurants that they know in selling
low-calorie American-styled
fast foods. Other names, like Wendys and Pizza Hut, which are in
relatively small
scale of business or being perceived as less popular in the
market, were hardly
recognized by many respondents. (Research Q. 7)
It is convincible to say that, McDonalds, in which confidence on
her foods is well
built in most customers mind, is a remarkable market leader in
the American-styled
fast food restaurant industry. She has the longest history of
business in the market, and
is now leading the market in terms of her business scale which
is not difficult to be
identified by her shop establishments and scale of
advertisements.
In the market of American-styled fast food, most of the
providers are selling more or
less the similar ranges of foods: hamburgers as their most
original one, and they also
have fish burgers, beef burgers, chicken burgers, French fries,
chicken pieces,
beverages and desserts. Their menus ranged from breakfast menu
to dinner-kind
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
23
menu with rice and spaghetti as provided by some American-styled
fast food
restaurants in the market.
Table 2 shall give us the information about McDonalds and the
two major
competitors (KFC and Hardees) in the American-styled fast food
restaurants market,
in terms of their food ranges and prices.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
24
Table 2 Comparisons of food range and price of McDonalds and two
competitors
Hardees McDonalds KFC Variety of menu / listed price (HKD)
Breakfast Set 6 / $16 $19.50 14 / $13 - $21.5 Sausage & Egg
Muffin Set
6 / $14 3 / $17 - $17.5
3 / $13 - $14.5
Hotcake Set / $17 / Pasta Set $16 $19.50 $14 Fish Burger Set
$22.50 $20.80 $14.5 (w/o French
fries) Chicken Burger Set $24 2 / $23.3 -
$24.5 $14.5 (w/o French fries)
Beef/Pork Burger Set 2 / $22.5 - $24 $22.30 2 / $13 (w/o French
fries)
Hot Dog Set 2 / $21.5 / / Rice/Spaghetti Set 7 / $28 - $30 /
$33.50 Sides Potato 2 / $6.5 $5.30 $5.50 Croissant/Danish/Scone 2 /
9.5 - $11
(w/drink) $5 $5.50
French Fries $10 $5.5 - $9 $7.5 - $15 Soup $9 $9 $12 Chicken $18
(2 pcs) $5 (2 pcs) $17 (2 pcs) Corn $6.50 $9 $5.50 Salad $6.50 $18
- $22 $30 - $34 Coffee/Tea $8.5 - $11 $7.5 - $8.2 $8.5 - $10 Drink
Specialty $10 - $11 $8 - $11.5 $8 - $11 Dessert / 10 / $2.5 - $8
/
Source: www.openrice.com
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
25
Food range
As shown from the above, we find that the three restaurants
actually provide a very
similar food range with each other. Breakfast sets, Muffins,
burgers and chickens are
the basic food provided by all the three. More than that, other
sides, such as salad,
soups, French fries and drinks, are also included in everyday
menu of McDoanlds,
KFC and Hardees.
Specifically saying, McDonalds is the only provider among these
three that offers
hotcakes in its menu. Hardees, on the other hand, is the only
one who offers hot dog
combo and it even provides up to 7 choices of rice and
spaghetti, whilst KFC only
offers limited one choice and there is none in McDonalds. For
desserts and beverages,
McDonalds possesses the greatest variety which includes more
than 10 specialties.
McDonalds, KFC and Hardees are providing combo menus which offer
their
customers a mix & match of food ranges under special
promotional prices.
Examples include Breakfast Set and Sausage & Egg Muffin Set
in their morning
menu; and Chicken Burger Set and Beef/Pork Burger Set in their
after 11am
menu. The combo set offered by these three fast food restaurants
are very similar, of
which include a burger, a drink and a side with additional
dollars paid.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
26
Food price
To compare the food prices16 among these three fast food
restaurants, it is to say none
of them are consistently staying on a relatively higher price
than the other two.
McDonalds is offering its Pasta Set at $19.5 (which is more
expensive
than Hardees at $16 and KFCs at $14) and Corn at $9 (with a
higher
price than Hardees which is at $6.5 and KFCs at $5.5).
KFC is offering its Salad at $34 (which is charged at a higher
price than
McDonalds at $22 and Hardees at $6.5) and Soup at $12 (with
a
relatively higher price than McDonalds and Hardees with both
selling at
$9)
Hardees is charging her Potato at $6.5 while KFC is selling the
similar at
$5.5 and McDonalds at $5.3.
Shop establishments
To specify our analysis on McDonalds major competitors, we will
have a closer look
on the three: McDonalds, KFC and Hardees, in terms of their shop
establishments in
the local market.
16 www.mcdonalds.com.hk and www.hkkfc.com
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
27
According to a local survey, 17 McDonalds has the largest spread
of shop
establishments in Hong Kong, with 168 units of shops. KFC and
Hardees on the
other hand, have the units of 48 and 6 shops respectively, which
are much fewer than
McDonalds in terms of the total market share. It is to say, the
shop establishment will
have some effects on the intention of purchase of customers. The
more the shop
establishments tend to enhance a higher purchase intention,
providing that the product
differentiation in the market is low.
Service performances
The same survey also studied consumers perceptions on
American-styled fast food
restaurants, of which the criteria were based on taste of food,
environment,
service, restaurant hygiene, and food price. In the survey, the
fast food
restaurants were rated with points from 0 to 5, whereas 5 is the
highest
representing the best performance.
According to the survey results, of the overall 5 mentioned
criteria, McDonalds were
rated between from 1.50 to 4.38 with her 168 shops. For the
other two: KFC were
rated 2.19 4.25; while Hardees were rated 3.08 3.97, with 48 and
6 shops
respectively. As shown, McDonalds shops are perceived as both
the worst and the
17 www.openrice.com
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
28
best fast food restaurants by the surveyed respondents.
Nevertheless, with the results
found from the authors research, McDonalds was identified by
more than 90% of the
respondents as the most worthy for their consumptions,
specifically for her
low-calorie American-styled fast foods.
Other indirect competitors
McDonalds faces with indirect competitions from local fast food
chains, like Cafe de
Coral, Maxims and Fairwood. They have a strong foothold, as told
by the AC
Nieslens survey that 62% of the respondents chose local
operators as their choices of
fast food restaurants.18 These local restaurants offer a wide
variety of localized fast
foods combined with both Western and Oriental styled of menus.
Their shop
establishments are good enough to enable an easy access of
consumers, and their
more flexible localized operations put challenges to the
dominations of the market.
18 www.hkacnielsen.com Press Release - A 360 View of Fast Food
and Impulse Habits
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
29
SWOT analysis
Strengths
A brand is the perception that a consumer has about a product or
service, by it visual,
written or experience based. A brand-maker attempts to develop
an image for a
corporate brand and if successful by associating it with
symbols. McDonalds is a
successful brand both in local and global markets, that people
will associate her with
good quality food.
McDonalds is a well-built and matured brand which consumers can
easily associate
her name with quality food. This becomes one of her significant
strengths that people
can distinguish McDonalds from her competitors in the fast food
restaurant industry.
She has successfully built up a favorable perception in minds of
her customers, which
are encouraged to have had a sustainable brand loyalty on
McDonalds.
McDonalds favorable image is being well supported along the
years. The founder of
McDonalds, explaining McDonalds success, said, We take the
hamburger business
more seriously than anyone else. He stated on McDonalds website
his dedication to
strict standards, his diligence to providing consumers with
consistent quality service,
cleanliness and value and his innovative use of cooking
techniques promoted a
Harvard Business School professor to describe him as the service
sectors equivalent
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
30
of Henry Ford. This is not only said by words, but McDonalds
works to make her a
credible and sustainable brand in the market.19
Not long ago it was reported that McDonalds restaurants have
been using a French
fries cooking way that could possibly lead to a serious food
allergy.20 McDonalds
responded immediately on the next day quickly solved the crisis
before it became
threatening to her corporation image. Her crisis management
works further
consolidated herself as a credible corporation with honorable
social responsibility.
McDonalds performs herself as a responsible corporation in many
ways. Giving
back to society has become one of her important cultures along
the years. World
Childrens Day at McDonalds is a global charity event organized
to help children in
need all over the world. In Hong Kong, Charitable Kids Marathon,
Charity Sales,
The Concert, and The Gala-Dinner all serve to raise money and
arouse public
awareness on welfare care for children in need. The McDonalds
Cancer Fund,
regular open-days to public, a training school for her own
employees and community
activity parades are only some but not all of McDonalds
practices to strengthen her
good corporate citizenship.
A well-managed brand is a determined factor to a success in a
campaign. McDonalds
19 www.mcdonalds.com.hk 20 www.yahoo.com.hk
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
31
works have positioned her distinguished brand in the market
context and in a great
extent explains a very high level of customer loyalty. The big
business scale of
McDonalds and her widespread branches established in the market
also do a
supporting part to enable an easy access by her customers. These
cultivate an
advantaged market position for McDonalds and favor the
effectiveness of her
campaigns.
Weaknesses
McDonalds (Hong Kong) made her first Big Mac Meal in 1975 and
has been offering
the similar fast food ranges, like McMuffins, for over 25 years.
Her name in the fast
food industry has become well-labeled and deep-rooted to many
consumers.21 To
change it, or to put into new elements, may become a very
difficult task for
McDonalds. Her Fresh Choices Menu, in a certain extent, runs on
an opposite
direction to her long fashion of fast food offerings. It could
possibly confuse her
consumers as they have perceptional difficulties to purchase
healthy green food
selling under a junk food restaurant. The campaign was actually
launched under a
difficult market context, of which it was not originated from
McDonalds old fashion.
The campaign could have ended in a rare success or might have
even put McDonalds
21 www.mcdonalds.com.hk
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
32
brand at a risk.
Opportunities
McDonalds Fresh Choices Menu could become a new direction to her
increased
scale of business. The similar case goes to McCafe which in a
bid to meet the needs of
different customers. It is decorated to provide a relaxing and
pleasurable environment
for customers, and offers a wide variety of cakes, pastries,
sandwiches and muffins, as
well as specialty coffee and tea.
McCafe is the best example representing a diversified business
of McDonalds. It
gives a good reference to McDonalds Fresh Choices Menu by
signaling a high level
of market acceptance to new products and a new style of living.
Hong Kong lays on a
market context with matured consumers. The Fresh Choices Menu
could bring along
opportunities to her increased scale of business and a bigger
corporation sales. In
Hong Kong when everyone is talking about to have a healthy
eating habit in recent
years, the Fresh Choices Menu is another opportunity for
McDonalds to meet up
with the market trend by nurturing a healthier image for the
corporation. It also
distinguishes McDonalds food offerings from other product
category entries in the
same industry.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
33
Threats
McDonalds is a distinctive brand in the Hong Kong fast food
restaurant industry. Still,
she has some major competitors such as Kentucky Fried Chicken
(KFC) and Hardees
selling the similar food ranges in the market. McDonalds is
facing very keen price
competition and for so she is frequently doing special meal
promotion in order to keep
her old customers and to capture the new ones. Not long after
McDonalds has
launched her Fresh Choices Menu, KFC is doing the similar by
offering her healthy
green food menus. These were putting threats to McDonalds when
she must position
herself with a unique corporations designation for running a
successful campaign and
so to survive in the industry.
In short, McDonalds has a well-managed brand which favors her
positioning in the
market. Still, the market context contains potential competitors
that put challenges to
McDonalds when she must stand out from the keen competition.
McDonalds brand
has been too well labeled in the fast food restaurant industry.
It is either a useful tool
for a campaigner or a problem to it. The Fresh Choices Menu is
an opportunity of a
new scale of business particularly when a healthy eating style
has become so
prevailed in the market. It is well about customer loyalty and
public acceptances in
which the campaign has been carried out.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
34
III. Problem and opportunity statement
Problem
As drawn from the situation analysis, the promotional works of
McDonalds in 2004
when she firstly launched Fresh Choices Menu was fair to arouse
public awareness
to this new menu. McDonalds is also well named as a good
corporate, with her
distinctive community works.
However, McDonalds is still too well-labeled as a junk food
restaurant due to her
long-fashioned fast food business. It is about a perception
problem, that the public can
hardly perceive McDonalds a healthy food menu provider.
Opportunity
In view of people are getting more concerned to their healthy
and a healthy fast food
menu meeting both the criteria of eat healthy and convenience,
Fresh Choices
Menu has the potential to capture more customers and to project
a stronger
perception of McDonalds as a healthy fast food restaurant among
the public.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
35
IV. Campaign theme, goal and objectives
Campaign theme
With the establishment of the campaign theme To Refresh your New
Healthy Life at
McDonalds, people will become aware of the importance of
adopting a healthy
eating habit by which McDonalds, though used to be a fast food
provider in her old
days, could now provide with her Fresh Choices Menu.
Campaign goals
To give a stronger perception to the public that McDonalds is a
healthy fast food
provider that offers healthy food menus to her customers.
To build up a healthy image to McDonalds among the public,
through the
re-launch of Fresh Choices Menu in this campaign.
Campaign objectives
To arouse perception likeliness to McDonalds as a healthy fast
food restaurant
provider from 18% (Research Q. 14.3) to 60% by the end of
January 2008.
To arouse brand awareness, as a fast food restaurant offering
healthy food menus,
from 68% (Research Q. 7) to 80% by the end of January 2008.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
36
V. Target audience profiles
According to the data of Hong Kong Census and Statistics
Department dated February
of 2006, there are around 2,292,000 units of households, with an
average of 3.1
persons in each household.
Demographic characteristics
According to our situation analysis, it shows that low-calorie
American-styled fast
foods are very popular in the market, be its convenience, price,
variety,
nutrition or taste. It is therefore convincible to say the Fresh
Choices Menu is
welcomed by most people in the market. Our campaign therefore
does not limit to a
specific group of target audiences. Instead, the campaign
message will target to the
mass public in a way by identifying a specific group of
audiences that is easier to be
motivated and be the most responsive to our campaign
strategies.
With consideration of the research conducted, the households
with a monthly income
of HK$15,000 to HK$25,000, and have at least one children aged
below 18 were
identified as the audience group. They have around 3 to 6
members, with the parents
mostly are secondary or tertiary educated, of either the father
or both the father and
the mother are full time employed in a service industry or
executive position.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
37
Psychographic characteristics
This group of audiences, according to the research conducted,
reported their frequent
purchases at American-styled fast food restaurants and places
their main concerns on
convenience, followed by price, variety of food and the food
taste when consuming
the fast foods. They tend to look for both affordable and
convenient restaurants, and
are getting more concerned on the health issues and therefore
the nutrition values of
the food for their own health as well as their childrens become
their emphasis. The
parents are mostly occupied with their full-time jobs, therefore
they tend to treasure
family time and are willing to spend for the goodwill of their
children. The
households usually travel once in a year mostly to China or
South East Asia.
Info-graphic characteristics
A large proportion of this audience group relies on media
information when making
their purchase decisions. More than 83% of them tend to get
information from TVC
and print advertisements. Among various local TV channels and
news publications,
TVB Jade and Appledaily are the two most welcomed, followed by
ATV Home and
The Oriental Daily. Some will draw their attentions to
promotional materials at points
of purchases. And recommendations and internet promotions also
put effects on them.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
38
VI. Overview of the integrated marketing communication
strategies
After an analysis of the situation and setting up the campaign
objectives, a series of
integrated marketing communication strategy will be carried out.
We are proposing
not only to inform but to involve our audiences in this
campaign. We believe the
more the participation and the involvement of the audiences, the
greater the campaign
effect it will be.
Some academic research about IMC
During the 1980s, companies came to see the need for more of a
strategic integration
of their promotional tools. As also noted by Kurl (2002) in his
research on IMC, IMC
is one of the most important communications trends adopted by
advertising and public
relations companies in the last decade, by its mean of an
increase in global
competition, technological advances, and more informed
customers. They began
moving toward the process of integrated marketing communications
(IMC), which
involves coordinating the various promotional elements and other
marketing activities
that communicate with customers. (Belch and Belch, 2004) Instead
of relying
primarily on media advertising, companies recognize the added
value of a
comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a
variety of communication
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
39
disciplines advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and
public relations. (Pfau
and Parrott, 1993)
As added by Kurl (2002), an IMC combines the disciplines to
provide clarity,
consistency and maximum communication impact. It focuses on
achieving a
maximum communication impact, in its way to project a
consistent, unified and
centralized message to the marketplace. (Belch and Belch, 2004)
More than that, the
management of an IMC identifies the most appropriate and
effective method for
communicating a message to customers. As also pointed out by
Belch and Belch
(2004), .can avoid duplication,.reflects an adaptation to a
changing marketplace,
with respect to demographics, lifestyles, media use and shopping
patterns.
An IMC is rooted by its nature of a persuasion, which is to
persuade consumers to
respond favorable to a persuasive message. (McGrath, 2001) Pfau
and Parrott (1993)
added elements to this definition as shaping, changing, or
reinforcing of receivers
responses, including attitudes, emotions, intentions, and
behaviors. According to
Kenneth and Baack (2004), what composed of a persuasive message
is the strategic
management of how using the IMC tools. And the tools as
summarized by Duncan,
(2002) are advertising22, direct marketing23, internet
marketing24, sales promotion,25
22 Any paid form of non-personal communication about an
organization, product, service, or idea by an identified sponsor.
23 To communicate directly with target customers to generate a
response and a transaction.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
40
public relations26 and personal selling27.
Schultz and Schultz (2004) concluded the five steps in planning
an IMC. They are:
1. An internal analysis (marketing audit and review) and an
external analysis (market
competition and environmental factors) in a detailed situation
analysis.
2. Specify objectives that provide direction, a time frame for
marketing activities,
and a mechanism for measuring effectiveness.
3. A selection of target markets and a strategic plan for price,
product, promotion and
place, in the set up of marketing strategies and programs.
4. An implementation of the marketing strategies with
highly-specified tasks to be
performed.
5. An on-going process of monitoring and performance evaluation,
and provide
feedback for any necessary program changes.
As argued by some theorists, IMC is not yet a theory (Schultz
and Schultz, 2004).
Instead, it was just a way to look at the communication process
that consumers
receive messages. McGrath (2001) questioned the IMC if it added
value to a
24 A flow of information whereby users can participate in and
modify the form and content of the information they receive in real
time. 25 Marketing activities that provide extra value or
incentives to customers and can stimulate immediate sales. 26 The
management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies
the policies and procedures of an individual or organization with
the public interest, and executes a program of action to earn
public understanding and acceptance. 27 A form of person-to-person
communication in which a seller attempts to persuade prospective
buyers to purchase the companys product or service or to act on an
idea.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
41
traditional marketing communication practice. He employed an
empirical research,
by studying the different effects IMC might have on attitudinal
measures, behavior
intentions and recall of a communication message, when compared
to a traditional
marketing communication approach. His research focused on how
IMC played its role
in developing a more consistent brand image, and if IMC produced
any distinctive
effects at a deeper cognitive level when consumers are to make
purchase decisions.
The results showed that, IMC did not lead to a deeper image
trace or a significant
message reactivation when compared to efforts using a
traditional marketing
communication approach. McGrath explained the results by a
possibility that
consumers were variety-seeking being and tended to look for
alternative stimuli
rather than one-voice, one-look as designed in an IMC.
Nevertheless, the research showed signs of a higher behavior
intention that IMC was
capable to produce such directional effects. The findings give
implications for future
studies and an integration of marketing techniques due to a
change in worldwide
communication practices is inevitable. (Sevier and Johnson,
1999)
Our IMC campaign strategies
The focus of the campaign goes to a public relations event,
which will be supported
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
42
by tactics of public relations, sales promotion, advertising,
direct marketing, internet
marketing and personal selling. It is believed that the whole
campaign will efficiently
reach the mass public in a way by motivating the specified
audience group. And to
deliver our campaign message to the mass public resulting to an
arousal of a healthy
corporation perception, and further to build up a healthy fast
food restaurant image to
McDonalds.
The campaign activities will start in February 2007, after its
research data analysis
and planning finished by the end of year 2006. It is a one year
campaign lasts until the
end of December 2007, followed by an evaluation which will take
place through
August 2007 to January 2008.
The PR event is the focal point of this campaign, which is the
Go Go Go for Health
with McDonalds a tour visit to farmlands in Australia. An
after-the-tour program
recording the slices of the Australia tour will also be released
after the event. Besides,
the promotions of this event will be supported by sales
promotion (the lucky draw and
the writing competition about My ideal healthy life),
advertising (TVC and print
advertisements), direct marketing (promotional materials at
POPs), internet marketing
(new pages on corporate website) and personal selling (McDonalds
Ambassadors at
POPs).
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
43
VII. Implementation of the integrated marketing communication
strategies
Public relations strategy
In order to arouse product awareness and to establish McDonalds
with a healthy fast
food restaurant image in minds of the mass public, a public
relations event named
Go Go Go for Health with McDonalds () will be held
from the 3rd to 7th of August 2007.
Besides, a 50-minute after-the-tour TV program recording the
making of the event
and the slices of the Australia tour will be released on a
selected TV channel.
Execution
The public relations event is a 5-day tour to Perth in
Australia where the participants could visit the farmlands, to
experience the primitive
life of an Australian farmer and to enjoy a natural life style
at Australia.
The campaign will recruit 10 participants from the mass public
through tactics of
sales promotion.28
Each five of them will be selected from a lucky draw and a
writing competition,
which will take place through June to July 2007. The total ten
participants will be
allowed to bring along one accompany from their families joining
together in this
28 Details of sales promotion tactics will be discussed in the
next section
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
44
Australia trip.
McDonalds will also invite a crew of local reporters joining the
trip to Australia.
They will participate and witness the whole event of that could
induce the event
publicity during and after the campaign period, by its means on
newspapers,
magazines and other media channels.
After the tour, by working with TVB Jade, McDonalds will produce
a TV program
showing the before-and-after of the tour. The program, including
the slices of the
lucky draw and the writing competition, the making of the
Australia tour and the
5-day scenes in Australia, will be publicized on the 1st of Oct
2007.
Rationale
Public relations is the management function which evaluates
public attitudes,
identifies the public interests, and to execute a program of
action to earn public
understanding and acceptance. It is more about managing a
corporate reputation,
through community activity participation or public affairs
activities, to provide
information to the audiences in order to gain their awareness
and understanding
through a controlled media. Public relations also contribute to
a persuasive effect, to
change publics attitudes and behaviors in a planned way. (Belch
and Belch, 2004)
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
45
, the public relations event as the main strategy in our
campaign, is to build up a favorable healthy image to McDonalds,
by arousing
awareness and to create interests among the mass public. The
lucky draw and the
writing competition are the supporting activities in the
campaign, in a way to involve
the whole community, by involving their participations and
through the way
McDonalds is intentionally to provide health information about
the product and to
project her image as a healthy fast food provider, in order to
gain understanding of the
audiences in a way to structure their behaviors through a series
of planned public
relations event.
Key message
The , as a public relations event, is to create a public
perception that, McDonalds also cares about consumers health and
encourages a
healthy eating habit. The Australia tour is an attempt to build
up an association
between McDonalds and a healthy eating style, and on the other
hand to educate the
public by involving the participants to have real experiences of
a natural and healthy
life style, which McDonalds could also offer by her Fresh
Choices Menu.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
46
Sales promotion strategy
The lucky draw and the writing competition are both means of
creative strategies.
They support the by all means to create awareness and
interests among the mass public. It is to say the lucky draw is
appealing to the mass
public while the writing competition will specify the
participants aged below 18 as the
most responsive age group to the activity. It is believed that,
through community
participation and an interface with the favorable information as
projected by
McDonalds, the attitudes and behaviors of the audiences can be
persuaded.
The lucky draw
It runs on a basis that, within the period from 10th to 28th of
July, to get a chance in the
lucky draw with every purchase of any food from Fresh Choices
Menu of HK$30,
the one out of the total 5 winners will win a free trip to
Australia joining with
McDonalds at the Go Go Go for Health with McDonalds. Each winner
will be
allowed to bring along one accompany to the trip.
This activity is to arouse product awareness and the product
sales could also be
induced.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
47
The writing competition My ideal healthy life
Within the period from 1st to 20th of June, each applicant aged
below 18 will be
required to submit his own 500-word writing work about My ideal
healthy life (
). The 5 winners will each win a free trip to Australia joining
with
McDonalds at the Go Go Go for Health with McDonalds. Each winner
will be
allowed to bring along one accompany to the trip.
This activity is to increases awareness among the mass public on
the importance of
adopting a healthy eating habit and a good living style. The
public could more easily
to associate McDonalds with a healthy eating style, and so to
build up a healthy
image to the corporation.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
48
Advertising strategy
In order to establish awareness of the product, a series of TVC
and print
advertisements carried by numerous media channels (newspapers,
entertainment
magazines and outdoor carriers including bus bodies and MTR
trackside panels) will
be used. They will be used for promotion from February to July,
as assisting tools for
creating awareness and to arouse interests, as well as to
provide information to the
public for the forthcoming public relations event - .
Execution
The advertising series will contain three TVC and three print
advertisements, which
will be used on the four selected TV channels (TVB Jade, TVB
Pearl, ATV Home and
ATV World) and two newspapers (Appledaily and Oriental
Daily)
The first TVC is a teaser kind and will be used from February
through the mid of
March; the second and the third TVC, one is about the lucky draw
and the other about
the writing competition, will be used for promotion from the mid
of March through
the end of July. The three print advertisements will run
parallel to our TVC, both in
terms of time period and of advertisement theme.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
49
Rationale
According to The Models of the Response Process (Belch and
Belch, 2004), an
advertisement message tends to elicit a change of an audience
through a process from
cognitive, affective to behavioral. The message first appeared
to an audience by
arousing his awareness and interests. It followed by generating
an emotional liking,
by its means of a desire or a preference linking. The message is
therefore retented in a
mind cognitively and to be reinforced by a repeated exposure to
the message. And
when it is triggered with affective conviction, it results to a
behavioral adoption.
It is therefore in our campaign, the first stage will go to the
teaser kind which tends to
arouse awareness, curiosity and interests among the mass public.
It will follow by the
second stage with a series of TVC and print advertisements
which, according to The
Foote, Cone and Belding grid Planning Model (Belch and Belch,
2004) that food
product is a habit formation product, serve as reminder
advertisements, or a
repetition strategy to reinforce an advertisement message, to
sustain a routinized
behavior pattern where the consumers are mostly appealed to
sensory pleasures and
act on impulse buying.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
50
Execution of TVC (1)
It is a 5-second teaser TVC showing no character. The TVC will
start with an
energetic male voice saying:
? The TVC will use the background of grassland, with a blue sky
and the sunshine.
The TVC will end by showing with a light green color background,
with the voice
saying: im lovinit, which is the slogan of McDonalds that will
also be used in the
TVC.
Rationale of TVC (1)
< Advertising appeal >
This TVC does not limit itself to a specific group of target
audience. Instead, it
intends to reach the mass public and this is also the main
reason of using TVC.
Emotional appeal rather than rational appeal is being used in
this TVC, in order to
raise both physical and psychological needs of the public to
experience and to involve
themselves in a natural and comfortable environment.
The voice using in the TVC is also a symbol of fulfilling ones
good condition in life.
The color (light green), background (grassland), and also the
voice (energetic with
affection) all intend to arouse personal actualization, pleasure
and happiness.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
51
< Execution styles >
Dramatization is used as an execution style. It provides the
public with a real situation,
to build up the consonance and to induce the purchase intention.
The TVC also creates
interests and curiosity among the public. By clearly stating out
the brand of
McDonalds with a mention of im lovin it, the TVC could establish
awareness on
the corporation and to induce public interests on the issue.
Key message of TVC (1)
The TVC is to arouse public awareness on the issue, by
projecting a comfortable and
pleasurable visual on the TVC so that public curiosity could
also be established. It is
expected the TVC could induce the public to ask: what is the
beautiful scenery all
about? What is it related to McDonalds? This also directs the
public to the
forthcoming TVC.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
52
Execution of TVC (2)
This TVC is for promoting the lucky draw about winning a free
trip to Australia by
purchasing Fresh Choice Menu. It is a 15-second TVC, in which
show four
characters, a pair of young couples with their children of a boy
and a girl, aged around
10 to 15.
< Storyline >
The TVC will start by showing the visual as of TVC (1): that is
the blue sky, and with
a land of grass. Besides, it will also show the sun shaped like
the golden arch of
McDonalds logo.
The next of the TVC will then go to the four characters
gathering around at grassland.
The father and the mother are smiling at their two children, and
the four smiled
happily and enjoyed the fun at the grassland.
The TVC will follow by showing a closer look of the four
characters, with the voice
saying: , ? Then the next
part of the TVC will show the different ranges of Fresh Choices
Menu, and the
voice says: 7 28 , 30 ,
, ,
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
53
The last part of the TVC will show with a light green color
background. In the middle
of the screen will show the McDonalds logo and im lovinit, where
at the bottom
of the screen will show www.mcdonalds.com.hk. The TVC will be
ended by the voice
singing im lovinit, which is the slogan of McDonalds and will
also be used in the
TVC.29
Rationale of TVC (2)
This TVC is an extension to TVC (1), which gives out more
information about the
lucky draw activity. It does not limit to a specific group of
target audience but to
establish awareness and create interests among the mass public.
A combination of
various elements like main character, advertising appeals and
execution styles are
used in the creative strategy. They interact with each other and
is believed to be able
in enhancing a greater persuasive power and become cohesive
selling message. The
TVC is to project a pleasurable environment with an adoption of
a healthy living
style.
< Character >
The four characters in the family posse the ideal
characteristics of a happy family.
29 See Appendix C
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
54
They are all in good health condition, both intrinsic and
extrinsic, of that creating a
linkage between a healthy eating habit and a good quality of
life.
The four characters in a family are also selected for addressing
a perception of an
ideal family, which is to induce the persuasive power of the
TVC. It is believed that
the characters used will be easier to involve the public to our
TVC and further
consolidate their purchase intentions.
< Advertising appeal >
Both emotional appeal and rational appeal are being used in the
TVC, in order to
induce both physical and psychological needs of the mass public
to purchase the
product and to participate in the lucky draw.
For emotional appeal, the TVC projects a visual of a happy
family spending their
pleasurable time together at beautiful and comfortable
grassland. It is an ideal living
to most Hong Kong people who can hardly get away from workloads
and spend free
time with families. It is expected that the TVC will induce a
self-actualizing needs
among the public.
For rational appeal, the TVC provides more detailed information
about the lucky draw
and the Australia trip. The tagline shown at the end of the TVC
will direct interested
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
55
audiences to reach the corporate website for further
details.
< Execution styles >
Again, dramatization is used as an execution style. It focuses
to tell a short story, by
integrating more excitement and pleasure characteristics, to
provide the public with a
real situation, to build up the consonance and induce the
purchase intention. If it is
successful, the audience becomes lost in the story and
experiences the concerns and
feelings of the TVC characters.
The TVC also creates fantasy among the public, that the
pleasurable time with family
at beautiful grassland is ideal to most people. It is popular
for emotional appeals and
is particularly well suited for using on television, as the TVC
can become a 15-second
escape for an audience into another ideal life style.
Key message of TVC (2)
The TVC is to arouse public awareness and interests on Fresh
Choices Menu,
through purchasing the product, therefore to join the lucky draw
and to win the free
trip to Australia. It is hoped that the TVC could induce a sales
increase of the product,
which direct to our marketing objective of the campaign.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
56
Execution of TVC (3)
This is a 15-second TVC for promoting the writing competition
about
. The visual background of the TVC is a student classroom, and
the main
character is the student, a boy aged around 12 in school
uniform, and the teacher, a
female aged below 30. The TVC will also show other students,
both male and female
with the similar age as the boys, having a lesson in the
classroom.
< Storyline >
The TVC runs parallel to TVC (2) in terms of the advertisement
theme. It starts by
showing the same visual as TVC (2): showing the beautiful
grassland and a clear blue
sky with the sun shaped like McDonalds golden arch. The boy, the
same one as used
in TVC (2), is playing happily with his family at the grassland.
The voice will back up
this visual and say: .
The next part of the TVC will show that, it is actually the
day-dream of the boy. And
it is suddenly stopped by the teacher in the classroom, and the
boy is awaked and
immediately starts writing his composition work. The voice in
the TVC will say:
, .
Then next part of the TVC will show the different ranges of
Fresh Choices Menu.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
57
Then comes the voice saying: , ?
7 28 , , 500
, ,
The last part of the TVC will show with a light green color
background. In the middle
of the screen will show the McDonalds logo and im lovinit, where
at the bottom
of the screen will show www.mcdonalds.com.hk. The TVC will be
ended by the voice
singing im lovinit, which is the slogan of McDonalds and will
also be used in the
TVC. 30
Rationale of TVC (3)
This TVC is also an extension to TVC (1), and runs parallel to
TVC (2) by projecting
the similar kind of visual. The theme and the visual background
of this TVC are very
similar to TVC (2), which is to project a pleasurable
environment with an adoption of
a healthy living style.
This TVC attempts to address the age group below 18, of which
they are believed to
be the most responsive audiences acting regard to the activity
of the writing
competition. The TVC attempts to arouse the interests among the
group with their
participations in the writing competition, and to win the chance
of a trip to Australia.
30 See Appendix C
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
58
Once again, a combination of various execution styles will be
used in this TVC,
including dramatization and fantasy.
< Character >
The main character of this TVC is the boy and his classmates
aged below 18, which
are identified as our group of audiences in the writing
competition activity. This TVC
is mainly to address the desire of the specified age group, by
the mean they are
school-kids who are not restricted to work and will be able to
spend a holiday during
their long vacations in summer. Using the characters with
similar characteristics of
our audiences is an attempt to increase the persuasive power of
the TVC.
< Advertising appeal >
Once again, both emotional appeal and rational appeal are being
used in the TVC, in
order to induce both physical and psychological needs of the
audiences to purchase
the product.
For emotional appeal, the TVC projects the visual of a fun and
comfortable outdoor
activity at greenish grassland, which is a very ideal living and
welcomed by people.
Writing class in school is so normal among all adolescents. But
if making use of a
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
59
boring writing work to gain the chance winning a free trip to
Australia, it could
highly induce the persuasive power of the TVC.
For rational appeal, the TVC provide enough information about
the writing
competition by submitting their works about to win the free
trip. Again, the tagline shown by the end of the TVC will direct
our audiences to reach
the corporate website for details.
< Execution styles >
A combination of execution styles including dramatization and
fantasy are used for
this TVC. Similar execution styles are used as in TVC (2) so as
to maintain
consistency of the campaign.
The whole TVC takes place at a student classroom, by showing the
scenario of a
group of students having a class, can directly associate our
attentions to the writing
competition. Once again by using dramatization and fantasy, the
target audiences will
be provided with a real situation, by sharing the same feelings
of the characters inside
the TVC, and it will be a great attempt to induce a greater
persuasive power.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
60
Key message of TVC (3)
The TVC is to arouse awareness among the mass public, to
motivate the age group
below 18 by establishing their interests on the writing
competition, through joining
the activity to learn and to involve themselves what is a
healthy life, therefore to join
the competition and to win the free trip to Australia. It is
hoped that the TVC could
induce an increase of awareness to the importance of adopting a
healthy eating habit
and to fulfill a good living style, by joining hands with
McDonalds in
, which direct to our advertising objective of the campaign, by
further
consolidating a healthy image of McDonalds.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
61
Execution of print advertisement (1)
This is a teaser advertisement which is used mainly for arousing
awareness and
creates curiosity among the mass public, of which it does not
limited to a specific
group of target audiences. This teaser advertisement will be
designed for a banner size
spread issued on the front page of our selected newspaper
dailies.
The design of this advertisement is very simple, using the same
light green color as
used in our TVC as the background color. At the corner will show
the McDonalds
logo, with the golden arch and im lovin it. In the center part
of the advertisement,
there will have a line of wordings of
?
Rationale and key message of print advertisement (1)
The teaser advertisement serves a supportive role to our teaser
TVC, which both of
them will be used during the same period of time and using the
similar theme of the
same background color. This print advertisement is to address
the public that may
have excluded from our TVC. In this advertisement, emotional
appeal will be used as
mainly to arouse awareness and create curiosity among the
public. This also becomes
the key message of this advertisement.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
62
Execution of print advertisement (2)
This is an extension to our teaser print advertisement, which is
to provide more
information about the lucky draw activity. The background will
use the similar theme
as TVC (2), that is greenish grassland and a blue sky and the
family of four are
gathering around happily. For message consistency and easier
association to TVC (2),
the advertisement will also have the sun in the shape of
McDonalds golden-arch in
the blue sky.
The headline of the advertisement will show ?
This is to draw the attention of the public, follow by the
highlights of
showing in the center part of the advertisement. At the bottom
part of the
advertisement, a line of smaller words will show 7 10 28 ,
30 , , ,
. The images of the foods in Fresh Choices Menu will show
on the advertisement. And www.mcdonalds.com.hk
will show as the last line of words in the advertisement. The
lower left hand
corner will show the McDonalds logo with im lovin it.31
31 See Appendix C
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
63
Rationale and key message of print advertisement (2)
This advertisement serves a cohort to TVC (2), and to provide
more concrete
information about the lucky draw activity. The public can learn
more on the activity
and to be directly led to corporate website for details. Given
more information to the
public is believed to consolidate their intentions to adopt.
Besides, Fresh Choices Menu showing on the advertisement is also
a message to
associate the product with the campaign works, and for
stimulating the product sales
as well.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
64
Execution of print advertisement (3)
This is also an extension to our teaser print advertisement,
which is to provide more
information about the writing competition on . The
background
will use the similar theme as TVC (3) that is in a student
classroom, with the main
characters of a boy and a teacher and other students, where they
are having a writing
lesson. This is for consistency and an association to TVC
(3).
The headline of the advertisement shows ? This is to
arouse the awareness of the audiences. The highlight of the
advertisement goes to the
main character (the boy) raising up his hand and speaks up:
!
At the bottom part of the advertisement, a line of smaller
words
will show 7 10 28 , 500 ,
, .
Again, the images of the foods in Fresh Choices Menu will show
on the
advertisement. And www.mcdonalds.com.hk
will show as the last line of words in the advertisement. The
lower left hand corner
will show the McDonalds logo with im lovin it.32
32 See Appendix C
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
65
Rationale and Key message of print advertisement (3)
Again, this advertisement serves a cohort to TVC (3), and to
provide more concrete
information about the writing competition on . It is mainly
to
establish awareness among the group of audience (here say the
potential participants
aged below 18). Besides, it is expected that the advertisement
can lead the audiences
to corporate website (for online application) and to POPs (for
further enquiries),
where these channels are giving concrete details about the
activity. It is believed to
consolidate their intentions to adopt.
Again, Fresh Choices Menu showing on the advertisement is a
message to associate
the product with the campaign works, and for stimulating the
product sales as well.
Other advertising strategies
The advertisements of the lucky draw and the writing competition
will also be used on
three entertainment magazines (Sudden Weekly, East Touch and Eat
and Travel
Weekly), selected bus lines and four selected MTR stations
(Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha
Tsui, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan). The popular magazines, and the
buses and MTR
with high mobility and bulk carriages in nature are both
effective carriers to ensure
enough coverage to draw the most possible audiences.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
66
Direct marketing strategy
In order to sustain awareness and to serve a reminder effect in
regard to the purchase
of Fresh Choices Menu, the promotional materials, including
posters, brochures and
stands showing the product will be widely distributed at points
of purchases at many
McDonalds restaurant branches through February until the end of
November.
To give more information about the Go Go Go for Health with
McDonalds, leaflets
with detailed information of the PR event, the lucky draw and
the writing competition
will also be available at the Point of purchases by which our
target audiences could
have an easy access to the necessary information.
These will become an effective attempt to induce the persuasive
power of
along-the-time promotions.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
67
Internet marketing strategy
Corporate website is a form of interactive media which allows
for a two-way flow of
information whereby users can participate. Throughout the
campaign period from
February 2007 until January 2008, www.mcdonalds.com.hk will show
detailed
information about (1) the nutrition values of Fresh Choices
Menu, (2) the Go Go
Go for Health with McDonalds, (3) the lucky draw, and (4) the
writing competition
about My Ideal Healthy Life. To fully utilize the corporate
website, the results of
the lucky draw and the writing competition will also be
publicized on the site. Those
will appear on the site as pop-up which aims to draw the most
attention from
browsers.
After the Australia tour in August, the slices of the tour
including photos and short
movies, and other information about after-the-tour will also be
posted on the site.
Promotion works for the October TV program will also be posted
on site in order to
capture public awareness.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
68
Personal selling strategy
At selected POPs throughout the campaign period, several
McDonalds
Ambassadors will be assigned to have a direct person-to-person
communication
whereby they attempt to persuade potential customers to purchase
the product and to
join the writing competition. They will invite customers to join
a question-game,
which composes of 5 simple questions about what is a healthy
eating habit?
Customers earn marks will be given McDonalds coupons for saving
HK$2 each time
when purchasing Fresh Choices Menu.
The coupons are believed to stimulate an immediate feedback from
customers.
Besides, the direct contact between a seller and a buyer allows
for more flexibility and
can tailor sales messages to meet specific needs of the
customers.
-
McDonalds Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited
69
VIII. Media Plan
Media carrier
Application Remarks
1 TVB Jade TVC (1) 20 units from Feb 16 to Mar 12; 5 sec each
Within the time slot from 7pm to 10:30pm Mon Fri
TVC (2) 25 units from Jun 21 to Jul 28; 15 sec each
Within the time slot from 6:30pm to 11pm Mon Fri
and from 5pm to 9pm Sat Sun
TVC (3) 25 units from Mar 17 to Jun 20; 15 sec each
Within the time slot from 6:30pm to 11pm Mon Fri
and from 5pm to 9pm Sat Sun
TV Program 50 min, Oct 1 8:30pm to 9:30pm
2 TVB Pearl TVC (1) 10 units from Feb 16 to Mar 12; 5 sec each
Within the time slot from 7pm to 10:30pm Mon Fri
TVC (2) 15 units from Jun 21 to Jul 28; 15 sec each
Within the time slot from 6:30pm to 11pm Mon Fri
and from 5pm to 9pm Sat Sun
TVC (3) 15 units from Mar 17 to Jun 20; 15 sec each
Within the time slot from 6:30pm to 11pm Mon Fri
and from 5pm to 9pm Sat Sun
3 ATV Home TVC (1) 15 units from Feb 16 to Mar 12; 5 sec each
Within the time slot from 7pm to 10:30pm Mon Fri
TVC (2) 20 u