DESIGING A MEDIA STRATEGY FOR EXISTING PRODUCT: MCDONALDS. By Asadullah Khan Niazi Ahsan Raza Khan M.

Ali Josh M. Hayat Khan Natasha Khan Nayab Maqsood Saad Iqbal Butt

25th March 2013 Lahore School of Economics Presented To: Shandana Sheikh

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
McDonalds Corporation is a Centralized, International company, which competes in the fast food industry supplying burgers, French fries and other consumable items using standardization, heavy expansion and branding as the driving force. McDonalds operates in over 121 countries and has over 30,000 restaurants worldwide. McDonalds utilized an intense, rapid expansion into foreign countries through three primary methods, franchising, company owned restaurants, and joint ventures. With the majority of international restaurants stemming from franchising agreements, McDonalds management relied on this method to aid in the acceptance of a new style of eating into unfamiliar markets. With minimal risk and maximum gains, franchising continues to contribute heavily to McDonalds international success. Aiming to be the worlds best quick service restaurant experiences, McDonalds started its operations in Pakistan in 1998 and soon became the leader in the fast food industry in Pakistan leaving behind competitors such as KFC and Pizza Hut behind. Currently the McDonalds franchises in Pakistan are controlled by the Lakson group of companies which has expanded operations of McDonalds by opening up chains in Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
According to Moriarty, Mitchell and Wells (2012) a situational analysis the first tool that assists in identifying the exact scope of a brand or product by conducting a SWOT analysis; a marketing

tool that identifies a product or brands Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to assist in looking at the micro and macro environment of the organization.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Firstly McDonalds has been able to maintain a significantly high market share in the fast food market. Since 1998 it has been identified as the main company that held a major control on the Pakistani consumer in the fast-food chain market. Its basic strength for a large market share is associated to its wide range of products that are cost effective. McDonalds happy hour deals start from Rs. 85 and its menu is also quite humbly priced considering the volume of food available. When talking about the Asian burger with respect to McDonalds the product is a new addition to the usual McDonalds menu. Also McDonalds although already has a spicy McChicken it only has a spicy sauce in it, this burger however appeals to our Asian taste as both the patty and sauce are spicy hence has a strength associated. Weaknesses McDonalds needs to develop more products that adhere to the local taste to remain in competition. Although the Asian burger is one that is created for the Asian taste it is only one product on the menu and there need to be more. Also considering that many McDonalds chains arent still open in cities around Pakistan consumes all over Pakistan cannot eat the Asian burger and hence it gives way to its competitors such as local diners to take over. When talking about a weakness of McDonalds the issue of Drive-Ins is quite high as there are many orders missing and long queues in the Drive Ins become de-motivational for consumers who then might go over for competitor spicy burgers.

Opportunities McDonalds has the opportunity to create a whole line of Asian burgers and hence appeal to a wide number of tastes. McAsian Nuggets, McAsian Spicy Wedges and other goods can be launched which would assist in increasing the existing market share Furthermore McDonalds can expand into different cities of Pakistan to increase its market share and hence more consumers will be able to enjoy the Asian burger. McDonalds can also venture into universities and schools and fund the cafeterias which will become a major success and hence increasing the market share for the Asian burger. Threats Consumers in Pakistan are moving towards healthy diets and are aware of the thousands of calories in McDonalds meals hence are opting for low calorie foods such as Subway Sandwiches. These sandwiches adhere to Asian tastes and have flavors like BBQ and Tikka hence this is a threat to the Asian Burger. McDonalds also has a lot of competition from Hardees and Pizza Hut who have Jalapeno burgers and Fajita pizzas as well as from local diners such as Gunsmoke and its Fiery Red Hot Burger.

KEY COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED

For this project Pakistani consumers will be identified about the new Asian burger. Rather than the billboard ads the product hasnt gotten any significant marketing hence by using different marketing tools the product will be successfully launched in the market.

KEY STRATEGIC CAMPAIGN DECISIONS

OBJECTIVES
Moriarty, Mitchell and Wells (2012) define objectives as the basic goals of the identified marketing communications plan. These assist in identifying the goals of the campaign plan and help in making the message transparent. The objectives for this plan are emotional and affective objectives as the idea is to trigger emotions by identifying the psychological appeal of the Asian burger for McDonalds existing and prospective consumer and then creating a brand of message liking that would initiate the purchase and liking of the McDonalds Asian Burger. The objective of the advertising campaign is to initiate a sales increase of 20% of McDonalds during a time span of 8 months. As these objectives are identified we need to make sure that they fulfill the five requirements of the Facets Model: The effect of the objective can be measured; 20% sales increase in McDonalds all over Pakistan. It is within a time frame; the time frame for this is within 8 months. There is a given baseline; Consumers need to be introduced about the Asian burger and be persuaded to purchase it. A goal is identified; A sales increase statistic within a given amount of time. There can be a percentage change; the sales amount can t decrease from 20%. For the advertising campaign to be effective the sales increase need to be 20% or more.

TARGET MARKET
Market segmentation is a strategy that divides the entire relevant market for the product into a subgroup of customers who have mutual product requirements (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Once

the market is segmented the marketers then identify the target market; the consumers who provide the optimum benefit for the firm. Once a target market is chosen the marketers then identify an offering to put forth to the segment. The target market for the Asian burger campaign plan will be identified by segmentation. Geographic segmentation will be used to limit the campaign plans to the cities and areas where already existing McDonalds stores are available. Geographic segmentation aims to divide the target market on the basis of geographical regions such as nations, cities or even towns. Organizations are now adopting strategies like grassroots marketing which helps them identify geographically relevant consumers to minimize costs and waste and McDonalds can use this for its Asian burger as marketing costs will be reduced considering the ads would not be shown in areas where McDonalds isnt available such as Kashmir, Gwadar, Thar etc (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Apart from that demographic segmentation will be used to further classify the target market. Demographic segmentation identifies a division of the target market on the bases of age, family size and life, gender, income, occupation and many other factors. This helps in creating a customer segment that is transparent with respect to the product and therefore helps in reaching an efficient market size (Kotler and Keller, 2012). The customer age will have no limitations children to older people can eat the Asian burger hence will be targeted. Consumers from all social classes and lifestyles will be targeted however only individuals will be catered who can afford an Asian burger hence it would not appeal to the entire masses but consumers who belong to the lower middle, middle, upper middle and high class in Pakistan.

CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
When identifying a campaign strategy it is important to identify the approach being used. Two approaches; hard sell and soft sell are preferable approaches that are used by marketers. Hard sell

approaches use the assistance of resonance to persuade consumers into making the purchase whereas soft sell touches the consumers feelings and then builds an importance of the brand (Moriarty, Mitchell and Wells, 2012). For this campaign a hard-sell approach will be used as the campaign plan will put forth reason to motivate consumer into making the purchase of an Asian burger by using the new Asian and spicy taste of the burger along with the special baked bun and the thick chicken patty that is full of Asian spices. Furthermore to identify the campaign strategy it is important that the brand identity is associated. McDonalds has a distinctive brand identify and is a brand that is easily recognizable in all over Pakistan. Its colors of red and yellow, the big M and the Ronald McDonald cartoon are all cues of the McDonalds brand which are easily identifiable by any Pakistan hence wherever the Asian burger campaign will be launched it is important that the McDonalds logo of the M is placed along with it so consumers can identify the product as a McDonalds product. The brand is correctly positioned in the Pakistani consumers market as customers expect it to be an ambient, hygienic and a little sophisticated brand that respects their values and so McDonalds can use this strategy to market its Asian burger by telling consumers about the Asian taste of the burger which appeals to the Pakistani consumer taste and values and is completely hygienic by using fresh ingredients and vegetables so it is a yummy and healthy meal. When looking at the perceptual map; an illustration of a consumers favorites and perceptions and helps identify the actual location of the product in the mind of the consumer with respect to competitor products and other brands (Kotler and Keller, 2012) it can be identified that McDonalds is a brand that is high value proposition with a competitive price.

High Value Proposition; Quality, Taste and Value for Money

Burger Hub Spicy King Gunsmoke Fiery Red Hot Hardees Jalapeno Burger High Price Burger Town Jalapeno Burger Low Price KFC Zinger Burger Subway Chicken Fajita Sandiwsh McDonalds Asian Burger

Low Value Proposition: Quality, Taste and Value for Money

MEDIA STRATEGY
The Media Strategy process has three Ws to be decided. They are

Where to advertise ? When to advertise ? What media type to use ?

It means the geographical area from where a campaign should be visible to the customers who use or are most likely to use the product or services offered. For the campaign of the Asian

burger the campaign will be launched on television commercials as well as the radio, McDonalds official Facebook page and its online website as well. Apart from that the ad will be placed on billboards in the most important places in the cities where McDonalds is located e.g. Liberty Market Lahore and Zamzama Karachi. Also interactive and personal selling will also be used when consumers come into a McDonalds outlet. When is the timing to show or run advertisement. The ad should be delivered with perfect timing when most customers are like to buy the product. The ad would run most heavily at lunchtimes and dinnertimes on television and radio so to entice people to make an Asian burger purchase. Also when consumers come into a McDonalds outlet live pictures of the Asian burger will be shown to convince them to try the new burger. When identifying what is what type of media is to be used for delivering the message there are basically two media approaches to choose from. Media Concentration approach Media Dispersion Approach

In media concentration approach, the number of categories of media is less. The money is spent on concentrating on only few media types say two or three. In media dispersion approach, there are more number of categories of media used to advertise. By looking at the description above we can identify that McDonalds would use a Media Dispersion Approach as television, radio, billboard and personal selling would be used.

MEDIA OBJECTIVES

The media objective would be to basically reach of the number of people who have been exposed to the given advertisement during a given time period. For this plan it is important the consumers reached are at least half of the given target market which means 50% of the entire population residing in the chosen cities where the advertisements are going to be launched. Also the media strategy needs to be coherent with the objective which means that an increase of 20% sales also needs to be created.

MEDIA SELECTION
Media selection is the process of choosing the most cost-effective media for advertising, to achieve the required coverage and number of exposures in a target audience. This is based on two basic assumptions; frequency and spread (Moriarty, Wells and Mitchell, 2012). A video ad will be launched on important television channels such as Hum TV, ARY, GEO, Samaa and other important Pakistani channels. The Radio ad will be put forth on all radio channels ranging from 89.0 FM to 107.40 FM. The print ad would be illustrated on bill boards around the chosen cities where McDonalds is available and its imminent outskirts and also in magazines such as Sunday Magazine and GT. Finally the ad will also be put on the McDonalds Pakistan Facebook page and its website.

MEDIA PLANNING AND BUYING

Media planning is generally the task of a media agency and entails finding the most appropriate media platforms for a client's brand or product. For this plan the vehicles chosen will be print, radio, television and the internet. The budget allocated would range more than Rs. 20 lakh as this would include the production of the ads and the implementation of it on TV channels and radios.

The ads will be frequently scheduled so they are clearly seen by the consumer and at specific times like dinner and lunchtimes.

MESSAGE STRATEGY
A message strategy is the primary tactic or approach used to deliver the message theme. Three message strategies represent the three components of attitudes displayed by consumers. 1. Cognitive strategies 2. Affective strategies 3. Conative Strategies A cognitive message strategy is the presentation of rational arguments or pieces of information to consumers. For the McDonalds Asian burger a cognitive unique selling proposition strategy which would highlight the spicy burger that has an Asian taste and its spicy mayonnaise sauce as well as the fresh baked burger bun all with an affordable price tag. The USP would show that the Asian burger is superior to all its competitors like the KFC zinger burger which is oily and heavy and Hardees Jalapeno burger that is high priced and only has jalapenos for the spice.

KEY CONSUMER INSIGHT

Customer insight talks about the below the surface attitude and beliefs that influence a customers behavior. For this plan the McDonalds burger would be identified to influence the behavior of the customer as already the menu has burgers but not one that has a special bun and a chicken patty that itself is spicy as the usual burgers have spicy sauces in them.

MESSAGE OBJECTIVES AND SELLING PREMISE

The message objective aims to identify three types of responses; think feel and do. The think process tries to identify awareness, brand knowledge, understanding and conviction. (Moriarty, Wells and Mitchell, 2012). The aim of this plan would to create the awareness of the Asian burger and acknowledge it as a new product from McDonalds. The image and personality of McDonalds as a quality brand with affordable prices will have to be kept in the consumers mind to initiate a desire for the burger which incorporates an Asian taste and gives a new appeal to the McDonalds menu with respect to flavor and design which would then cause the consumers to buy the McDonalds burger again and hence repeat sales.

BIG IDEA
The big idea focuses on the media strategy to cater to different audiences or media (Moriarty, Wells and Mitchell, 2012).. This plan will be applicable to different Medias and will appeal to a large number of audiences as well so they can reach the message and remember it as well. Considering McDonalds has a large consumer base of different ages the designed advertisement will have a range of consumers with different occupations, ages and genders eating the new Asian burger; e.g. a banker is tired and hungry at work so eating the Asian burger makes him wake up and be active also fulfill his hunger, a student is studying for the exam and needs something fun to eat so the Asian burger with its spiciness and big size is perfect for the student.

MARKETING SUPPORT TOOLS

SALES PROMOTION
McDonalds has its sales promotions of providing discounts to customers on the car stickers they provide and also have a happy hour in which customers are given a special food menu items at

an extremely low price. It can give special promotion to consumers having the Asian burger e.g. giving them tea or ice-cream after having the spicy Asian burger. Also McDonalds can give sales promotions on the Asian burgers at specific times of the day like lunchtimes and dinnertimes to initiate sales for the Asian burger. PERSONAL SELLING McDonalds can incorporate personal selling for its Asian burger. When consumers come into the McDonalds store and place an order there or via the phone or drive thru, they can be given a description about the new burger and hence motivate consumers directly into trying the new burger. EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES McDonalds can issue an event such as match screening for an upcoming match and provide a promotion on its Asian burger in the event. Also it can come to events like golf tournaments, movie premiers and polo matches and specifically sell the Asian burger over there.

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT
It is important to identify the impact of the campaign chosen. Marketers can identify many different ways of evaluating the effectiveness of a campaign plan. The first idea is to measure the consumer response and see if there are any changes in the sales of the burger after the campaign has been launched. The campaign evaluation is done through testing, monitoring and measurement. Testing helps in predicting the results whereas monitoring tracks the performance and measurement helps in evaluating the results (Moriarty, Wells and Mitchell, 2012). Apart from this the Facets measuring response model can be used as a measure to see the shift in sales

due to the chosen advertisement strategy. To further identify the message effectiveness of the idea given the marketers can use the concept testing approach which looks at the attention and memory identified in a chosen idea. Pretesting helps marketers to identify the effectiveness of an ad before it is launched and before McDonalds launches its new campaign it would be beneficial for it to conduct pre-testing to help in identifying a concept. During the time the McDonalds ad will be running t concurrent testing technique can also be used which can either be done by coincidental surveys or attitude tests or tracking studies. For McDonalds the tracking studies will be a good approach to identify the effectiveness of the campaign as the awareness of the ad and the purchases of the consumer can be seen side by side.

REFERENCES
Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2012) Marketing Management, 14th ed., New Jersey Pearson Prentice Hall. S. Moriaty,N. Mitchell and W. Wells, (2012) Advertising and IMC: Principles and Practices, 9th Ed. New Jearsey, Pearson Prentice Hall.