Brand, Menu and Store Design

From “Big Mac’s Makeover: McDonald’s Turned Around”, The Economist, Oct. 14, 2004

IN THE entrance to Hamburger University, the ultra-modern training centre for the world's biggest fast-food operation, Ray Kroc's office has been faithfully reassembled. McDonald's managers have looked to their late founder quite a bit lately for inspiration in how to deal with a series of crises, any one of which would have destroyed many companies. Mr Kroc used to say he didn't know what McDonald's would sell in the future, except that the company would sell the most of whatever it was. Remarkably, McDonald's has turned itself into the world's biggest seller of salads and its business is flourishing again…

McDonald's officials insist their salads are priced to be profitable, arguing that if they were not its franchisees would not want to sell them. But then, by some measures, supermarket loss-leaders are also profitable because they bring in customers who buy other products. Nevertheless, salads are sending a message to millions of customers: that it is now acceptable to eat at McDonald's again because the menu is “healthier”—even though the vast majority still order a burger and fries…

It will be a challenge for the company to manage a multi-format operation under one brand, says Jim Farrell. He has followed McDonald's closely since working there as a teenager and later in his career as a management consultant based in Chicago. Having a bigger variety of items on the menu means more potential problems and higher costs. It also means trying to appeal to one group of customers without alienating another. For instance, says Mr Farrell, a restaurant that is attractive to families and is full of children clamouring for Happy Meals (or the toys in them) might not appeal to stressed-out office workers who have popped out for a quick sandwich and coffee.

Hot in the kitchen

McDonald's could try to become different things in different locations, and at different times: it is already trying harder to catch the breakfast trade. Mr Farrell suggests another way could be a cluster of operations in which a coffee bar, fast-food outlet and sandwich counter share adjacent parts of the same building—a bit like a food court…

The food of love

The McDonald's brand is big, but it means different things to different people. It can also be positioned differently throughout the day, during breakfast, lunch and dinner, if you are eating alone, or with children. Hence the new advertising campaign that Mr Light launched, anchored around the catchy ditty “I'm lovin' it”, takes many different forms.

Copyright © 2004 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved

See Also: "A Plan to Win: McDonald's new prototype takes a holistic approach," by Vilma Barr, Display and Design Ideas, April 1, 2006

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