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Page 1: McDonald’s PR

Group Involved

Dhaval Shah49

Sohil Jevani41

Group members

Dhaval Shah 49

Sohil Jeevani 41

Murtuza 37

A Project on

McDonald’s PR

Submitted to Prof. Sweta Subramanium

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Index

Introduction to McDonald Its beginning and formula of success Indian expansions and planning

Positioning with regards to competitors

Challenges before Entering Indian Markets

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Customer Perception and Customer Expectation The McDonald’s Experience A perfect example of revitalising a product in decline phase Competitors Analysis

McDonald’s PR Committed to the well-being of our customers Making people a priority McDonald’s Corporate Responsibility = Values in Practice Our Road Map for a Sustainable Supply Chain

McDonald’s PR Disasters Indian Beef Case

McDonald's is in PR pickle in U.K.

Conclusions All izz (not) well still PR /Luck/ public support / lord known’s how?

Bibliography

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Introduction to McDonaldIts beginning and formula of success

The story of McDonald’s started in 1954, when its founder Raymond Kroc saw a hamburger stand in San Bernardino, California and envisioned a nationwide fast food chain. Kroc proved himself as a pioneer who revolutionized the American restaurant industry. Today McDonald’s is the world’s largest fast food chain serving 47 million customers daily. McDonald’s is now one of the most valuable brands globally, worth more than $25 billion. The Golden Arches and its mascot Ronald McDonald have gained universal recognition. Though the company has roots in the US, McDonald’s today has become an accepted citizen of the world.

Year Events1955 Ray Kroc opens his first restaurant. McDonald’s Corporation is created1957 Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC & V) becomes company

motto1963 Ronald McDonald makes debut1965 The company goes public1968 Big Mac is introduced`1974 Happy Meal is launched1996 McDonald’s opens in India, the 95th country

Business Model

Franchise Model

Only 15% of the total number of restaurants is owned by the Company. The remaining 85% is operated by franchisees. The company follows a comprehensive framework of training and monitoring of its franchises to ensure that they adhere to the Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value propositions offered by the company to its customers.

Product Consistency

By developing a sophisticated supplier networked operation and distribution system, the company has been able to achieve consistent product taste and quality across geographies.

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Act like a retailer and think like a brand

McDonald’s focuses not only on delivering sales for the immediate present, but also protecting its long term brand reputation.

McDonald’s in India (1996)

Challenges before Entering Indian Markets

Regiocentricism: Re-engineering the menu

McDonald’s has continually adapted to the customer’s tastes, value systems, lifestyle, language and perception. Globally McDonald’s was known for its hamburgers, beef and pork burgers. Most Indians are barred by religion not to consume beef or pork. To survive, the company had to be responsive to the Indian sensitivities. So McDonald’s came up with chicken, lamb and fish burgers to suite the Indian palate.

The vegetarian customer

India has a huge population of vegetarians. To cater to this customer segment, the company came up with a completely new line of vegetarian items like McVeggie burger and McAlooTikki. The separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections is maintained throughout the various stages.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

McDonald’s uses demographic segmentation strategy with age as the parameter. The main target segments are children, youth and the young urban family.

Kids reign supreme in FMCG purchase related to food products. So to attract children McDonalds has Happy Meal with which toys ranging from hot wheels to various Walt Disney characters are given (the latest in this range is the toys of the movie Madagascar)*. For this, they have a tie-up with Walt Disney. At several outlets, it also provides special facilities like ‘Play Place’ where children can play arcade games, air hockey, etc. This strategy is aimed at making McDonald’s a fun place to eat. This also helps McDonald’s to attract the young urban families wanting to spend some quality time while their children have fun at the outlet. To target the teenagers, McDonald’s has priced several products aggressively, keeping in mind the price sensitivity of this target customer. In addition, facilities like Wi-Fi are also provided to attract students to the outlets like the one at Vile Parle in Mumbai.

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“I am loving it” projects McDonald’s as a place for the whole family to enjoy. When McDonald’s entered in India it was mainly perceived as targeting the urban upper class people. Today it positions itself as an affordable place to eat without compromising on the quality of food, service and hygiene. The outlet ambience and mild background music highlight the comfort that maintains a positive relationship with the customers.

Customer Perception and Customer Expectation

Customer perception is a key factor affecting a product’s success. Many potentially revolutionary products have failed simply because of their inability to build a healthy perception about themselves in the customers’ minds. McDonalds being an internationally renowned brand brings with it certain expectations for the customers.

Customers expect it to be an ambient, hygienic and a little sophisticated brand that respects their values. The customer’s expect the brand to enhance their self-image. Customer responses obtained at the Vile Parle, Mumbai outlet confirmed the fact that they connect strongly with the brand. However, fulfilling some of the customer expectations like a broader product variety provide McDonald’s a great scope for improvement.

People: How to converge the benefits of internal and external marketing?

McDonald’s understands the value of both its employees and its customers. It understands the fact that a happy employee can serve well and result in a happy customer.

McDonald continuously does Internal Marketing. This is important as it must precede external marketing. This includes hiring, training and motivating able employees. This way they serve customers well and the final result is a happy customer.

The punch line “I’m loving it” is an attempt to show that the employees are loving their work at McDonalds and will love to serve the customers.

Target Segment What is McDonald’s for me?A Family with children A treat to children, a fun place to be for the children.Urban customer on the move

Great taste, quick service without affecting the work schedule

Teenager Hangout with friends, but keep it affordable.

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The McDonald’s Experience

Marketing in a services industry is becoming an increasingly complex challenge. The paradigms of service marketing demand a passionate understanding of customer expectations and perceptions, and linking them to product design & delivery as well as operational planning. This is where McDonald’s has excelled due to its ability to successfully integrate the customer’s perspective in its products and operations in a comprehensive manner. The revamped menu in India is an example of McDonald’s strategy of integrating the customer’s perspective in its products. And, the operational integration is evident from McDonald’s emphasis on its suppliers as its customers as well as its treatment of its consumers as co-producers of services.

The ultimate aim of Service Marketing is not just to become a Service Leader but to create a Service Brand. The Service Delivery Process is the key to achieving this aim of Service Marketing.

A perfect example of revitalising a product in decline phase

The French Fries have been an important part of the McDonalds menu worldwide. But now it was in the stage of decline and was actually not generating proper return. In an attempt to revitalize it, a new variant was introduced namely Shake Shake Fries. This is being served with chatpata spice mix which has resulted in increase in the sales of French Fries and has elevated it from to the decline stage. This is used to delay the decline of a well established product which has the potential of generating further revenue.

Competitors Analysis

McDonald’s has been a leading fast-foods, But the outlet understudy has other competitors eating away into its market share. In addition to its traditional rivals—KFC, Dominos, Pizza Hut—the firm encounters new challenges. Jumbo King competes using a back-to-basics approach of quickly serving up burgers for time-pressed consumers. On the higher end, the KFC has become potent competitor in the quick service field, taking away customers from McDonald’s.

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Perhaps in the new environment, fast, convenient service is no longer enough to distinguish the firm. At this time, a new critical success factor may be emerging: the need to create a rich, satisfying experience for consumers. This brings us to service and experience based competition which McDonald’s can use for competitive advantage against Jumbo King. Keeping in mind the demographics of the area, McDonald’s has Wi-Fi enabled the outlet to cater to the student community. It is for this overall “Food, Fun & Folks” experience that customers pay a premium over the other competitors.

Competition also reduces product lifecycle; inducing firms to revise their products portfolios and to revisit their product market to understand changing needs, expectations and perception of different market segments. The new McBreakfast would be introduced between 6 to 11 am as a pilot project. This would open up a whole new revenue stream for McDonald’s by tapping into the student and working population by providing a healthy and wholesome breakfast. This shows how demographic shift can affect the demand for products and services. McDonald’s has anticipated these changes to maintain its competitive edge.

McDonald’s PR programsMcDonald considers its self a socially responsible & thus effort fully complies to its duties. Following are the plans and polices of McDonalds: -

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McDonald’s Corporate Responsibility = Values in Practice

MCDONALD’S VALUESWe place the customer experience at the core of all we do

We are committed to our people

We believe in the McDonald’s System

We operate our business ethically

We give back to our communities

We grow our business profitably

We strive continually to improve

Our Road Map for a Sustainable Supply Chain

Vision We envision a supply chain that profitably yields high-quality, safe products without supply interruption while leveraging our leadership position to create a net benefit by improving ethical, environmental and economic outcomes.

Ethical - We envision purchasing from suppliers that follow practices that ensure the health and safety of their employees and the welfare and humane treatment of animals in our supply chain.

Environmental - We envision influencing the sourcing of our materials and ensuring the design of our products, their manufacture, distribution and use minimize lifecycle impacts on the environment.

Economic - We envision delivering affordable food, engaging in equitable trade practices, limiting the spread of agricultural diseases, and positively impacting the communities that our suppliers operate in.

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Committed to the well-being of our customers

High-Quality Choices - Continue to develop high quality menu offerings that provide our customers with a range of choices that meet their needs and preferences and that fit in a balanced diet.

Consumer-Friendly Nutrition Information - Enable consumers to make the right decisions - continuing to provide even easier access to nutrition infromation

Communicate Responsibly - Continue to refine our marketing and communication practices, particularly to children

Energy efficiency – Find further ways to increase energy efficiency in our restaurants to save money and reduce our environmental impact.

Sustainable Packaging & Waste Management – Continue exploring ways to reduce environmental impacts of our consumer packaging and waste in our

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restaurant operations.

Green Restaurant Design – Enhance our current strict building standards to incorporate further opportunities for efficiency and innovation in the design and construction of our restaurants.

Making people a priority

Respect - Create a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and respected.

Commitment Enhancement - Continue to enhance our employment value proposition to drive high levels of employee commitment.

Talent Management - Attract, develop and retain the most talented people at all levels.

PLEASE NOTE HERE ON TILL CONCLUSION WE ONLY HAVE PASTED BLOG AS IS LANGUAGE/OPTION BORNE AND ANY OTHER LIABILITY IS NOT BORNE BY REDER

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OR AUTHORS OF PROJECT editing if any shall be considered adjustment and not manipulations

Authors of each blogs are mentioned in bibliography

McDonald's admits using beef fat for 'vegetarian' French fries

By Simon Davis in Seattle

Published: 12:00AM BST 25 May 2001

McDONALD'S faces a $100 million (£70 million) lawsuit after apologising to customers for failing to admit that beef fat was used to fry its chips.

The fast-food chain had maintained for more than a decade that only vegetable oil was used in the hope of appealing to vegetarians and religious groups who do not eat beef products. Yesterday's apology triggered a violent protest by Hindus in India.

The American company, which has served more than 200 billion portions of french fries around the world, confessed to a method of using beef fat to partly fry chips before they are sent to restaurants. They are then frozen and refried on the premises using vegetable oil.

An apology to customers on the McDonald's website, said: "A small amount of natural beef flavouring is added to our French fries during potato processing. If there was confusion, we apologise. Because it is our policy to communicate to customers, we regret if customers felt that the information we provided was not complete enough to meet their needs."

The company assured customers yesterday that all chips in British outlets were fried in vegetable oil at all stages and that no beef flavourings were added. McDonald's India also "categorically" stated that its fries "do not contain any beef or animal extracts of whatsoever kind". However, a mob raided a restaurant near Bombay, smashing windows and tables.

The company said it made every possible attempt to conform to "all cultural or religious dietary considerations" in countries where it has restaurants. It added that in Muslim countries all the frying processes conformed to halal standards, which means no beef or pork flavouring in the chips.

The legal case has been filed in America by a Hindu lawyer, Harish Bharti. He claims that the company acted fraudulently in saying its chips were fried in vegetable oil.

© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010

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McDonald's is in PR pickle in U.K.

by O'DWYER

PR SERVICES REPORT: December, 1995While Americans were mesmerized for more than a year by the O.J. Simpson case, the British were enjoying the McLibel trial, dubbed "the best free entertainment in London." And after more than 18 months, the show is still going strong.

It's a true David and Goliath story -- two unemployed vegetarian/environmentalists are being sued by McDonald's Corp. in the U.K. for distributing leaflets accusing the fast-food chain of selling unhealthy food, poisoning the minds of children with false advertising, abusing employees, ruining the rainforest, and generally wrecking the planet.

The trial has become the longest libel case in the U.K. and a PR nightmare for the multinational company which is normally associated with spokes character Ronald McDonald and "happy meals."

Did the giant burger chain shoot itself in the foot by the not ignoring the criticism.

Granted, libel laws in the U.K. favor the plaintiff. Thus McDonald's counted on the fact that defendants David Morris and Helen Steel wouldn't be able to prove their allegations are true.

In the U.S., a company suing must show that what was printed is false, which is why similar critics of the chain here either ignored or dealt with -- but has not ended up in court.

But in a PR attempt to preempt the bad publicity of the court case, McDonald's issued its own leaflet, "Why McDonald's is Going to Court," especially calling two environmentalists liars.

The leaflet caused the " McLibel 2" to countersue. Now both sides have to defend their claims.

Media and PR pros here and abroad agree that the embarrassing court testimony -- for example, the fact that McDonald's had been forced in the U.S. to stop using an ad campaign claiming its food is nutritious -- and tabloidish media coverage of the trial are possibly more damaging than the allegations themselves.

Why react?

"This is a PR disaster," says Peter Muccini, a former Associated Press reported who also worked in PR for seven years at Carl Byoir & Associates in London. "McDonald's says it went to coaurt to clear its name, but nobody gives a damn what two beatniks say. McDonald's shoudl have ignored them.

"Everybody's laughing at McDonald's foar taking it too seriously. Perhaps these people have touched on a tender nerve.

"The real problem may be that the product is considered shoddy."

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Long-time U.S. PR counselor John F. Budd Jr., Chairman of The Omega Group in New York, agrees. "The best method is to ignore it. If you react every time to every adversary group you'd spend all your days in court."

Budd, like others, notes that the company could win in court and lose in public opinion. "The legal opinion has prevailed over the PR opinion.

"More lawyers are taking the initiative in public disputes and lawayers do not concern themselves with perception."

Besides, Budd points out that the company does not seem to have suffered financially from all the criticism.

Indeed, McDonald's outlets in the U.K. have grown from 200 to 600 in the last decade, according to Mike Love, who heads up the PR department at McDonald's U.K. But Love said that it's hard to quantify the damage the leaflets have caused over the last 10 years. "The allegations have been repeated back to us by schools and with Morris and Steel, but the company would not concede to the duo's demands: an apology and a promise not to sue critics over similar charges.

Love said the lawsuit precludes any proactive PR by McDonald's but the company tries to correct any inaccurate media coverage.

Outside of the U.K., however, the corporation's policy seems to be beyond "no comment."

Asked about the McLibel coordinators to publicize the case in the U.S., through literature dissemination, demonstrations and keeping McLibel alive on the Internet, Ebling said he was not aware of any protests in the U.S.

Members of the McLibel group even staged an anti-birthday party on McDonald's 40th anniversary on April 15 at the first store in Des Plaines, Ill., with a cake-smashing ceremony led by Morris and Steel, who flew in from London for the affair.

McLibel protesters also appeared in front of "Rock and Roll McDonald's" in Chicago demanding that life-size statutes of the Beatles be removed.

"Paul McCartney is a big supporter of the McLibel campaign," says Mike Durschmid, McLibel coordinator in Chicago. "And before he died, John Lennon made his own bread. He wouldn't have touched McDonald's food."

Aside from The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. media have paid little attention to the McLibel efforts either here or abroad. Durschmid thinks it's delf-censorship on the part of Chicago-based media.

"This is McDonald's town, and McDonald's is one of the biggest advisertisers. You see the golden arches on TV two or three times a night. The media know where it's bread is buttered," he said. "And McDonald's is laying low hoping it will go away."

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Localize story

Containing the McLibel matter as a "U.K. problem" seems to be not just a U.S. PR strategy, but a worldwide one. Brian Lipsett, McLibel coordinator out of Pennsylvania, points to a confidential internal McDonald's memo out of Australia.

The memo, which was sent to Love, outlines the "damage control" strategy the head of McDonald's Australia, Peter Ritchie, should adopt for an interview with a news program.

It suggested that Ritchie decline the interview on the grounds that McLibel is a U.K. matter.

"This will not be a positive story for McDonald's Austrialia, but buy being prepared we hopefully can deal effectively with each situation as it arises and minimize any further negative publicity," it said.

The memo also outlined a strategy for responding to follow-up media coverage of the "60 Minutes" segment.

It suggested which reporters to talk to and whom to avoid.

Foar example, it said not to talk to "any ABC radio of TV station in Australia because they have given significant coverage to the case in a positive perspective."

The Australian "Current Affairs" type show aired the McLibel segment tin May. "Iat made McDonald's look bad," said Dan Mills, a McLibel coordinator based in London. "It showed the cake-smashing party in Chicago and the confidential memo."

Lipsett thinks McDonald's attempt to play down the controversy as a "U.K. problem" is futile.

"A lot of people know about this case all over the world. This is a case of how not to proceed in PR. McDonald's assumed that Helen and Dave would back down, that they'd make mincemeat aout of them. Now they're in a position to defend their business practice."

No win situation

Many agree that the company has put itself in a non-win situation. If it conceded to McLibel 2's demands, McDonald's would look foolish. But by persisting in the somewhat silly court case -- fat content of french fries under fire and the like -- its reputation has been tarnished anyway. With the counterclaim, says Mills, "They're stuck."

The case is expected to continue through next summer -- and handling the PR of a win or loss will be another big job for Love. "He's a good guy. We feel sorry for him," said Muccini.

If you were Mike Love, what would you do?

"Looking with hindsight," says Mills," McDonald's should have withdrawn from the case, but they thought they would get bad publicity from backing down."

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"If McDonald's wins they should issue a gracious statement," said Budd.

Losing will be expensive, both financially and image-wise. Losing the case will give credence to the allegations and "elevate the anarchists to stars," he said.

Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants

also known as the "McDonald's coffee case," is a 1994 product liability lawsuit that became a flashpoint in the debate in the U.S. over tort reform after a jury awarded $2.86 million to a woman who burned herself with hot coffee she purchased from fast food restaurant McDonald's. The trial judge reduced the total award to $640,000, and the parties settled for a confidential amount before an appeal was decided. The case entered popular understanding as an example of frivolous litigation; ABC News calls the case “the poster child of excessive lawsuits.”

Liebeck's attorneys argued that McDonald's coffee was "defective", claiming that it was too hot and more likely to cause serious injury than coffee served at any other place. Moreover, McDonald's had refused several prior opportunities to settle for less than the $640,000 ultimately awarded. Reformers defend the popular understanding of the case as materially accurate, note that the vast majority of judges who consider similar cases dismiss them before they get to a jury, and argue that McDonald's refusal to offer more than a nuisance settlement reflects the meritless nature of the suit rather than any wrongdoing.

If McDonald's thinks selling salads constitutes social responsibility, they must figure clean bathrooms deserve the Nobel Prize.

When asked why McDonald’s isn’t doing more about a number of issues -- including buying organically-grown food, building more energy-efficient restaurants, paying employees better and reducing environmental impact – the company’s answer included a perky assertion that Mickey-D’s food choices prove its commitment to being a responsible corporation:

“Over the last three years, we have introduced many new food items that offer more choices for everyone. The salads are terrific! New grilled premium chicken sandwiches. Apple dippers. ... we are putting nutritional information on our packaging to help educate our customers.... So we think we are leading our industry in offering a range of products that can fit into our customers' dietary needs and helping them make informed choices.”

I certainly give McDonald’s big kudos for facilitating an interactive dialogue with its customers and detractors. But answering a direct question about social and environmental concerns with a marketing brochure defeats the purpose.

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McDonald's dishes up PR entree to fast food filmEric Schlosser in Sydney to promote his film.Photo: Peter RaeSeptember 27, 2006

IT'S just a happy coincidence, according to McDonald's public relations team. The fast food giant's nation-wide campaign encouraging consumers to ignore the negative publicity surrounding Fast Food Nation has nothing to do with the film's release in Australia next month.

Nor does it have anything to do with the arrival in Melbourne this week of Eric Schlosser, author of the top-selling book of the same name, which caused a stir when it was released in 2001.

McDonald's spokeswoman Sarah Gibbons said the campaign had been planned for more than six months. It had nothing to do with the film, which McDonald's dismisses on its website as a "fictionalised thriller" .

McDonald's insists its TV and online campaign, which urges consumers to "make up your own mind", is about educating the paying public.

But Dendy Films, distributor of Fast Food Nation, thinks otherwise. Marketing and publicity manager Nicki Martin said the timing was revealing.

"The fact that this marketing campaign launched the very week before Eric Schlosser arrived in Australia to promote the film is definitely no coincidence," she said. "And they did the exact same thing for Super Size Me." The Morgan Spurlock film, Super Size Me, hit cinema screens in 2004.

Ms Martin said the star power behind Fast Food Nation - which stars Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette - would add weight to debate on the global obesity epidemic and the place of fast food in people's diets.

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She welcomed the McDonald's campaign. She said the publicity would only add to the film's profile. "All (McDonald's) are doing is creating another situation where they are generating this incredible exposure and awareness about a film that wouldn't necessarily get the same interest without them bringing the public's attention to it," she said.

Choice food policy officer Clare Hughes said while the fast food chain was offering more healthy alternatives on its menu, the "make up your own mind" campaign should be seen for what it was.

"Our concern is that it is a PR exercise. McDonald's is wanting to dispel some of the negative perceptions about their product, but essentially it is not licence to eat unlimited amounts of McDonald's. It doesn't make their product any healthier or better for you."

Since Super Size Me, which sparked worldwide criticism of the hamburger giant for marketing calorie and fat-laden food to children, McDonald's has eliminated "Super Size" portions of French fries and soft drinks, and produced marketing and advertising material promoting physical activity.

Next month McDonald's Australia will introduce "percentage daily intake" information on packaging informing consumers what percentage of their total daily intake of energy and nutrients are in products, including burgers, fries and salads.

Fast Food Nation screens in Australia from October 26.

Shameless staff and Social Media foster fast food PR disasters april 23

Filthiest McDonald\’s restaurant in world

The power of social media to unravel reputations has again been amply demonstrated with shocking footage emerging from fast food outlets in North Carolina, USA and in Adelaide, Australia. Staff at Dominos Pizza and McDonalds have let their employers down with in one case malicious hygiene ’stunts’ and in the other, lack of attentiveness re standards of restaurant presentation. Two US Domino’s Pizza staff are facing criminal charges after posting an appalling video of a staffer passing wind on a sandwich and shoving cheese up his nostril. In Australia, diners branded a McDonald’s restaurant as the filthiest fast-food joint in the world; in both cases ‘heritage media’ has picked up and run with these bad news balls. From a PR/crisis management viewpoint,

I’d contrast the way the companies have responded to the damaging footage. In the States, a honcho

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from Dominos uploaded a SocMed-friendly video addressing the issue, slamming the staff and apologising to the franchisee and public for the incident. All I can see from McDonald’s in Oz is a bald statement from a PR saying “McDonald’s prides itself on the highest standards of cleanliness…yadda…yadda…zzzzzzz” A picture still paints a thousand words, so does Maccas response say they’re not concerned by this coverage (almost 150,000 online views plus TodayTonight national TV coverage), or does it say McDonalds Oz don’t yet know how SocMed works or how to upload credible corp responses to the new media channels?

McDonald's Shuns Miracle Weight Loss Man

When the movie Super Size Me came out, showing the ravaging effects of a monthlong fast food diet, it was terrible PR for McDonald's. The company spent tons of money combating the perceptions from that one overwrought documentary, seriously! And now, in what can only be described as a gift from the marketing gods, some fat guy has gone an all-McDonald's diet and actually lost 86 pounds (pictured: before and after). But the company won't sign him as a spokesman. You shallow fools! You think he's too ugly, DON'T YOU?

Chris Coleson of Richmond, VA ate mostly McDonalds' salads and wraps for six months to drop his gut.

Mr. Coleson has not spoken with the fast feeder but said that people on the street ask him if he was inspired by Subway pitchman Mr. Fogle. (He's become something of a local celebrity after a couple of newspaper articles, including a front-page profile in the Richmond-Times Dispatch.) He said the idea was born out of his wife's skepticism at his ability to lose weight.

"I told her I could lose weight eating anywhere," he said. "I told her I could do it eating at McDonald's."

But!

Far from signing him as its next spokesman, McDonald's avoided attaching importance to Mr. Coleson's accomplishment. "There have been numerous success stories like this one, where consumers elected to follow a responsible diet with adequate exercise and incorporated McDonald's food in a very positive way," said McDonald's USA spokeswoman Danya Proud. "We continue to work on helping people understand how to strike the right balance between diet and physical activity."

Dr. Christine Gerbstadt, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, called Mr. Coleson's plan of 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day a "starvation diet."

Ridiculous. So what if it is a starvation diet? That shouldn't dissuade the company from sending Coleson a fat check and sticking him in a couple of commercials. How many other huge weight losers who eat exclusively at your restaurant do you think are going to come along, McD's? Smarten up!

We really don't need another Jared, though. GOD.

[Ad Age, pic via InRich.com]

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ConclusionBy going through the whole project on PR of McDonalds we are in a kind of soup there is strange behavior on both sides. People do like policy and practices quite clearly yet the business is expanding till the extent that it receives an award for growth

ACG Chicago Honors McDonald's Corporation with Outstanding Corporate Growth Award

Oak Brook-based McDonald's honored for resurgent growth.

Chicago, IL, February 07, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Association for Corporate Growth Chicago (ACG Chicago) today announced that it has selected McDonald's Corporation as recipient of the Outstanding Corporate Growth Award for 2007-2008. ACG Chicago – the premier professional organization focused on corporate growth, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions – selected McDonald's for its iconic status in the Chicago business community and its global resurgence.

ACG Chicago will honor McDonald's with this distinction at the Outstanding Corporate Growth Award Luncheon on Feb. 19 at The Standard Club in Chicago. Chris Pieszko, senior vice president of finance strategy, will accept the award on McDonald's behalf.

As this year’s winner, McDonald's join an esteemed list of past recipients, including RR Donnelley (2006-2007), Fortune Brands, Inc., (2005-2006), Alberto Culver Company (2004-2005) and Biomet, Inc. (2003-2004).

The projects before us have came to conclusion that PR is backbone but we can’t say the same about McDonalds and that why we are in a soup.

Before this we had NO doubt PR is important for mere existence but after what we have seen in McDonalds we have to consider that PR is an exercise to keep the image clean rather that to communicate the truth.

We also want to mention that the above cases maybe nothing more than false accession for financial gains and have cause grave damage to company but still even after so much damage the mere existence of company cases us to think if PR is make a image or to clean it?

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Bibliography:-Searched via Google and yahoo

Page no 1 to 6 from MBA reports from Scribd.cm

Page no 7 to 9 from www.aboutmcdonalds.com

McDonald's admits using beef fat for 'vegetarian' french fries

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/1331625/McDonalds-admits-using-beef-fat-for-vegetarian-french-fries.html

McDonald's is in PR pickle in U.K.

http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/prservices_dec95.html

Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants

Www. Wikipedia.org

McDonald's dishes up PR entree to fast food film

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/mcdonalds-dishes-dirt-on-fast-food-film/2006/09/26/1159036547348.html

Shameless staff and Social Media foster fast food PR disasters

http://prdisasters.com/shameless-staff-and-social-media-foster-fast-food-pr-disasters/

McDonald's Shuns Miracle Weight Loss Man

http://gawker.com/5017175/mcdonalds-shuns-miracle-weight-loss-man

ACG Chicago Honors McDonald's Corporation with Outstanding Corporate Growth Award

http://www.pr.com/press-release/71047

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