How can McDonald's continue to be dominant in increasingly health conscious societies?

Ahhh, McDonald's. Love them or hate them, you have to respect the brand that created the dynasty of fast food restaurants and have continued to be its face since conception. Yet, as any major corporation, they have had to endure a number of controversies and scrutiny as societal perceptions shift over time. At the centre of nearly all negative brand imagery for McDonald's are the health concerns connected to their food. This is the cause of a particularly health conscious trend over the past 20 years connected to increasing obesity rates in developed nations including Australia and the United States.

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

So, if the market continues to become more health conscious and view fast food restaurants negatively with McDonald's the forefront figure of evil, why is it still incredibly popular? Doesn’t this counter the CBBE model that a brand with an overwhelming negative image will not and cannot succeed? You would think so, but not in this case.

The Two Big Breadwinners

McDonald's do carry this negative stigma, but in regard to favourable brand associations, the brand has done and continues to do extremely well. McDonald's are the forefront brand in two key – extremely favourable – elements: convenience and consistency. Not only are they industry leaders, they are business leaders in these characteristics.

McDonald’s were at the forefront of innovating the restaurant experience

The key as to why these two elements outweigh the negative health associations with McDonald's is because the latter are very commonly social, and therefore, indirect impacts. By eating at McDonald's, one can feel as though they are seen negatively by others for completing unhealthy habits at a middle-class restaurant. If these indirect factors can be removed and no guilt was attached to the consumer for eating McDonald's, then the choice to purchase is a lot more frequent as the direct impacts of consistency and convenience remain ever-present.

Brand Strategies

McDonald's have adopted a lot of feedback to try to shift perceptions of its unhealthy status by using athlete celebrity endorsements, introducing certain items (such as salads and vegan options) and removing others (i.e. the supersized options in the U.S.). This also occurs in the brand trying to shift out of being targeted toward the middle-class, with the chain introducing features like the high-end Gourmet Creations menu, self-serve stations and McCafé’s with delectable bakery items.

McDonald’s Australia Gourmet Creations is launched in 2016 – for “grown-ups”

Whilst the brand changes localised elements, it holds true to its core value of consistency - standardising the global brand so tourists all over the world can reminisce of home when finding a McDonald’s hidden in a previously unexplored corner of the globe (Bengtsson, A. et al, 2010).

Consumer Strategies

As with all brands, it is the consumer who holds the power. Because it can be argued that eating McDonald's often is seen as unhealthy and cheap, people rarely boast about how many Big Macs they’ve eaten in the past week – but by shaping the context they consume it in, this social factor isn’t an influence. Whilst not a popular choice for a first date, late night McDonald's runs with close friends (using alcohol as an excuse to consume the brand!) or going alone when there just isn’t the time to prepare a lunch are good examples of contexts people place themselves in to excuse their consumption of the brand and acquiring that sometimes much needed grease injection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AJ2IPcOg_I

So, despite modern societies being particularly health conscious and holding negative attitudes against those who undertake unhealthy eating habits, the brand that perhaps can be seen as the pinnacle of unhealthy eating, remains as successful and profitable as ever, thanks to its unequivocal convenience and consistency. As long as consumers are able to create contexts for which they can remove any social pressure or guilt from consuming McDonald’s, the fast food super-giant will live on for generations to come.

---

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2019). Overweight and obesity: an interactive insight. [online] Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-and-obesity-an-interactive-insight/contents/time-trends [Accessed 19 April, 2020].

Bengtsson, A., Bardhi, F. & Venkatraman, M. (2008). How global brands travel with consumers. International Marketing Review, [online] Volume 27(5), pp. 519-540. Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02651331011076572/full/html [Accessed 18 April, 2020].

Britannica, (2020). McDonald’s. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/McDonalds [Accessed 17 April, 2020].

CBS News, (2004). McDonald’s Scrapping ‘Supersize’. [online] Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-scrapping-supersize/ [Accessed 19 April, 2020].

Lehman-Wilzig, S. (2018). Keller’s CBBE (Customer-Based Brand Equity) model. [image] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sam_Lehman-Wilzig/publication/322999587/figure/fig2/AS:593228692750336@1518448150915/Kellers-CBBE-Customer-Based-Brand-Equity-model.png [Accessed 17 April, 2020].

Sullivan, R. (2017). McDonald’s launches new Gourmet Creations burger range. [online] News.com.au. Available at: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/eat/mcdonalds-launches-new-gourmet-creations-burger-range/news-story/3e0932f7f6da44e02288a155d876ce9d [Accessed 19 April, 2020].