McDonald’s is a highly recognized fast food restaurant headquartered in

Illinois that serves cheap food quickly to customers. Political and social issues
regarding racial injustice, as well as CDC guidelines, meat shortages, and low economic flow caused by
COVID-19 are factors that are impacting McDonald’s and the rest of their competitors in the food
industry. As of July 28, 2020 global sales by McDonald’s decreased by 23.9% (McDonald’s, 2020, para 2).
Now that CDC restrictions are decreasing, dining rooms are slowly opening. With that, McDonald’s has
been offering different promotions for a number of weeks.
A strength from McDonald’s is that they have strong brand recognition and are recognized
globally. A weakness is they have a reputation of having low quality service and food. One opportunity is
that they can offer more healthy options to accommodate health conscious people. One threat is their
competitors such as Taco Bell, KFC, and Wendy’s.
As dining rooms continue to open, McDonald’s has the opportunity to introduce and promote an
in person dining campaign and continue to offer new limited time menu items to increase sales and
financially recover from the setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. To help us capitalize on this
opportunity, we will run a campaign driven by a set of goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics.
Goal one is in order to persuade customers to dine in again, generate attention and interest about
the dine in service that select McDonald’s restaurants now offer. An objective for that goal is to raise
awareness among 20,000 customers about the dine in service McDonald’s now offers by the end of 2020.
Goal two is to raise awareness about the safety precautions that McDonald’s is taking so that customers
feel safe in their dining rooms. An objective for this is to raise awareness among 25,000 customers about
the safety precautions McDonald’s is taking by December 13, 2020. Goal three is to create demand for
limited time menu items in order to increase sales. An objective for this is to Increase sales by 20% by the
end of January 2021.
We will target three key publics and craft a message for each public. One key public is Males and
females ages 30-60 who live in the US, eat fast-food, drive, have kids, make 30k-50k a year, and like
sweets. The message for that group is, “1 Dollar Happy Meals every Tuesday. Dine in Only!” This will be
communicated through billboards. We will use different strategies and tactics for each public. One
strategy is to convince parents of all genders ages 30-60 who make 30k to 50k that like sweets and fast
food through billboards that by in seat dining with McDonald’s, they will be able to save money, keep their
family safe, and satisfy their sweet cravings. A tactic is to use standard billboards on highways to promote
an offer that enters a parent into a contest if he or she posts a picture with their child in seat dining with
the hashtag #WeAreLovinIt.
A calendar and budget will be used to organize our campaign. This campaign will cost more than
ten million dollars and last for 13 weeks.
We will also use evaluation criteria and tools to help keep track of our progress. For example, we
will use the company database receipt system to track the amount of customers that dine in from
November 1, 2020 to the end of 2020. We will monitor the data from the receipt system weekly to make
sure we are progressing towards our desired result.
 Resources

McDonald’s. (2020). McDonald’s Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results. Retrieved from

https://news.mcdonalds.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mcdonalds-report

s-secon d-quarter-2020-results
 Background

External Environment: Like many businesses in the food industry around the world,

McDonald’s is being impacted by COVID-19. CDC Guidelines, meat shortages, and low

economic flow are factors. They are also operating through the recent political and social issues

regarding racial injustice.

Industry: As normalcy returns, many restaurants now allow in-seat dining. The return of

in-seat dining may increase job opportunities due to the need for more attention to more

customers, cleaning, and maintenance. The absence of in-seat dining and meat shortages due to

the pandemic have forced restaurants to adapt. Items on menus have been limited due to the

decline in sales. Overall restaurant sales have dropped, but are now slowly increasing.

Client: McDonald’s is located in over 100 different countries, and there are more than

38,000 restaurants globally (Rosenburg, para. 1). Being the second largest fast food

establishment in the world, their brand is widely recognized. They have the reputation of having

affordable food, but with mediocre service and ingredients. McDonald’s uses a divisional

organizational structure that includes global hierarchy, performance-based divisions, and

function-based groups. (Thompson, 2019, para 3).

Product, Service, or Issue: McDonald’s is a convenient food service that sells cheap food

to customers who want it quickly. The current issue is that convenience is hard to offer due to

regulations due to the pandemic, but they plan to implement a safety plan to keep employees and

customers safe.

Promotions: They are now promoting their latest limited time items; spicy chicken

nuggets and a new McFlurry flavor. Competitors are promoting new items as well. For example,

Wendy’s has promoted a secret breakfast menu item. They promote limited time items such as
the Mcrib and McFlurry flavors creating scarcity and an increase in sales and publicity. This

allows them to remove the items whenever they see the trend in sales decrease. They have used

celebrity promotions in the past and present such as Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Travis

Scott.

Client Share- As of July 28, 2020 global sales decreased by 23.9%, consolidated revenues

decreased by 30%, and systemwide sales decreased by 24%. Diluted earnings per share was 65

cents (McDonald’s, 2020, para. 2)

Competition: Their competition would be customers and other fast food services such as

Wendy’s, KFC, and Subway. People who do not want to risk their health to eat will stay at home.

Customers who disagree with their stance on social issues and disagree with the way animals are

treated and processed in the food industry may decide to stop eating there as well.

Resources: McDonald’s headquarters is located in Illinois. McDonald’s restaurants are

used to hold job interviews. Publics’ opinions towards the organization and its products are

important to its success, especially in today’s age of social media where sharing is easy. Rapper

Travis Scott is also a key resource because he is a celebrity promoter. They are now offering a

meal deal inspired by him (McDonalds, 2020).

Market Research: Research shows that African American adults at least twenty-four

years old who make under 20k with kids and no college degree are the most likely to buy from

McDonald’s (Numerator). Boys and girls ages three to eight who like toys, men and women who

are low and middle income, and male and female college students who need an affordable meal

are all possible publics as well.

 Resources

McDonald’s. (2020). McDonald’s Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results. Retrieved from

https://news.mcdonalds.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mcdonalds-reports-secon

d-quarter-2020-results

McDonald’s. (2020). Travis Scott Meal. Retrieved from

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/travis-scott-meal.html

Numerator. McDonald’s Numerator Retailer Snapshot. Retrieved from

https://snapshot.numerator.com/retailer/mcdonalds

Thompson, Andrew. (2019). McDonald’s Organizational Structure & Its Characteristics – An

Analysis. Retrieved from

http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-organizational-structure-analysis

Rosenburg, Matt. Number of McDonald’s Restaurants Worldwide. Retrieved from

https://www.thoughtco.com/number-of-mcdonalds-restaurants-worldwide-1435174
 SWOT

Mcdonald's has a few strengths. They have great brand recognition. They are recognized
globally. When someone thinks of fast food, Mcdonald’s is always in on the list. Their slogan
“I’m lovin it” is recognizable and popular. They have locations in more than 100 countries and
there are more than 38,000 restaurants around the world that serve 69 million people a day.
(Rosenburg, para 1). They also have a consistent social media presence on multiple platforms.
They post consistent content and promotions on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
which is good for brand awareness.
They have weaknesses as well. One weakness is their brand reputation. While they are
popular, they are looked at as a dining establishment with low quality food, ingredients, and
service. They are rated 1.6/5 stars on Facebook. (Facebook, 2020). Their Mcdonald’s App is also
a weakness. While this app offers many things such as deals, delivery, and rewards, the app has
many technical flaws. Their variety in menu items is also a weakness. With no vegan options,
they are missing out on selling to those in that market.
They have many opportunities. Since their menu offers mainly unhealthy options, they
have the opportunity to introduce healthier items other than their grilled chicken sandwich and
salads. Going vegan is becoming very popular, so they can offer a vegan option such as Beyond
Burger to accommodate vegans to take advantage of the vegan trend. They can also offer a meal
deal that mimics the “4 for 4” from Wendy’s, or the 5 Dollar Cravings Box from Taco Bell.
They have some threats as well. . Competition from other fast food establishments such
as Wendy’s, Burger King, or Taco Bell are examples. Competition from customers are threats as
well. Health conscious people may opt for a healthier, yet still convenient option such as
Chipotle or Subway. People who disagree with the way animals are treated and processed are
also threats because they may spread negative publicity about McDonald’s to try and convince
people to not eat there.
 Resources

Facebook, Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/McDonalds

Rosenburg, Matt. Number of McDonald’s Restaurants Worldwide. Retrieved from

https://www.thoughtco.com/number-of-mcdonalds-restaurants-worldwide-1435174

Wiener-Bronner, Danielle. 2020. McDonald’s launches first new Chicken McNuggets flavor in

nearly 40 years. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/08/25/business/mcdonalds-spicy-

chicken-mcnuggets/index.html
 Situational Analysis

McDonald’s is widely recognized as they are the second largest fast food establishment in
the world and has over 38,000 restaurants in over 100 different countries (Rosenburg, para 1).
However, even though they are a historically successful organization, they have still suffered
complications and setbacks due to the coronavirus pandemic. CDC guidelines, meat shortages,
and low economic flow have negatively affected their business. With the elimination of in seat
dining, they have had to resort to delivery and drive thru to serve customers. They were also
forced to decrease their menu items and only offer select items. These adaptations have caused a
decrease in revenue for an extended amount of time. As of July 28, 2020 global sales decreased
by 23.9% (McDonald’s, 2020, para 2).
As dining rooms continue to open, McDonald’s can introduce and promote an in person
dining campaign and continue to offer new limited item menu items to increase sales and
financially recover from the setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It is important to hold
an in person dining campaign because this will bring in more customers which will lead to more
sales. McDonald’s has opened a small number of their dining rooms in certain select locations.
As of July 1, 2020 they have opened 15% of their dining room (Lee, 2020, para 8). In addition to
dining room openings, they have been promoting two new limited menu items: spicy chicken
McNuggets and a celebrity meal inspired by rapper Travis Scott. This is the first time
McDonald’s has offered a new flavor for their nuggets since 1983 (Wiener-Bronner, 2020). This
is also the first celebrity inspired meal since their first in 1992. Since the Travis Scott promotion
1.1 1.2 1.3 2 was introduced on September 8, 2020, sales have increased by as much as double
digits (Garcia, 2020, para 4). Their new menu items paired with dining room openings has
started the company’s road to financial recovery.
 Core Problem/Opportunity Statement

As dining rooms continue to open, introduce and promote an in person dining campaign
and continue to offer new limited item menu items to increase sales and financially recover from
the setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
 Goals and Objectives

Goal one: In order to persuade customers to dine in again, generate attention and interest about

the dine in service that select McDonald’s restaurants now offer.

Objective one: Raise awareness among 20,000 customers about the dine in service McDonald’s

now offers by the end of 2020 through billboards and emails.

Objective two: Increase the amount of billboard and email advertisements by 15% by the end of

2020.

Objective three: Persuade 15,000 customers to dine in at McDonald’s by the end of 2020.

Goal two: Raise awareness about the safety precautions that McDonald’s is taking so that

customers feel safe in their dining rooms.

Objective one: Raise awareness among 25,000 customers about the new health and safety

promotion McDonald’s is offering through email

Objective two: Increase the amount of emails promoting their health and safety practices and

promotion by 30% by the end of 2020.

Objective three: Raise awareness among 25,000 customers about the safety precautions

McDonald’s is taking by December 13, 2020.

Goal three: Create demand for limited time menu items in order to increase sales.

Objective one: Increase sales by 20% by the end of January 2021.

Objective two: Raise awareness among 30,000 customers about McDonald’s new limited time

menu items by the end of January 2021.

Objective three: Introduce 2 new pie flavors by the end of 2020.

Key Publics and Messages

Males and females ages 30-60 who live in the US, eat fast-food, drive, have kids, make
30k-50k a year, and like sweets.

Males and females ages 18-22 who live in the US, are in college, like to save money, and
have modes of transportation

Males and females ages 23-60 who live in the US, eat fast food, have a minimum wage
job, care about their health, and like limited time offers.

1) 1 dollar Happy Meals every Tuesday! Dine In Only.- Billboard

2) We are living through difficult times right now, and we understand college can be
stressful. Here at McDonald’s, our goal is to add a bit of positivity to your schedule. Eat
at McDonald’s; save money and stay happy.- Social Media
3) We care about your wallet and well-being. McDonald’s has the offers you can’t beat and
the safety precautions to keep you safe. We are implementing new protocols for our
employees as well as offering complementary hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for
our customers. With that, customers can expect different discount specials and new
limited time menu items in the near future. Email
 Strategies and Tactics

Strategy 1- Convince parents of all genders ages 30-60 who make 30k to 50k that like sweets and
fast food through billboards that by in-seat dining with McDonald’s, they will be able to save
money, keep their family safe, and satisfy their sweet cravings.

-Tactic 1- Use small and local billboards to promote McDonald’s offer of 1 dollar kid’s meals
every Tuesday for any child that dines in.
-Tactic 2- Use standard billboards on highways to promote an offer that enters a parent into a
contest if he or she posts a picture with their child in seat dining with the hashtag #WeAreLovinIt
-Tactic 3- If someone purchases one of the new limited time pies with their order, he or she will
get a 15% discount if they tell the cashier that the billboard promoting this offer brought them
there.

Strategy 2- Persuade health conscious individuals ages 23-60 who work minimum wage jobs in
the US that like fast food and are attracted to limited time offers through email that by dining
with McDonald’s, that they are able to save money and try limited time menu items while being
served by a clean establishment that takes safety precautions.

-Tactic 1- Send automated emails to the key public that informs them that If any dine in
customer sees something that is not up to safety and cleanliness standards, they can take a picture
and report it to the manager. If the customer does so, he or she will get a 20% discount via email
to use on their next in person visit.
-Tactic 2- Send emails to the key public that shows and tells customers about the safety
precautions McDonald’s is taking and inform them that they are offering disinfectant wipes to
customers, so that they can wipe their chairs and tables down.
-Tactic 3- If a customer purchases a new limited time specialty sandwich, he or she will receive a
30% discount on their order if they show the cashier the limited time promotion email they
received.
Calendar and Budget
 Evaluation and Criteria Tools

Goal A: In order to persuade customers to dine in again, generate attention and interest about the
dine in service that select McDonald’s restaurants now offer.
Objective 1: Increase the amount of dine in customers by 15% by January 1, 2021
Evaluation Criteria: The amount of dine in customers is 15% higher on January 1, 2021.
Evaluation Tool A: We will use the company database receipt system to track the amount of
customers that dine in from November 1, 2020 to the end of 2020. This will allow us to calculate
a percentage. We will monitor the data from the receipt system weekly to make sure we are
progressing towards our desired result.

Goal B: Raise awareness about the safety precautions that McDonald’s is taking so that
customers feel safe in their dining rooms.
Objective 1: Raise awareness among 25,000 customers about the safety precautions McDonald’s
is taking by December 13, 2020.
Evaluation Criteria: On December 13, 2020, 25,000 customers are aware of the safety
precautions McDonald’s is taking .
Evaluation Tool B: We will use email trackers to track if a customer opens the awareness raising
email. This process will continue until December 13, 2020. We will monitor the data from the
email tracking system every 3 days to make sure we are making progress with the amount of
opened emails.

Goal C: Create demand for limited time menu items in order to increase sales.
Objective 1: Increase sales by 20% by the end of January 1, 2021.
Evaluation Criteria: Sales are up by 20% on January 1, 2021.
Evaluation Tool C: We will use a sales tracking system to track the number of sales from the start
of the campaign until the end. We will monitor data from the sales tracking system weekly to
make sure we are on the right direction to success.