Ryan Alec G.

Enriquez

12038561

Growth through Twister Fries

I. Statement of the Problem

McDonald’s has practiced a different marketing mix in their operations, including

standardization and adaptation of their products according to different locales. With the

occurrence of the pandemic, hardships were experienced not only by the loss of sales by

McDonald’s, but by the pool of customers including children out of school, medical frontliners,

and those affected by the lockdowns. While these were met with strategies including the

implementation of the “three Ds” (drive-thru, delivery, digital) (Kowitt, 2020) and the

McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen charity with the launch of the BTS Meal (Inquirer, 2021), certain

marketing strategies for growth post recovery must be defined as early as now.

II. Summary of Facts

Brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened their first McDonald’s restaurant in 1940,

originally as a drive-in restaurant with a large menu (Eugenio, 2021). As sales decreased and

their image veered away from family-friendly, the brothers decided to change strategies in both

operation and marketing. The menu was reduced to nine simple items, and the drive-in restaurant

was cleared for a self-service system. With the introduction of Ray Kroc and his transition of the

restaurant into a corporation, buying out the original McDonald brothers, McDonald’s now

operates nearly 40,000 restaurants globally, with a net income of 4.73 billion US dollars in 2020

(Lock, 2021).
 As the pandemic brought about the need for contactless experiences between employees and

customers, drive-thru, delivery, and digital was heavily focused on. Despite experiencing a

financial decline in the second quarter of 2020, McDonald’s had begun to experience growth in

the following quarter. In lieu of this, the company continues to push this strategy through express

drive-thru pick up lanes for digital orders and restaurants that only offer drive-thru, delivery, and

take-out (Kowitt, 2020).

In 2019, McDonald’s launched the famous fast-food barbecue sandwich: McDonald’s

McRib. While this may have been widely popular among many consumers, the item was offered

for a limited time only. This is also true for other items like the twister fries, McSpicy, and the

Szechuan sauce popularized by the TV show Rick and Morty. What some consumers may not

realize, however, is that these limited offerings are products of a marketing tool called seasonal

marketing. This tool considers the use of supply and demand, where scarcity increases demand,

and limited-time offerings create heat and buzz among customers (Majumdar, 2019).

Additionally, these limited releases tend to apply a Pavlovian response with respect to

seasonality and cravings. Much like through the Pumpkin Spice Lattes offered by Starbucks

exclusively upon Fall season (Tribune Media Wire, 2019).

III. Analysis

Seasonal marketing offers psychological aid in increasing sales, affecting the psyche of the

consumer through limited time offers of favorites and trends. This strategy ensures customers

crave items that are not available year-round, and therefore increases demand when supplies are

available (Majumdar, 2019). Ordinarily, this marketing tool is applied to campaigns according to

latest trends, events, seasons, and holidays. By applying over these social and natural

phenomena, while identifying, and acting on opportunities, this can create and capitalize on the
realization of the brand image. This allows the brand to create meaningful connections with their

audience and consumers. However, while holiday items and weatherly seasonal items may bring

constant consumers through the front door, other seasonal items may be used to ignite, or spike

wanted growth.

In 2013, Twister Fries was set to re-launch for a limited time of six weeks. While the product

itself had already been popular before, the issue then would be to create excitement for the return

of an all-time favorite, and to increase sales over previous launches. While social media and paid

promotion provided the platform for this campaign, the main strategy of announcing the three-

week availability was employed. This was to encourage early purchases and demand for a longer

availability. When it was announced that the earlier three-week availability would be extended to

three more weeks (despite the team’s actual six-week availability), by the end of the campaign,

McDonald’s had surpassed their target at over 150 per cent (Spikes Asia, 2013). In the same

way, seasonal marketing may be used to spark initial and considerable growth in sales post

pandemic.

Margot Torres, SVP Marketing of McDonald’s in the Philippines in 2014 (Go, 2014), shares

that one of the reasons why customers visit the restaurant more often is that they continually

surprise and delight customers with menu innovations and new products available only during

certain times of the year. Apart from the Twister Fries, these products include the Shake Shake

Fries, McFlurry flavors, and McFloat flavors. As seasonal marketing is seen to increase sales

during a given period, other products may be re-introduced or re-launched as limited-offers to

arouse growth when needed.

 IV. Recommendations

Current research on trends and customer profiles should be continued to discover marketing

opportunities and market audience optimization. Further research should also be made on

previously launched limited-offer items that had or may have grown traction over the years.

Given the effect of the lockdowns, subjects on nostalgia and current major trends may be focused

on to create deep audience relationships through the chosen promotional items.

V. Conclusion

Mcdonald’s has adopted a wide range of strategies, both in operations and in marketing,

which has helped the company wade in the pool while other competitions may have been

affected by the pandemic. While innovation and integration of the “three Ds” are being applied

and focused on to aid in growth, McDonald’s can stand to benefit from well-timed and well-

placed seasonal marketing to facilitate in post recovery growth.

References
Eugenio, A. (2021, September 21). Ever Wonder Why McDo Twister Fries are Seasonal? Retrieved from
Reportr: https://www.reportr.world/news/why-mcdonald-s-twister-fries-are-seasonal-a4713-
20210921

Go, J. (2014, November 28). Winning more customer visits. Retrieved from Inquirer:
https://business.inquirer.net/182706/winning-more-customer-visits

Inquirer. (2021, June 16). McDonald’s Kindness Kitchen donated meals to over 2,000 medical frontliners
in the Philippines. Retrieved from Inquirer: https://business.inquirer.net/325160/mcdonalds-
kindness-kitchen-donated-meals-to-over-2000-medical-frontliners-in-the-philippines

Kowitt, B. (2020, November 9). McDonald’s responds to the pandemic with faster drive-thrus, loyalty
points, and a new chicken sandwich. Retrieved from Fortune:
https://fortune.com/2020/11/09/mcdonalds-covid-growth-strategy-chicken-sandwich-loyality-
program-drive-thru/

Lock, S. (2021, April 8). Net income of McDonald's 2005-2020. Retrieved from Statista:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/219420/net-income-of-the-mcdonalds-corporation/

Majumdar, B. (2019, November 6). The reasons behind seasonal food marketing. Retrieved from Milti
Briefs: Excluisive: https://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-reasons-behind-seasonal-food-
marketing/food-beverage

Spikes Asia. (2013). Twister Fries. Retrieved from Spikes Asia:

https://www2.spikes.asia/winners/2013/pr/entry.cfm?
entryid=2901&award=101&order=1&direction=1

Tribune Media Wire. (2019, October 4). The McRib is back. Here’s why McDonald’s doesn’t sell it year-
round. Retrieved from Chicago's Very Own WGN9: https://wgntv.com/news/the-mcrib-is-back-
heres-why-mcdonalds-doesnt-sell-it-year-round/