Executive Summary
Introduction
McDonald’s Corporation serves millions of customers every day around the globe.
Golden arches in the shape of an “M” serve the company’s brand of fast-food service that
focuses on quality of food in effective times of delivery. Employees around the world are
trained to provide a Gold Standard for all food and beverage products under McDonald’s
Corporation’s policy and procedure manuals. Since the origins of McDonald’s many franchises
have since expanded the company’s name and reputation in local communities. This media
relations manual will help debrief the organization on a national scale while also focusing on
the Greg and Jan Luring franchise base in Yakima, Washington.
Analysis
Discovering a small business in California that was operated by two brothers, became
the first moment in which the McDonald business would grow and prosper. Ray Croc in 1954
met Dick and Mac McDonald pitched to the two brothers about expanding their business
practices and expectations to be extended into other businesses around the nation. Only 58
years later, the McDonald’s Corporation has expanded not only nationally in the United States
but around the world also.
McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat. Our
worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center
on an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are
committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers'
experience.
Greg and Jan Luring are the CEO’s of the McDonald’s Franchise based in Yakima,
Washington. Believing in Ray Croc’s idealism of providing great quality service to each customer
every time is a Gold Standard Quality they envisioned when they first a McDonald’s store in
Yakima 33 years ago. Years later, the Luring franchise has expanded to Yakima, Selah, Union
Gap, Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Sunnyside and Toppenish, resulting in 13 stores in total.
Media Coverage
Nationally and globally, McDonald’s Corporation provides national advertisement and
public relation campaigns to target their audiences and establish a relationship between the
customer and their local store. However, franchises receive little to no media attention as seen
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in the Greg and Jan Luring Franchise as well. This could be majorly in part of being a franchise
owner rather than owning the McDonald’s Corporation seal of approval. Until recently, little
media coverage has been seen with any of the McDonald’s stores under the ownership of the
Lurings.
Media Contacts
There are many local media outlets surrounding each of the Luring’s McDonald’s stores,
however, hardly any of them have been used to send press releases to or receive media
coverage for McDonald’s sponsored events. Although there is a list of many media contacts,
many of them are unnecessary to extend press releases, fact sheets, media alerts and media
kits to. A great majority of media listings in the area are radio stations that have very specific
audiences.
The Hispanic community is known to gather more news information from radio than any
other media outlet; however, when looking to target audiences effectively, understanding the
audience is crucial. For the stores in the Yakima County region with Hispanic populations and
Spanish-speaking natives, it is important to understand that radio will be the best way to send
messages to them through the media. However areas such as Cle Elum and Ellensburg where
the majority of their customers are Caucasian, newspapers and broadcast television serve the
best way of receiving a message.
Media Relations/Crisis Management
Greg and Jan Luring provide to be the key spokesperson of their franchise when dealing
with any crisis’s or achievements involving any or all of their McDonald’s stores. However when
McDonald’s Corporation releases a press release or media kit, it is essential that the corporate
office of each and every franchise makes sure that all general managers and shift managers are
on the same page. Sending out one clear concise message is important to having an effective
campaign or when dealing with crisis situations.
Summary
The Greg and Jan Luring franchise is an ever-growing business expansion seen in many
cities east of the Cascade Mountains. The Luring name has been branded into the local
community minds and hearts. The Luring’s are seen as a part of the area in which each store
resides in rather than a stranger. With over 33 years involved with the McDonald’s Corporation,
the Luring franchise can only see expansion rather than regression.
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McDonald’s Corporation
History
In 1954, Ray Kroc discovered a small business in California that was ran by two brothers: Dick
and Mac McDonald. The two brothers that ran the business produced a limited menu which
concentrated on providing a few food and drink items such as burgers, fries and beverages.
Using this methodology at their business allowed the McDonald brothers to focus on quality on
each product produced.
In 1995 after pitching to the McDonald’s brothers about making their business expand
nationwide, Kroc founded the McDonald’s Corporations and only five years later bought the
rights to the McDonald name. Only three years later did McDonald’s Corporation sell its 100
millionth hamburger.
Kroc believed in building a restaurant system that would be founded on the consistency of its
high quality food and beverage products because of the uniformitarianism for preparation. To
achieve this goal, Kroc persuaded franchisees and suppliers to not work for McDonald’s but to
work together with McDonald’s.
“In business for yourself; not by yourself,” Kroc stated.
McDonald’s Corporation is founded on the 3-legged stool: one leg was McDonald’s, the second
leg was franchisees, and the third leg was McDonald’s suppliers. The company was only as
strong as the three legs working together as one.
Every single intergradient is tasted, tested and set to the Gold Standard quality for each and
every product produced at McDonald’s.
Kroc never stopped working for McDonald’s. His passion and love for the company along with
the desire to ensure each restaurant was clean, friendly and passionate about working for the
company was his desire.
“If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase: Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value.
I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them,” Kroc stated.
On January 14th, 1984, Kroc passed away but his legacy for innovation and relentless desire to
pursue quality remain the missions of all McDonald’s stores.
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Mission
McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat. Our worldwide
operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center on an
exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are
committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers'
experience.
Values
1. Customers are the core.
a. McDonald’s customers are the core of every operation. To show our
appreciation for our customers we provide them with high quality food, superior
customer service, clean and welcoming environment, all at a great value. Our
goal is quality, service, cleanliness and value for each customer, every time.
2. Commitment to our people.
a. McDonald’s provides opportunity to help develop leaders reach achievement.
McDonald’s believes in a team of well-trained individuals of diversity working
together in an environment that is fostered in respect and drives high levels of
engagement.
3. Belief in the McDonald’s System.
a. Depicted on the three-legged stool system, McDonald’s is founded on working
together with owners/operators, suppliers and company employees. This is the
foundation for all McDonald’s stores and balancing the interests of all three is
key to prosperity.
4. Ethical Business Practices.
a. At McDonald’s we hold ourselves and conduct our business to high standards of
fairness, honesty, and integrity. We are individually accountable and collectively
responsible.
5. Giving Back
a. McDonald’s realizes the importance of community relationships, so the
organization helps customers build better communities. By supporting Ronald
McDonald House Charities, customers help a charity without having to do much.
Donating loose change and purchasing Happy Meals helps families in need of
medical assistance. Also, employees have the option to donate part of their
paychecks to United Ways that helps fund community programs near the
McDonald store locations.
6. Business Profitability
a. As a publicly traded company, McDonald’s strives to provide sustainable profit
growth for the CEO and shareholders.
7. Continuing to Improve
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a. A lot has changed for the McDonald’s Corporation over the years since its
establishment, and there is still room for improvement. With the efforts by
employees, mangers, CEO’s and shareholders along with evaluations by
customers, McDonald’s hopes to keep growing and learning more as the years
progress.
Target Audiences
McDonald’s Corporation does not have a specific target audience although they direct
certain features of their company to different publics.
1. Happy Meals/Might Kid Meals
a. Happy Meals are targeted towards young children from the ages of 3 to 12
and have since changed what is included in those Happy Meals since health
concerns have become more prominent.
b. Happy Meals include the choice of a entrée of a hamburger, cheeseburger,
4-piece McNuggets or for a limited time of a snack sized fish McBite. For the
sides of the Happy Meal it comes with a ‘Happy’ sized fry and one bag of
apple slices. Parents also have the choice of drink which can be chocolate
milk, white milk, apple juice or soda. To top off the Happy Meal to really
capture their audience, it includes a toy that is themed per month. The toys
can be Hello Kitty, Transformers, Power Rangers, Paul Frank and many more.
c. Mighty Kid Meals are similar, they include the same drink options, and come
with a toy but the entrée can be a McDouble cheeseburger, 6-piece
McNugget and for a limited time a snack-sized fish McBites.
d. Happy Meals and Might Kid Meals have truly targeted the youth in an
exponential ways. Over the years McDonald’s Corporation has created
characters such as the Hamburgler, Ronald McDonald, and many more to
create short movies that parents could buy for their children to watch at
home. Not only does this brand the children as part of the organization but
makes them associate the cartoons with their food desires.
2. Healthy Food Choices
a. McDonald’s has faced a lot of food criticism over the years for high caloric,
greasy, and the concentration of food preservatives in their products. Over
the years McDonald’s has been creating a healthier food menu for those who
watching their weight and waistline.
b. Just recently McDonald’s launched their McWrap which is a 10 inch wrap
that comes in Sweet Chili Chicken, Chicken and Ranch and Chicken and Bacon
flavors. The customer is in control of the food preparation of the chicken,
meaning they can choose if it’s deep fried or grilled. Each of the wraps has
the variety of spring greens, lettuce, cucumber, tomato. The sauces include a
sweet chili, garlic cilantro or ranch sauce. The McWrap was a limited time
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option, but because of its growing popularity to be a healthy yet filling menu
item, it is now permanently part of the McDonald’s menu.
c. In addition, salads have also been added to create another healthy
alternative on the food menu. All of the dressings beside the ranch are lowcalorie dressings.
d. Many of the beverages such as white milk, chocolate milk are marked lowfat, and customers hold the power to ask for no salt on their fries and no
seasoning on their meat products.
e. Those most interested in healthy food alternatives are typically women that
are mothers of young children. The next most interested in the healthy food
choices are those with preexisting medical conditions that forces them to
think differently about the food they order.
3. Collectables/Collections
a. McDonald’s Corporation has collaborated with an organization to produce
unique collectables that customers can purchase at their stores for a limited
time. These unique items can be from Disney cups that have a different
popular Disney character on each class, to the Ronald McDonald movie
adventures to finally having the Coca-Cola tall glasses that are tinted
different colors.
b. These are targeted for the least likely customers to help bring them to the
store. Although the regular customers and families love these special
opportunities, it helps bring new fresh faces into the store.
4. Media Advertisements
a. Many of the commercials produced by McDonald’s Corporation are targeted
at one specific audience: teenagers to young adults. The commercials entail
silly jokes or puns that capture the humor seen in Generation Y. Recently, the
new Fish McBites commercial shows young men and women eating the
McBites while playing with that app that you talk through and it displays a
different mouth that corresponds with your voice. It’s integrating the social
trends and culture seen in Generation Y to make their message effective.
Generation Y men and women make up for a large portion of McDonald’s
customers.
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Media Coverage
Nationally
McDonald’s Corporation publishes their own press releases on their website at
mcdonalds.com. From there they have electronic press kits that can be downloaded in addition
to press releases that are sectioned off based on corporate and financial news to help
stakeholders and journalists to easily access. Although McDonald’s Corporation focuses on their
new products being offered each month and a large majority of funds being directed to
advertising and marketing, the public relations presence is still there.
In the press release section of their website, they generate their content based on the
needs of their clients and types of media coverage that is applicable to many outlets. On
average there is about one press release listed per month in each the corporate and financial
sections of their website. Some of the press releases listed on their website include:
Corporate News:
1. McDonald’s Launches New Global Packaging Designs (01/17/13)
2. Fred L. Turner, McDonald’s Honorary Chairman and Former CEO, Passes
Away (01/07/13)
3. McDonald’s Announces Change in Leadership at McDonald’s USA (11/15/12)
4. McDonald’s Makes Donation to Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Efforts
(11/02/12)
Financial News:
1.
2.
3.
4.
McDonald’s Global Comparable Sales Decrease 1.9% In January (02/08/13)
McDonald’s Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend (01/30/13)
McDonald’s Reports Growth in Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 (01/23/13)
McDonald’s Global Comparable Sales Increase 2.4% In November (12/10/12)
Not only is this information easy to access on their website, but it also gives viewers the
options to have them sent to their email accounts as well. McDonald’s also includes links to
their online image and video gallery in addition to resources such as their statements and
alerts, their page dedicated to their social media usage, Twitter team, FAQ Library, and their
media contacts.
Since McDonald’s Corporation is a well-established food service organization, it is no
surprise that they have extensively laid out their resources so well and easy to access for their
publics. However, that is seen differently when you look at franchiser operated stores’
websites.
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Locally
The McDonald’s franchise of Yakima County has little to no media coverage. The
corporate headquarter in Yakima links all the stores owned and operated by Greg and Jan
Luring. Since it is the headquarters of al l their stores, it would be the main source for media
outlets to reach.
However, due to McDonald’s Corporation, each store under their trademark has a store
page that is listed under the national page. This allows for best search engine opportunities
however, does not allow individual stores to generate their own content. Uncertain of the
regulations franchises have with the national organization considering media regulations, it
appears that franchises follows the national campaigns and maintains the key message.
I think it is necessary for the Luring’s stores to get media coverage and begin making an
impression on the communities in which the stores are located. For instance, the Luring’s are
building a new store in the Toppenish area but hardly anyone outside the Toppenish
community or McDonald’s establishments know of this new building. This would be a great
press release to send out the local media outlets letting them know of the franchise expansion
and how it will bring more jobs to the community.
Also what I find to be extremely dangerous is the Ellensburg McDonald’s store closing
for a demolition and reconstruction of their highly profitable store. I’ve expressed my concerns
to the general manager, letting them know that there needed to be more media coverage to let
their regulars customers know. The public needs to be educated in advance to avoid loss of
business when the new store is opened up. Although there are a few signs on the doors of the
restaurant, there has been little coverage discussing this new major improvement to the store. I
have offered, and the corporate store accepted, the opportunity to attend The Network Social
Event hosted by the COM371: Event Planning and Management class to allow their general
manager a booth to inform students of the remodel while offering jobs for when it opens back
up in June.
Since I began my internship with McDonald’s this year, I have helped generate local
media coverage to highlight the events taking place at the Cle Elum McDonald’s store. The
Roslyn Theatre McTakeover Event was held February 27th, 2013 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. of which
allowed the theatre to receive 15% of the sales generated in the three hours. To get media
coverage I released a media alert, of which was followed by the press release a week and a half
later. This also led to having broadcast coverage by the local Ch. 40 news, as well as two articles
by The Daily Record and NKC Tribune. I created a social media presence on Facebook with the
event, and had 66 RSVP’s prior to the day of the event.
I think the franchise has the opportunity to grow its presence in the community by
sending out a few press releases that highlight the major events happening around each city.
Targeting the key media outlets would be essential to ensuring media coverage, and I believe
that if the stores received more media coverage, they would see it result in an increase in sales.
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