Showing posts with label McDonald's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McDonald's. Show all posts

August 12, 2017

Wide Load @McDonald's

I took this photo passing a McDonald's. 

It just seemed so perfect.

With this SUV parked right between the McDonald's arches.

And on the SUV are two red warning flags sticking out from the sides with a sign on top that says: 
"Wide Load" 
And in the McDonald's window is a smiley face and a $2.99 Happy Meal special. 

With the "fast food" unhealthy eating culture that McDonald's has so long represented, what is there really to smile about except the cheap fixings. 

If you eat at McDonald's too much or too long then like Morgan Spurlock in the documentary "Super Size Me," who ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days and gained almost 25 pounds and felt crappy...unfortunately the sign "Wide Load" may be descriptive of what can happen.   

This isn't a dig at McDonald's per se (there are many fast food joints and things that we know aren't necessarily good for us)...moderation in life is really key. 

Healthy eating, exercise, mindfulness, work-life balance, and generally taking good care of yourself is not just a nice to have, but important to our well-being.

Genetics aside, it's the "Battle of the Bulge," and it's a lifelong pursuit to be healthy 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 
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March 30, 2016

Need Some Money

Big banner advertising Money!

A Monopoly sweepstakes by McDonald's to draw customers. 

Sort of ironic a low-cost fast food provider "giving" money away.

But who doesn't need money? 

I remember the song as a child, "Money makes the world go round..."

Always distasteful at the focus in the world on money, instead of on being good decent people with a bigger picture on issues, suffering, and tikkun olam. 

Really, it's the tug of war between people's personal selfishness and the ability to exhibit selfless giving to others. 

Does a person need a certain amount of financial stability and security to be a better giver?

I guess that makes sense--if you have more and don't feel financially burdened and threatened at every turn in life, you can be more charitable with your own giving--not feeling pinched and vulnerable. 

Still, I think it's important to remember that money can certainly be at "the root of all evil" when it becomes the end rather than the means to a life of purpose, understanding, and compassion that goes way beyond our own little desires and selves. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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January 7, 2008

McDonalds and Enterprise Architecture

User-centric EA is focused on meeting the architecture needs of the users and stakeholders.

The Wall Street Journal, 7 January 2008, reports that McDonald’s is changing course and installing specialty coffee bars like Starbucks.

The question is whether this new target architecture for McDonalds is meeting the needs of their consumers or are they simply copying Starbucks business model (but it’s wrong for McDonald’s clientele)?

“McDonald’s is setting to poach Starbucks customers with the biggest addition to its menu in 30 years. Starting this year, the company’s nearly 14,000 U.S. locations will install coffee bars, with ‘baristas’ serving cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, and the frappe, similar to Starbucks ice-blended Frappuccino.”

McDonalds and Starbucks, which at one time seemed to be in completely different market segments are now going head-to-head. “McDonald’s upgraded its drip coffee and its interior, while Starbucks added drive-through windows and hot breakfast sandwiches.”

McDonald’s is expecting to add $1 billion in revenue (to their annual sales of $21.6 billion) from this coffee program and the addition of smoothies and bottled beverages. “McDonald’s is entering the sixth year of a successful turnaround, while Starbucks has begun struggling after years of strong earning and stock growth.”

So it seems like McDonald’s knows what they’re doing right now.

What’s driving the McDonalds-Starbucks convergence?

“Convenience has become the dominant force shaping the food-service industry. Consumers who are unwilling to cross the street to get coffee or make a left turn to grab lunch have pushed all food purveyors to adapt the strategies of fast-food chains.”

“McDonald’s executives say they aren’t launching espresso drinks to go after Starbucks, but instead to cater to consumers’ growing interest in specialty drinks.”

McDonald’s has realized that “they were missing out on the fastest-growing parts of the beverage business. Data showed that soda sales [McDonald’s specializes in Coke] had flattened while sales of specialty coffee and smoothies were growing at double-digit rates outside McDonald’s. Customers were buying food at McDonald’s, then going to convenience stores to get bottled energy drinks, sports drinks, and tea, as well as sodas by Coke competitors.”

Finally, McDonald’s has done extensive research and testing on the introduction of the coffee bars, including “three hour interviews where they videotaped the customers talking about their coffee-buying habits. The researchers got in the cars of the customers and drove with them to their favorite coffee place and then took them to McDonalds and had them try the espresso drinks.”

McDonald’s new strategy is well researched and data driven, and their identification of user needs and trends, like convenience and specialty drinks, is sound and appears like a solid user-centric EA target and plan.

However, could this strategy still backfire for McDonald’s?

Yes, “it could slow down operations and alienate customers who come to McDonalds for cheap, simple fare rather than theatrics. Franchisees say that many of their customers don’t know what a latte is.”

Will the new McDonald’s target architecture succeed?

Yes and no. While McDonald’s is off to a very good start—in February, “Consumer Reports rated the chain’s drip coffee [the precursor to their new coffee bars] as better-tasting than Starbucks,”—yes, I know this hard to believe, for me too—it seems unlikely that McDonald’s can easily emulate the Starbucks ambiance of style, comfort, and hip that their stores offer. Let’s face it, you like to hang out in Starbucks, but you barely want to touch the skeevy environment in McDonalds.


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