McDonald's market segmentation strategy

Summary

McDonald's employs target marketing by segmenting its audience into specific groups like young adults, women, moms, and various ethnicities. Each segment has a dedicated manager who uses market research to gather consumer insights, focusing on values, needs, and lifestyle. These insights inform the creation of positioning profiles for each product, guiding the development of targeted ads. For instance, the southwest chicken salad is marketed differently to African-American, Hispanic, and Asian consumers, highlighting its hearty nature, cultural ingredients, and variety of tastes, respectively. This strategy has significantly boosted sales.

Takeaways

• 🎯 McDonald's uses target marketing to appeal to specific consumer segments.
• 👥 McDonald's segments are managed by segment managers instead of brand managers.
• 📊 Segment insights are derived from continuous market research and consumer behavior analysis.
• 📈 McDonald's focuses on understanding the values, needs, and lifestyle of each segment.
• 📝 Each product has a positioning profile created based on segment insights.
• 🖌 The creative team uses these profiles to produce targeted ads.
• 🍔 Southwest chicken salad is an example used to illustrate how McDonald's tailors its advertising to different segments.
• 🌐 The general market is attracted by the variety of ingredients in the southwest chicken salad.
• 🖤 African-American consumers are targeted with messages emphasizing the salad as hearty and filling.
• 🌎 Hispanic consumers are attracted by the cultural resonance of the salad's ingredients.
• 🍽 Asian consumers are targeted with the appeal of variety and new tastes.
• 💼 McDonald's has a dedicated team to keep segment information current for effective marketing.

Q & A

What is the central aspect of McDonald's marketing strategy?

The central aspect of McDonald's marketing strategy is target marketing, which involves segmenting the population into specific groups and positioning their products to appeal to those segments.

How does McDonald's organize its marketing department differently from traditional consumer package goods companies?

Instead of organizing by brand with brand managers for each product like Doritos or Lays, McDonald's has segment managers, such as a director of young adults, women moms, African American consumers, Hispanic consumers, etc.

What is the purpose of segment managers at McDonald's?

Segment managers at McDonald's are responsible for maximizing targeting marketing efforts by understanding the needs, values, and lifestyle of each specific consumer segment.

How does McDonald's gather information about different consumer segments?

McDonald's gathers information about different consumer segments through continuous market research, collecting data and insights about the behavior of each segment.

What is the focus of consumer insights at McDonald's?

Consumer insights at McDonald's focus on the values, needs, and lifestyle of each segment, which helps in creating compelling product descriptions and marketing messages.

How does McDonald's use segment insights to create marketing materials?

Using segment insights, each segment team creates a positioning profile for every product, which the creative team then uses to produce targeted ads for relevant segments and the general population.

What is an example of how McDonald's tailors its advertising to the general market?

For the general market, McDonald's emphasizes the variety of fun ingredients in the southwest chicken salad, as it is considered compelling to a broad audience.

How does McDonald's approach advertising to the African American consumer segment?

McDonald's learned that African American consumers are less likely to consider a salad as a substitute for sandwiches, so the advertising message focuses on the salad being hearty, filling, interesting, and exciting.

What resonates with the Hispanic consumer segment in the context of the southwest chicken salad?

The southwest chicken salad resonates with the Hispanic consumer segment due to the ingredients that are culturally and traditionally compelling.

How does McDonald's appeal to the Asian consumer segment with its southwest chicken salad?

McDonald's appeals to the Asian consumer segment by highlighting the variety of ingredients and the new exciting taste, which aligns with their preference for tasting new and different things.

What is the result of McDonald's target marketing strategy?

Target marketing has proven successful for McDonald's, as it has increased overall sales by understanding various consumer segments and positioning products to appeal to each segment.

How many people at McDonald's work full-time to keep marketing information current?

There are a couple hundred people at McDonald's who work full-time to keep the marketing information current and ensure that the insights are used to make compelling marketing efforts.