Kal Reasons
October 2023
McDonald’s has recently shifted their target audience to be more adult-oriented, stepping away from their iconic PlayPlaces, reducing birthday parties, and changing the branding kit to be more muted without the zany characters that they once relied on heavily. Personally, I think this is an absolute travesty for the corporation; growing up, it was one of my favorite things in the world to sit at the themed tables while eating my food. However, one item that is still fighting to keep its place using childhood wonder and nostalgia is the Happy Meal. With major licensing deals with movies, TV shows, and various toy brands, the Happy Meal has become a multi-billion-dollar product that generates a large part of McDonald’s income, but it has become the only child-friendly aspect of most of their franchises.
Recently, their collaboration with the Pokémon brand has brought collectors flocking for a chance to collect fifteen exclusive cards along with a limited edition Pickachu box through the Match Battle event. This is one of my favorite collaborations, and I will even buy myself a Happy Meal for lunch for a chance to help my kids complete their collection. It’s incredibly emotionally driven, and consequently, becomes the dominating brand for children when helping decide where to eat. Sometimes, these partnerships do have a resulting brand dilution or negative halo. For example, if a toy is not well-made or a movie is bad, this reflects on both corporations. PR professionals working for the company must decide very carefully which collaborations to pursue and which promotions to market.
The packaging of Happy Meals have been unable to be replicated by other corporations but have become increasingly simple without the same games they once had. As a result of making the meals healthier, they reduced the amount of sodium while also reducing the amount of food provided overall. This is a fantastic idea with poor execution. Before the pandemic, they had a collaboration with Go-Gurt and Cuties, both healthier options that still allowed the meal to be complete and could substitute the fries entirely. My 4-year-old almost always wants something else afterwards, so I must order more food or plan around that issue. My 12-year-old has aged out of them almost entirely.
McDonald’s needs to shift their focus to drawing more children back into the company because parents will consequently spend more money as a result. In my opinion, focusing too heavily on the McCafé products and trying to elevate the brand to be a more affordable option than Starbucks to draw in more young couples has been successful, but this repositioning has also had many drawbacks. Many of these changes have come because of the pandemic, but McDonald’s has the resources overall to ensure that their facilities stay sanitized and safe for their customers. I feel as though they are becoming complacent with a product they initially did not want, which could lead to issues in coming years. By continuing with powerful collaborations, marketing to both parents and children, and creating a clean, safe environment with free activities and healthy food options, McDonald’s will be able to increase their profits significantly with a large return-on-investment.
Sources:
McDonald's Makes More Happy Meal Changes, Bringing It Closer To A Healthy Meal (forbes.com)
The Happy Meal inventor says McDonald's didn't want it at first | CNN Business
This May Be Why McDonald's PlayPlaces Are Vanishing | Reader's Digest (rd.com)
Comentarios