Currently, McDonald’s occupies the sixth position among the most important brands in the world, and, in terms of customers’ visits, it is one of the most popular restaurants. One of the reasons for this is its successful and effective branding campaign. Also, the key to its success is its experimentation and segmentation strategies (Pomposo, 2014).
McDonald’s is a vivid example of manufacturer branding. Its marketing strategy is based on uniformity, that is, it has many symbolic items that are associated only with it and can be found at any McDonald’s in the world. The target consumers differ in different countries. For example, in the USA, the company mostly targets children, while in Japan, its target is also adults. The most important segmentations for the company which it is trying to target are primarily demographic and, to a lesser degree, psychographic. As for the experimentation aspect, it is also crucial, as it helps understand customers’ preferences by deleting or adding a particular product from the menu thereby trying to create the ideal set of products that would meet all the customers’ needs (Pomposo, 2014).
Due to its geographic variety, McDonald’s has a very successful branding strategy, as it keeps its brand consistent and pays a lot of attention to details thereby creating the same experience and atmosphere at any of its outlets all over the world. This feature makes customers search for this particular brand anywhere in the world, as they know that their expectations will be satisfied (Pomposo, 2014).
As far as packaging and labeling are concerned, they are very effective and efficient. Packaging is convenient in McDonald’s, and it also has an original design. Labeling is also attractive, and, particularly in Happy Meal, they create intrigue for children of what is inside the box. Additionally, McDonald’s adds facts on nutrition to a package (Pomposo, 2014).
If I had to create a marketing campaign for Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company, I would target the same group of consumers as the company does; namely, people who like riding in general and who want to do it on a premium-class motorcycle. I agree with the company’s branding strategy to target mostly psychographic segmentation. I would also market my product on the Internet and social media, as the product targets different demographics. The five main segmentation characteristics that I would use in developing a profile of my customers are people who love high-quality motorcycles (psychographics), people who love riding (psychographics), adults (demographic), places with vast open areas for motorcyclists to ride (geographic), and the regular users of the product (behavioral) (Bhasin, 2017).
If I had to create a marketing campaign for selling iPods, I would target primarily adolescents and teenagers, as they are considered “heavy users” of this device. In this case, I would target mostly behavioral segmentation and, to a lesser extent, demographics. I would market my product on the Internet and social media chiefly because the target demographics are teenagers and adolescents who are almost always connected to the Internet. The five main segmentation characteristics that I would use in developing my customers’ profile are adolescents and teenagers (demographic), populated areas and big cities (geographic), technology optimists (behavioral), “heavy users” (behavioral), and “online lifestyle” (psychographic) (Bhasin, 2017).
If I had to create a marketing campaign for promoting timeshare (or vacation-ownership) opportunities in Vail (Colorado), I would first target young families with children, as this system is the most beneficial and convenient for them, and people who like quiet rest in nature. Thus, my primary target would be demographic segmentation and, to a lesser degree, psychographics. I would use the Internet and social media to market my product. The five main segmentation characteristics that I would choose are families with children (demographic), young people (demographic), people who love peaceful rest in nature (psychographics), people who live in big cities (geographic), and potential users (behavioral) (Bhasin, 2017).
References
Bhasin, H. (2017). 4 types of market segmentation and how to segment with them? Web.
Pomposo, A. (2014). What is the secret to McDonald’s global branding success? Web.