MacDonald’s is one of the biggest and most successful American-based restaurant chains in the world and it needs no introduction. MacDonald’s serves millions of customers every day with a total of 40,275 restaurants operated and franchised worldwide in 2022, up from 40,031 restaurants in 2021.
Examples of how MacDonald’s is being positioned differently to address a specific culture: The two different and unique positions are listed below :
MacDonald’s strategy in the USA is completely different from what’s followed in India and Japan.
USA v/s India:
MacDonald’s in the USA puts much emphasis on non-vegetarian options like beef, bacon, and pork but on the other hand in India, there are no such options on the menu because of religious beliefs as cows are considered sacred animals in Hinduism in India and pork is prohibited in Islam. To cope with this challenge, MacDonald’s came up with a variety of vegetarian options like MacAloo tikki, MacSpicy Paneer, Mexican Aloo tikki, MacSpicy Paneer wrap, and so on. Similarly, for the non-vegetarian population, they have come with multiple options like MAcSpicy Chicken, Chicken Kebab Burgers, Chicken Salsa Burger, American Cheese Supreme Chicken Burger, and so on.
USA v/s Japan:
The menu in Japan is also slightly different from what’s provided in the USA including the food and beverages. MacDonald’s followed a different strategy to endure this challenge although there are lots of common things on the menu from the USA MacDonald’s has added a number of things to cater to Japan’s preferences. Some of them are Ebi burger(shrimp), Mega Mac, Bacon lettuce burger, Teriyaki Burger, and Ebi Filet-o including green tea milkshakes and seaweed shakers. Even the size of the product is different from the USA. For example, a large size drink in Japan is considerably much smaller than a large size drink in the USA.
Global marketing strategies used for each culture/country :
IN INDIA
Product: The global marketing strategy used by McDonald’s in India varies across the globe. As McDonald’s is famous for its hamburgers they had to create a similar product to compete in the Indian market. Due to cultural belief systems, they substituted hamburgers for more vegetarian and Indian cuisine options like MacSpicy Paneer, MacAloo tikki, and MacSpicy Chicken and Chicken Kebab burgers. This shows how the product design and options have adapted to the local market for Indian consumers.
Price: The prices may vary from market to market for any brand to accommodate the spending power of the consumer base. When compared to BigMac for $5.53, a similar product substitute called MacSpicy Chicken Burger costs $1.91 (₹159). Similarly, 20 Pieces of McNuggets in the USA cost $6.89, whereas Chicken McNuggets – 20 Pcs in India cost $3.66(₹304).
Link to video commercial (India):
Meals Make Families | McDonald’s Meals – McDonald’s India
IN JAPAN
Promotion: Compared to MacDonald’s in the USA, MacDonald’s in Japan uses promotion and marketing strategies to better suit the local Japanese culture and cuisine. One such example could be their use of a digital marketing campaign centered around the Pokémon Go video game. This captured the attention of local consumers who were involved in the Pokémon Go ecosystem.
Place: McDonald’s restaurants in Japan have a more modern and aesthetic feel to their outlets. Their restaurants have more tech-driven outlets as the Japanese culture and consumers are very much tech-driven. One such example could be turning McDonald’s Japan outlets into Pokémon Go “gyms”. They also focus on automated drive-throughs and also focus on tech-enabled fast check-out options. This shows how the atmosphere of a place and its operations differs based on the local consumer base.
Link to video commercial (Japan):
ポテナゲ「夜マック店長／夕焼けの歌（帰り道）」 15秒
( Potenage “Night Mac Manager/Sunset Song (On the Way Home)” 15 seconds )
References:
McDonald’s Menu Prices in India [Update 2023]
McDonald’s restaurant count 2022 | Statista
McDonald’s Menu With Prices [Updated September 2023]
McDonald’s Japan Success Case Study 2019: Investing in Market Research and Modernization to Revitalize Business and Woo Back Customers – ResearchAndMarkets.com
Pokémon Go finally goes live in Japan with McDonald’s the first sponsored location | TechCrunch
Successful Localization Strategy Of The Biggest Fast-food Brand In The World
McDonald’s Japan Growth Strategies
Mastering The Art of Localization with McDonald’s | MarsHub
Eating McDonald’s in Japan: A Comparison to American McDonald’s – Delishably
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