Marketing communications strategies and organizational impact

McDonald's Integrated Marketing Campaign

This paper is divided into two distinct sections. The first chapter is based on literature reviews of various scholarly works that are related to the topic of integrated marketing campaign that are also relevant to the McDonald marketing campaign that was created to celebrate the inherent democracy of the McDonald's brand. The first chapter is further divided into three parts; the first section mainly focus on advertising in general and then specifically into fast food advertising. The second section in literature review is based on new media as a marketing communication tool and lastly, in the same chapter different aspects of marketing campaign will also be analyzed. The second chapter is a personal reflection on the experience and lessons learnt by the student while preparing the dissertation.

Table of Content

CHAPTER ONE: Literature review

Introduction

Section one:

Advertising

Advertising theories

Types of advertising

1.2.1 Digital advertising

1.2.2 Physical advertising

1.3 Fast food advertising

1.4 Target audience

1.5 Method of advertising

1.6 Regulations and criticisms leveled against fast food advertisements

1.7 Effects of fast foods advertising on eating behavior

1.8 Changing attitude of the consumers

1.9 Good and bad elements of fast food advertisement

Section Two

2.0 New Media

2.1 Theoretical background of new media

2.2 Interactivity and new media

2.3 Segmentation criteria in new media

2.4 Linking new media with McDonald's marketing campaign

2.5 How McDonald will implement their integrated marketing campaign

2.5.1 Apps

2.5.2 Podcast

2.5.3 Ambient media

2.5.4 Co-creation

2.5.5 Public relation

2.5.6 Print Ads

2.5.7 Events

2.5.8 Banner

Section Three

3.0 Response: marketing communication model

3.1 Hierarchy of effects model

3.1 Integrated marketing campaign model

3.2 The marketing environment

3.3 The marketing environment changing

3.4 How McDonald integrated marketing campaign relates to the target audience

CHAPTER TWO

Individual reflective analysis

2.0 Introduction

2.1 Recollection of experiences

2.2 Personal feelings and learning from the experience

2.3 Group dynamics and learning from the experience

2.4 Lessons for future projects

2.5 Conclusion

CHAPTER ONE: LITREATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This chapter is divided into three distinct sections with all relating to the McDonald integrated marketing campaign. The first section can be generally be assumed to be based on the concept of advertising and also specifically on the topic of food advertising. The second section widely talks about marketing communication through new media under different topics. It is in the second topic whereby the dissertation will critically discuss the different advertising mediums that will be used for the McDonald integrated marketing campaign. Lastly, the dissertation has discussed on using the IMC model in the marketing campaign; the marketing environment changing and how McDonald's IMC relates to the chosen target audience.

SECTION ONE

1.0 Advertising

Cook (2001) stated that advertising is a form of communication whereby the sponsor tries to persuade a targeted audience e.g. British consumers in the age group of 16-34 years old, to adopt some actions with regards to its services, ideas or products. Graydon (2003) also described advertising as "a persuasive or informative message transmitted by a non-personal medium and paid for by a distinguished sponsor whose company or product is identified in some way." In the McDonald's campaign, the company aims at creating awareness to their customers who are in the age group of 16 -34 years, about the inherent democracy of the restaurant chain. Through this awareness the restaurant chain believe that customers will be more attracted to their brand and it will be able to boost up their sales levels.

Advertisement as earlier stated are usually costly and are transmitted through traditional media that comprise of mass media such as radio advertisement, television commercials, magazines, newspaper, direct mail or outdoor advertisement; or new media such as text messages and websites. Commercial advertisements such as the one that will be carried out by McDonald's are basically aimed at increasing the consumption of a company's product or services through "branding," which involve continuously showing the company's image or product in the media with an effort of trying to associate it with specific qualities such the inherent democracy of the McDonald's brand.

Johnson, (2008)) in his studies stated that modern advertising commenced in the late 19th and early 20th century same period when mass production also developed, and by the year 2010 the spending on modern advertising had jumped up to USD 500 billion across the globe. It is important to note that the four largest advertising companies include WPP, Publics, Omnicom and Interpublic.

1.2 Advertising theories

According to Kleppner, (1966) in is studies he noted three key advertising theories which comprise of leverage points theory, means-end theory and hierarchy of effects model. The leverage points theory state that advertisements are created in a manner so as to shift consumer understanding of a product's benefit to linking the aforesaid benefits with personal value. The means-end theory prescribed that messages inscribed in adverts should be able to lead prospective consumers to a desired end state. The hierarchy of effects model clearly state the objective of each and every advertising campaign and in doing so it suggests that there are six steps which a prospective consumer follows through when making a purchase. These steps are; awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction and purchase (Wernick, 1991).

In practical terms the McDonald's integrated marketing campaign seems to have applied the integrated model since the objectives of the campaign are clear. Secondly, it has applied the means-end theory since the marketing campaign has a message that leads consumers to a desired end state, which is become loyal to the brand.

1.2 Types of advertising

Commercial or non-commercial advertising can take place in various mediums. However, advertising is distinctively classified into two types that include; physical advertising and digital advertising (Mulvihill, 2001).

1.2.1 Digital advertising

The most popular form of digital advertising is the television advertising and it is also the most expensive type of digital advertisements as well as the most effective mass-market advertising. Most valuable television advertisements usually come up during very popular television programmers and sponsors pay for commercial airtime so that their advert can be aired during the commercial breaks of those popular TV programmes. For example in the UK, McDonald should opt to place their advertisement during football matches since football is a very popular sport their and also part of the British culture thus the advertisements are likely to be seen by a big number of the population (Young, 2005).

It is imperative to note that long-format TV adverts are termed infomercial and usually take up longer time than usual adverts i.e. 5 minutes or even longer. The key objective of infomercial is to generate impulse purchases. The infomercials usually display, describe and demonstrate products and their features, and at times they also include testimonials from consumers who have used the products and product specialists.

Another popular form of digital advertising is radio advertising which only transmits adverts via sound. Sponsors buy airtime in radio station which they can use to air their commercials. In the light that McDonald chooses to use radio to air their adverts it should buy airtime in most popular radio stations and also during most popular radio shows such as the morning breakfast show or evening rush hour show.

Online advertisement is also another form of digital advertising which McDonald can use to spread their marketing campaign. Due to the fact that Britons in the age group of 16-34yrs are all techs savvy and regularly use the internet this can also be an effective medium of advertising for McDonald and its key advantage is that it is cheaper compared to TV or radio advertising.

1.2.2 Physical advertising

The most popular form of physical advertising is in press advertising. This is where sponsors buy spaces in popular local dailies, magazines or journals i.e. anything from media with a wide readership customer base. There are two forms of press adverting and they include classified advertising and display Ad is the most suitable for McDonald's marketing campaign since it is a larger ad which will include even the McDonald brand and usually run in an article section of a magazine, newspaper or journal (McFall, 2004).

The other forms of physical advertising include billboard advertising, in-store advertising, coffee cup advertising, street advertising and mobile advertising celebrity, which generally involve advertising on billboards or digital screens that have been mounted on moving vehicles.

It is important to note that there is a new trend in the form of advertising, which has made traditional mediums of advertisements such as TV, radio and newspapers less common. The new trend is the rise in new media which is largely associated with the development of internet technology. Advertisements now come in the form of pop-under, popup, flash, advert-gaming, banner and e-mail advertisements.

1.3 Fast food advertising

Since this dissertation is based on a marketing campaign of McDonalds, it is imperative to critically analyze fast food advertising with respect to McDonald's integrated campaign that celebrate the inherent democracy of the McDonald brand.

Leake (2005) described fast food advertising as simply the promotion of fast food restaurants and the fast food products through an array of different advertising medium. Noe (2006) further stated that advertisements for food and beverages passes on a message that is powerful enough to trigger consumption of the food advertised and positive emotions linked to food consumption. The message conveyed in the food adverts have the powers to act as real-world primes and lead to corresponding eating behaviors. However, given the types of foods, which are mostly fast foods or snacks and consumption benefits that are typically promoted in food adverts, what is primed or activated in the human conscious is usually consumption of those foods that are rather unhealthy. Therefore fast food advertisement that conveys snacking and fun i.e. those mostly shown when children programs are on air, will automatically trigger consumption behavior not only among children but also adults. Furthermore food advertising will not only trigger consumption of the food that has been advertised but also any food that is available. One important thing to note about fast food advertising is that it is not regulated as compared to alcohol advertisement although there have been repeated calls for it to be minimized.

A new development in the fast food advertisement is the inclusion of healthy options in their campaigns. This development came after increased criticism of the harmful effects of fast food and one of the health risks that are largely blamed on fast food diet is obesity, which is commonly associated with various diseases such as heart attack. However, the increased criticism of fast foods as a key contributor of various diseases has negatively impacted the business of fast food restaurants since most people now prefer eating healthy. But in a bid to mitigate this impact, fast foods restaurants have set up marketing campaigns that seek to demystify this notion. With regards to McDonald's proposition which labels the restaurant chain as "The People's Restaurant" this means that McDonald has observed all healthy options in its menu and it also has fast food products for people who prefer eating healthy.

1.4 Target audience

Fast food advertisements are always directed towards a particular audience and over the past it has widely been observed that these advertisements usually target children and students whom are a target audience that mostly prefer and enjoy fast foods. For example the McDonald's happy meals are an example of fast food advertisement that target children, since it included a toy often wrapped with a newly-released children's film. Secondly, McDonald used the Ronald McDonald which was a clown mascot used for advertising that was initially introduced in 1963 targeting mainly young children.

The Carl's Jr. And Burger King fast food advertisements have widely been seen to target a different audience whom are young teenagers and college-age men whom are believed to have a big appetite for large, meat-filled burger and other rich satisfying food. The advertisements targeting this audience are usually coupled with sexual images and messages that are appealing and attractive to the target audience.

The McDonald's campaign that celebrates the inherent democracy of the McDonald's brand target consumers in the age group of 16 to 34 years because they believe these audience have begun to notice change and sense momentum around the brand. Secondly, they feel comfortable and welcomed in their restaurants mostly due to its pleasant ambience and WI-FI environment, thus it is a place they can be themselves. This group comprise of a diverse set of individuals who are bound by shared experiences and rituals which they can all relate to, because they all have a favorite at McDonald's restaurants.

1.5 Method of advertising

The most common methods of fast food advertising include; TV campaigns, print media campaigns, billboard campaigns, event sponsorship such as sports events, product placement in TV programs and films and branding on items such as clothes or plate.

Among the most notable advertising methods that McDonald's restaurant has used over the past include the 2005 viral marketing campaign during super bowl XXXIX and in 2001 the company placed a 30-foot pizza hut log on the side of unmanned rocket in the outer space just after making the first delivery of pizza to the outer space.

1.6 Regulations and criticisms leveled against fast food advertisements

Wide criticisms have been level against fast food advertisements and most of the critics cite these adverts as the contributing factor to the rising cases of obesity mostly among children who like fast food. Different countries have advocated for strict regulations to control these adverts that attract people to "junk foods" that are deemed unhealthy (Simmonds, 2006).

In the Great Britain for example there is a stiff regulation that regulates on advertisements of "junk food" that target young children, these regulations are contained in the Children's food bill. Another commendable action in the UK that was geared towards regulation of fast food advertisement was when in November, 2006 when the UK's Office of Communication announced that it planned to ban TV adverts for fast foods before, during and after TV programming whose target audience were children in the age of 16 years and below.

In June, 2006, the food standards agency (FSA) called for regulatory measures that could prevent fast food advertisement on TV before 9pm. The FSA also advocated for the disassociation of films and TV characters from fast food and also stopping the use of celebrity appearance in such adverts. Such calls by the FSA have widely been refuted by television stations and fast food companies citing that they will greatly reduce their revenue and hence endanger their business to a point of possible closure. However, Sweden is the only country that has so far been successful in implementing these regulations, since all advertisements targeting young children in the age of 12 years and below have been banned including those of fast foods ads (Derbyshire, 2006).

Bobbie J., and Owen G., (2006) is quick to note that, with strict fast food advertisements on radio, TV and print media, the fast foods restaurants have now opted for internet advertising to reach their target audience because it is less regulated.

The accuracy of images and messages on the fast food advertisements have also been criticized because of their inaccuracy. For example critics argue that a fast food product can be of poor quality than initially presented in the adverts. Also the message contained in the adverts have been cited as misleading for example terming fried chicken as part of healthy diet according to medical doctors is false and misleading information of which some consumers may believe, while the true fact is contrary to what is been said by the fast food advert.

With regards to the current McDonald's campaign that celebrates the inherent democracy of the McDonald brand it is not bound to be affected by some of the fast food advertisement regulations that are in place in the United Kingdom. Also it can be criticized because the campaign will not be specially promoting fast food products of McDonalds' but rather it will celebrating the inherent democracy of the McDonald Brands. Another factor that will shield the campaign from harsh regulations is the fact that the marketing campaign target audience who are in the age group of 16 to 34 years old and are above the age limit where strict regulations of fast food advert are imposed on.

1.7 Effects of fast foods advertising on eating behavior

According to United Kingdom's surgeon general "obesity is the fastest growing cause of disease and death in UK." And according to a report released by the World Health Organization (2003), obesity is leading contributor to the worldwide burden of chronic disease and disability. This trend is mostly evident in young people than older people. Statistics indicate that the percentage of children and adolescents in Britain who are obese or are at risk of becoming obese has tripled in a span of thirty years to stand at 37 per cent and 34 per cent respectively (Story and French, 2004).

Young, B. (2003) argues that the obesity epidemic has been caused by two major factors that include lack of physical activity or exercise among people and secondly consumption of foods i.e. junk foods that have high sugar and fat content. Health practitioners point an accusing finger at the unhealthy messages that are conveyed in fast foods advertisements as the leading cause of unhealthy consumption among people.

UK's office of communication notes that at least on an average in a day children view 15 TV food advertisements and surprisingly 98 per cent of these adverts tend to promote foods that contain high content of sugar and fat. It is also observed that these adverts portray to children unhealthy consumption pattern with positive results, which is not entirely true or justifiable. And besides the delicious taste, these adverts also show other benefits associated with these fast foods are happiness, fun and being "cool" (Brownell and Horgen, 2004).

Federoff et al. (1997) in their studies stated that research conducted on advertising to children had a conclusive result that showed fast food advertisement leads to greater preference and purchase of the fast food advertised. Another study conducted by Gorn and Goldberg (2002) showed that children who watch TV for longer hours often have unhealthy diets and are more likely to weigh more.

Pechmann and Knight (2002) in their studies showed that children consumed more immediately after viewing a series of at least 8-10 food commercials than when they view the same name of adverts for other products that are non-food.

1.8 Changing attitude of the consumers

Over the past years there has been increased campaign and sensitization on the harmful effects contributed by fast foods that have high sugar and fat content. These foods have largely been blamed for the obesity epidemic that currently is affecting mostly children in the United Kingdom and other developed nations of the world. Due to this fact the government as well as other health agencies has increased their calls for consumption of foods with low fat and sugar content, this is in a bid to reduce the number of patients suffering from obesity related illness such as heart attack. Medical practitioners have also advised on the need to regularly exercise or engage in physical activity that can aid in burning of the excess fat in one's body.

The awareness campaign on harmful effects of mostly fast foods which have high sugar and fat content has lead to a change of attitude among consumers since they are now keener on eating a healthy diet than feeding on junk foods that have great negative consequences on one's health.

The change in attitude has seen a general reduction in the consumption of fast foods that have high fat and sugar content as well as red meat. Secondly, it is nowadays common to see people do physical exercise like jogging or going to the gym so as to keep fit and healthy.

This change of attitude among consumers has even lead to an increase of the number of vegetarians who only eat foods that are purely composed of vegetables and grains. The rising trend of vegetarianism is largely attributed to the health benefits that are associated with the diet, and hence it is the main reason why many people are converting to a vegetarian diet.

The changing attitude among consumers poses a risk to fast food restaurant industry and in order to keep in touch with this new trend, fast food companies have been forced to reduce the amount of sugar and fat in their products. They have also introduced foods that are purely made up of vegetables instead of the traditional greasy red meat or chips.

1.9 Good and bad elements of fast food advertisement

With the changing attitude of consumers and increased awareness it would be practically wrong to place a fast food advert that portrays products that are shiny or greasy from the high fat content on them. It will also be bad to portray that fast food is good for one's healthy i.e. It has medicinal values since this is utterly incorrect and unjustifiable.

However, a good element of fast food advert that will be welcomed by alert or conscious consumers is one that shows that the particular fast food has low fat content. These adverts should also present an array of products that are available for both a vegetarian customer and a non-vegetarian customer i.e. The advert should be deemed to favor everyone in the society who have different diets.

Also mentioning in the advert that the fast food product has been prepared according to standards that are not harmful to one's health will attract a lot of consumers who are keen on observing a healthy diet.

SECTION TWO

2.0 New Media

According to studies conducted by Wardrip-Fruin et al. (2003) new media technology is any form of application that is designed to transmit any communication message or information through data networks, digital techniques or computerized systems. New media technology is highly associated with transfer of information that is designated to be manipulated in some way. And most form of technologies that are associated with new media is interactive in nature and contains compressed data that are developed in such a manner that it can be accessible in a variety of markets. The most common form of technologies that are associated with new media includes internet-based concepts such as websites or digital avenues such as DVDs and CD-ROMS; computer games and computer multimedia. Consequently anything perceived to be old media is not a part of new media, which include things such as films, televisions or paper-based products such as magazines, newspapers and books. It is also important to note that the main difference between new media and old media is that, new media digitize content into bits unlike old media.

There are basic factors that are common across all forms of new media technology. First, all forms of new media technology can be utilized in nearly all the markets across the world i.e. they are not bound or limited to any geographical factor such a s distance. New media technologies also have great level and speed of communication which is attributed to the fact that they highly utilize the internet. Thirdly, the high level of interactivity enables the users to adopt new methodologies while they are transferring their own information. Fourthly, the new media technologies can incorporate other forms of communication such as telephony and video that were isolated by old media in the past.

Referring to the studies conducted by Leah and Sonia (2002), they presented some competitive qualities of new media that are not possessed by old media and this includes the "democratization" of developing, publishing, transferring and consumption of content via the media. Such a quality makes new media technology the most suitable mode of carrying out McDonald's marketing campaign which is in fact a celebration of the inherent democracy of McDonald's brand. This means that despite the McDonald's brand conveying a message of inherent democracy it can also use new media which is also democratic method of advertising on conducting a marketing campaign. In addition Logan, (2010) re-asserts that new media offers a unique opportunity of "on-demand" access on any digital device regardless of the time or place of the user, as well as creative participation, interactive user feedback and socialization based on a media content.

In terms of business Holmes (2005) states that business can be harnessed with proper utilization of new media technologies since the interactive nature of the technologies facilitate dialog between the producers, retailers as well as customers. And hence by using this information gathered producers can focus on delivering products that meet greater costumer expectation and satisfaction. Flew and Humphreys (2005) further states that new media technologies offer opportunities for interactive advertising which can be used to reach a wider consumer base. For example through social networks such as facebook and twitter, companies can use these form of new media so as to reach out and target a possible group of consumers. While in terms of public relations, new media technology can be used for direct interaction between an organization/individual with the public. For example politicians can use new media to directly interact with their supporters through a "question and answer" session via new media.

2.1 Theoretical background of new media

Mark and Reena (2006) in their studies traces back the origin of new media to the 1980's when Alan Kay and fellow workmates at Xerox PARC began to delegate the power of personal computers to individual employees, rather than traditionally having the company to have powers over the employees' personal computers. This was followed in the late 1980s and early 1990s when computer designs were made to be consistent with social changes taking place.

New media fully bloom within the last 25 years when media stopped relying only on analog broadcast and print media models like the radio and TV. There was a paradigm shift in media which revolved around the use of digital technologies such as computer games and mostly the internet. However, as earlier noted that old media is not part of new media, it is important to note that old media has also been transformed in the advent of new media since we now currently have "old" media in different formats such as online publications and digital television which is a representation of the new media.

According to Oliver (2007) the advent of new media has lead to radical shift of who is controlling information, resources and experiences. Robert, (1992) in his scholarly works citied a few implications of new media and he stated that the current evolution of a universal interconnected network of video, audio and mobile/computer texting will eliminate the distinction between mass and interpersonal communication and also between private and public communication. Moreover, new media will facilitate the interconnection and overlapping of different forms of communication that were previously distinguished.

2.2 Interactivity and new media

Referring to the studies conducted by Leah and Sonia (2002) they stated that new media technologies have the capacity to enable user to user interactivity and also interactivity between the information and the user. This statement tends to prove that new media has brought about a paradigm shift that existed in the traditional model of communication which was "one-to-many" i.e. mass media communication. However, now through new media it is "many to many" communication i.e. individualization media. Oliver, (2007) further stated that interactivity option in most new media has so far been enabled by media convergence, the digitalization of media and dissemination of internet access points.

Interactivity exits not only when the conversational dynamics takes place in a face-to-face conversation, but also in mediated communication forums. Moreover, interactivity is also present in programming work like the video games. However, Robert, (1992) is quick to note that traditional media or "old" media also offered some form of interactivity. For example listeners' participation in television and radio talk shows and also writing open letters to print media editors is a form of interactivity that exist in "old" media.

The presumption that all new media technologies offers some form of interactivity is not entirely correct since it can be witnessed that some new media technology doesn't at all offer the user new experience in terms of interactivity. For example digital television, which is a form of new media technology, has only been able to increase the number of television channels that can be offered and their nature, but it has not changed from being "one-to-many" communication model, and hence it still remains non-interactive from the users perspective.

According to Mark and Reena (2006) interactivity in new media is most evident in online computer games, which is large and growing at a tremendous speed. The level of interactivity in these online computer games is among the leading significant innovations in new media technology. Games such as; second life, the Sims online and World of war craft are an example of online computer games that enable users to forges a relationship and feeling of belonging.

Consequently the interactive nature of new media technologies can best suit McDonald's current marketing campaign that celebrates the inherent democracy of the McDonald's brand. Through interactivity option offered by new media technologies the target audience of customers between the age of 16 to 34 yrs can be able to relay their feedback of opinions which can further be used to make the McDonald's brand even better and customized to customers expectation and satisfaction. Allowing for interaction between the organization and its customers is a democratic act on its own and using new media technology in McDonald's marketing campaign that celebrate the inherent democracy of the brand will ensure that the mode of communication or advertising is consistent with the message relayed.

2.3 Segmentation criteria in new media

Just like commercial businesses; marketers also segment their market according to three broad criteria that include; behavioral characteristic, personal characteristic and benefits sought after by customers. This segmentation criterion is summarized in the table below alongside with some attributes that are deemed relevant to new media marketing.

Major segmentation approaches

Characteristic

Attributes

Social marketing

Personal:

Demographic

Psychographic

Geo-demographic

Age, gender, social class, ethnicity, family profile, income and employment

Lifestyle, personality

Geographical area, neighborhood type

Health status

Health belief, motivation,

Residence in disadvantaged area

Behavioral

Usage, loyalty, response, attitudes

Health behaviour, stage of change

Benefits

Benefit sought

Barriers

Source: Baker (2005, p 710)

Demographic segmentation is relevant because as earlier noted there has been a change of attitude by consumers with regards to fast food products, this is mainly because of health reasons. The existing health status of a particular market segment will help a fast food company such as McDonald to know which specific type of fast food product to market to this group i.e. those fast foods that are prescribed for persons suffering from a particular disease or just the regular.

Due to the fact that many diseases in developed nations are attributed to lifestyle or personality of individual persons; psychographic segmentation is of clear relevance. If for example a fast food marketer is aware that many children in the United Kingdom are suffering from obesity, this information will not be enough since the marketer needs to understand why some children in the UK are motivated to engage in lifestyle behavior that cause obesity and why other are not, and hence develop product offering accordingly. Secondly, information that enables a marketer to distinguish between his target audience on the basis of their norms, beliefs and values is significant since the personality of an individual influences his/her adoption of health and risk behaviors.

Segmentation with regards to where people live is important because in an instance where a particular area is perceived to have high number of obese people, marketers of fast foods will be keen to market their product on an angle to portray their products as healthy diets or foods that are low on fat and sugar.

In marketing, behavioral characteristics may include attitude towards usage, responsiveness, readiness to use, transactional history and volume of product usage. If the results are positive on a particular segment then the marketer will harness his/her marketing campaign in this specific target audience to further increase consumption of the product by that particular market segment.

Segmentation based on benefit sought after by customer is specific to the particular product being marketed; for example, the market of fast food products could be segmented on the basis of those who eating fast foods as a leisure activity that is during leisure time, and those who consume fast foods in their daily diet, that is during meal times such as lunch and supper.

2.4 Linking new media with McDonald's marketing campaign

McDonald restaurant chain has already segmented its' market and it aims at targeting customers in the age group of 16 to 34 years old. This target audience is considered as tech-savvy who are very active in the social networks, and hence for McDonald to effectively communicate their marketing campaign message which is celebration of the inherent democracy of the McDonald brand, to this target audience, it will be of significance if it used mediums such as Apps, podcast, co-creation, ambient media, events, print ads, banner and public relation. These will accord McDonald Company various advantages and an opportunity to effectively spread their campaign message.

According to Logan, (2010) using Apps in the company social sites such as facebook and twitters will accord users the chance to interact with one another and build healthy relationships with each other. By joining these social networking websites companies can facilitate the interaction between users who could be current consumers or prospective customers and the company as well as the marketed products. Users will find the interaction personal and similar to their past experience with social networking websites interactions.

By using Podcast the company will enable its target audience to access the campaign message both in audio and video form, and the customers will further share this links with their social friends, hence aiding in spreading the message further. And because the marketing campaign will be put out to the public and repeated many times across the shared links; McDonald will gain from more traffic as it will increase their data base.

The targeted audience for McDonald is perceived to prefer co-creation and products that can be used for ambient media. This further assures McDonald of their success in their marketing campaign that will use tools such as ambient media and co-creation to carry out its promotion. Also due to the fact that the target audience mostly prefer social networking sites, McDonald will exploit the opportunity and constantly remind and update followers about their delicacies/menu and other added advantage such as special offers and their Wi-Fi environment inside the restaurants

2.5 How McDonald Company will implement their integrated marketing campaign

In the McDonald's marketing campaign it will integrate eight different advertising mediums so as to convey their campaign of the inherent democracy of the brand to its target audience who are persons in the age group of between 16 years old to 34 years old. The different advertising mediums comprise of; Apps, podcast, banner, ambient media, events, print ads, co-creation and public relations.

2.5.1 Apps

Ceruzzi (2000) in his studies also described Apps as application software; he further stated that Apps is computer software developed in a manner to aid users conduct certain specific tasks. Common examples of Apps include; media player, graphics, office suites, accounting software and enterprise software. A majority of these Apps primarily deal with documents. Apps come in different forms i.e. they can be integrated with computer system software or they may come separately as an additional installment in the computer's software.

In the McDonald's integrated marketing campaign it will adopt user-written software so as to meet the objectives of users' specific needs. User written software can comprise of animation and graphics scripts, scientific simulations, word processor macros, spreadsheet templates or e-mail filters. These users written software are usually created by the users themselves.

For the marketing campaign of McDonald an App will be created online for online applications like a paint application which will be used with the target audience so as to develop a good drawing for ambient media. In the painting application the target audience can personalize food products such as burger whereby the recipes will be displayed. Also through the use of Apps the company can create a constant reminder to target audience to live healthy and also eat healthy, to do so the Apps could display remainders for the target audience to eat a fruit or vegetables at least daily. Through this the McDonald marketing campaign will conform to what is considered 'positive fast food advertising' that promotes a healthy diet as well as a healthy nation (Campbell and Aspray, 1996).

Podcast

Podcast was previously termed as webcast; the reason for the change in naming was due to the advent of iPod which played a significant role in increasing its popularity and also the developing of web feeds. Gil de Zungia et al., (2010) described non-streamed webcast or podcast as a series of digital files that can either come in the form of video or audio which are then passed out periodically and are often downloaded through web syndication.

Podcast is different from the other means of accessing media file over the worldwide web such as streamed webcasting or direct download. Through podcast, a group of video or audio files that centrally stored on the main distributor's server as web feeds can be accessed by using a pod-catcher which is user application software that can access the web feeds in the distributor's server. The process of podcasting can be automated to enable the download of files automatically (Berry, 2006).

For the McDonald marketing campaign a podcast will be created based on the target audience thinking of McDonald and their recommendation. It is important to note that both podcast and Apps will only be effective tools of advertising on a target audience who are already loyal customers of the McDonald brand.

Ambient media

The term ambient media draws its origin back to 1999 when it was popularized in Great Britain's advertising industry. According to Ben, (2004 ambient media is a new generation of outdoor services and products that are categorized as alternative media or non-traditional media. Ambient media can well be integrated into marketing communication or it can be used alone as marketing campaign medium. The success of using ambient media as a promotion avenue mainly depends on the chosen media format as well as the message that goes with it.

The inclusion of ambient media in McDonald's marketing campaign is a wise choice since it is lauded as an effective medium for relaying brand message to the target audience and has the ability to develop even better top of mind recall within the audience that are targeted by the campaign. This will offer an opportunity for McDonald to maintain brand awareness that had earlier been created by other different advertising mediums. Miller (2006) further stated that ambient media can directly interact with the target audience during their daily routines and it can also produce mass awareness to a large audience in centralized locations.

In their marketing campaign McDonald will create McDonald bags and these bags will not only be used for the purpose of McDonald alone but for general shopping as well. The bags will be available in all McDonald branches and other selected outlets where the target audience will buy each bag at a lower price of 1.50 pounds; 50 cent from each sale will be channeled towards charity activity.

Co-creation

In the application of co-creation as an advertising channel in the McDonald's integrated marketing campaign, the company will introduce a new healthy burger into the market with no name but with only the normal logo of McDonald. In this case the target audience will be invited to provide a name for the burger thus creating brand awareness, loyalty and also enhancing customer relationship.

Public relation

Due to the fact that McDonald's present marketing campaign basically seeks to create brand awareness this means that public relations will play a key role in ensuring that the message effectively reaches the target audience.

The company will create fair trade across every section of McDonald menu to innovate the outlook of the entire business. It will also introduce raffle draws for staff, whereby 50 pence from the ticket sales will go to charity and the winner will get paid a free holiday trip with family or friend.

Print ads

The company will also use this traditional form of advertising. Print advertisement will be made on fashion magazines, cookery magazines as well as health magazines. In addition prints and billboards will be pasted across major tube stations, town centres and also in public vehicles.

Events

The company will also use events to carry out its marketing campaign. The company will organize a seven days camp/reality show of McDonald for the target audience whereby they will be feeding on McDonald's food products and also participating in lots of sporting activities. During the event, the target audience will be shown past experience of people trying to lose weight so as to nature a positive outlook for the brand.

Since the application to attend to this sponsored event by the company will be done online, the company will be able to increase their data base.

Banner

The company will also use a banner to spread its' campaign message and this banner will be displayed in institutions of learning where it is likely to be seen by the target audience who are most likely still studying. Secondly, the banner will also be placed around social places such as clubs or sporting grounds where it is very likely they will be seen by the target audience.

SECTION THREE

3.0 Response: marketing communication model

After conducting market segmentation and identifying a particular target audience and its underlying characteristic, the marketer / advertising company which in this case is McDonald Fast foods Company should consider that type of response that it aims at receiving from the target audience as a result of the marketing campaign. This desired response will influence the medium o advertising chosen by the company, the message relayed through the advert or how it is presented and the source of the advert.

Since it has already been noted that consumers usually undergo certain stages before they make a decision to buy an advertised product or not; the advertising company should therefore identify these buyer-readiness stages and clearly determine where the target audience is with regards to the stages. Cardwell (2002) stated that an advertising company should any of the following response that may come from the target audience which consists of;

Behavioral response -- the response here will be the change of behaviour of the consumer on the advertised product or company brand.

Affective response -- the response from the target audience should be a change in their attitude towards the advertised product or company brand

Cognitive response -- the desired response is that the message should be understood and considered

There are models that have been developed to show how marketing campaigns have the potential across a number of consecutive stages to influence a consumer so that he can make the decision to purchase. These models evidently show simple and steady movement through the various stages that are involved before a consumer makes the decision. The probability of marketing communication getting the desired response declines along these different stages and thus the probability of the last stage recording success is very low.

In this present dissertation we will discuss two common marketing communication models, which are used to understand consumer's response to communication stimuli.

3.1 Hierarchy of effects model

The hierarchy of effects models are DAGMAR and AIDA that tend to show that sequences of responses are received as the marketing communications reaches the target audience. The main underlying principle of these models is that a marketing message acts as a stimulus, which aid in the attainment of a 'conditioned' response. Thus marketing communication can be designed in such a manner so as to achieve its objective through a sequence of responses. For example for a marketing campaign that aims at creating awareness to the target audience, advertising may the most effective form of conducting the marketing communication. In a case where the company launches a marketing campaign with the aim that the target audience will gain desire, comprehension and liking of the advertised product, the use of brochures can be effective since they will offer more information that can aid in making purchasing decision. Thirdly, if the marketing campaign seeks to achieve an actual sale then use of personal selling and sales promotion can prove to be the most effective (Drucker, 1973).

The hierarchy of effects model prescribe how marketing communication can influence the attitude and behavior of targeted audience. The key merit of these models is that they enable the objective of a particular marketing promotion to be defined. In addition, through these models pre and post marketing campaigns survey can be conducted to demonstrate the effect which the marketing communication had.

However, these models have been faulted for being simply and not taking into account the complex behavioral and psychological process of consumers. These models assume that the target audiences are passive recipient of communication, while Fill, (2006) states consumers are active participants and seekers in the communication process. Consumer research show that consumers have certain parameters that they use to make a purchase decision e.g. price of product and quality. Besides these parameters there are also other psychological factors that affect consumer decision to buy which include; behaviour, motivation and attitude.

AIDA DAGMAR

Attention Unawareness

Interests Awareness

Desire Comprehension

Action Conviction

Action

3.2 Integrated marketing campaign model

The integrated marketing campaign model that was developed by Timothy Joyce is a remedy of the hierarchy of effects models since it integrates the behavioral and psychological elements of consumers unlike hierarchy of effects models. The main underlying principle of this model is that in order to understand how promotion works one need to understand behaviour of consumers, their psychology, the nature of the marketing campaign, and also understand the relationship of these factors. The effect of marketing communication is seen as a continuing relationship, with consistency and habit standing out as integral part of consumer's behavior.

The integrated marketing campaign model also acknowledges that attitude of consumer towards a particular product can be influence by both pre and post experience that consumer had with the advertised product. Furthermore consumers can sort look at marketing adverts so as to decrease their feelings cognitive dissonance; this usually occurs when a consumer believe that he/she may have not made the best purchase decision. Hence, marketing campaign can therefore play a role in reinforcing the correctness of the consumer's decision.

3.2 The marketing environment

As a basic principle in marketing, companies needs to start their business planning by accessing what customers in the outside environment need, rather than focusing on what the company prefers to produce. The firm should thus acknowledge that changes that are occurring in its broader marketing environment and appreciate how these changes can inspire a change in the pattern of production for it goods and services.

According to studies conducted by (Palmer and Hartley 2008 p. 40) they described a business marketing environment as "the individuals, organizations, and forces external to the marketing management function of a company that impinge on the marketing management's ability to develop and maintain successful exchanges with its customers." And as a fact some of the elements that exist in a business marketing environment have more immediate and direct effect than others.

Referring to the studies conducted by Donaldson and O'Toole (2007), they stated that there are three basic levels that exist in a business's marketing environment and they include; the macro-environment, the micro-environment and the internal environment.

The macro-environment includes things that are not under the control of the business organization but have an effect on the business. The factors presented in this environment are considered general pressure and forces rather institutions which the business directly relates to. The macro-environment comprises of; the ecological environment, technological environment, demographic environment, socio and cultural environment, political environment and macro-economic environment.

The micro-environment includes things that directly relate to the business organization. However, there are also other components in this environment of which the organization doesn't directly deal with them but their pre-existence nevertheless have an influence on the organization policies. Some of the key components in the micro-environment include; customers, suppliers, competitors, the government, value chains, pressure groups, local communities, the financial community and other business intermediaries.

Prenkert and Hallen (2006, p. 41) referred to the internal environment as "factors within the other functions of an individual firm that have an impact on the organization's marketing environment."

3.3 The marketing environment changing

It has been a common fact that the marketing environment is always on a transitional change and firms that fail to notice these changes usually end up with unsuccessful marketing campaign that only results to losses for the organization and subsequently poor financial performance. To avoid such a scenario firms are highly advised to frequently take note of changes that are taking place in their business environment, respond to these changes and also adapt to the changing marketing environment (Blanchard, 2008).

Since McDonald Company is a large multi-national company with numerous branches in the United Kingdom it is imperative that it take keen notice of its marketing environment. This information will help it in analyzing the changes in the marketing environment and then implement strategic responses to these changes. Information about the presiding state of the market environment will help the company to plan for its future marketing strategy, based also on the assumption of how the environment is expected to change.

The information that McDonald Company may obtain pertaining to its marketing environment will help it in monitoring the implementation of its marketing plans and also observe any cause of deviation in the overall plan. This therefore means that the information obtained with relation to the marketing environment is significant for the controlling and planning functions (Griffiths and Wall, 2007).

In the recent past a significant improvement has taken place on how organizations collect information, process it, transmit and lastly store the information. This development has greatly enhanced the information which organizations have pertaining to their marketing environment. This therefore means that no organization can simply gain competitive advantage by possessing this information since they are easily available to every company in the industry. Thus attention has shifted from how organizations acquire this information to how they best utilize this information that they have pertaining to their respective marketing environment.

In this present scenario, McDonald Company has used the information it has on the marketing environment to create an integrated marketing campaign model which includes the target audience and the different communication avenues that will be used for the campaign. From the model adopted the firm has taken keen note of each component of the environment that may have an influence on the company's performance. For example by putting a remainder in podcast and apps advertisement on the importance of eating a fruit or a vegetable daily, the firm has correctly utilized the information it has on the macro-environment which if it was ignored could have even seen its advertisements banned.

Blanchard (2008) stated that for companies to assess their own business and the marketing environment, it is important that they the use the SWOT analysis framework, which categorizes environmental issues in the form of threats and opportunities that are facing the business. These external factors are then compared with the business's internal strengths and weaknesses. The results obtained in the analysis can best inform the organization which marketing strategy or model to adopt so as to get maximum benefit.

3.4 How McDonald integrated marketing campaign relates to the target audience

After a comprehensive process of market segmentation, the McDonald Company decided to target prospective consumers in the age group of between 16 to 34 years old. These target audiences were considered relevant for their campaign that aims at celebrating the inherent democracy of the McDonald brand.

McDonald lined up an integrated marketing campaign that was most appealing to these target audiences and by doing so they choose different advertising mediums that are also appealing to this group of consumers. The integration of eight different mediums of advertising is more likely to bear positive fruits as well as attain the objectives of the marketing campaign. This is because all the advertising channels that have been chosen for the campaign are highly used and also they are highly likely to be seen by the target audience, thus the level of awareness of the campaign will definitely increase amongst the targeted audiences.

CHAPTER TWO

Individual reflective analysis

2.0 Introduction

Under this section I will personally give my personal account about the experience I had while writing up and preparing the dissertation both from the group perspective and also from my own personal perspective. The information I will spelt out under here is an analytical account of what I have learnt throughout the entire process.

But before I forge ahead and give my personal reflection, which is a consolidation of facts of what I learnt from the dissertation experience, it is important that I mention what individual reflective analysis is and what it entails. This definitions or descriptions obtained from different scholarly works will aid the reader in understanding what is it exactly that am writing about and why is it important.

According to Atkins and Murphy (1993) they defined individual reflective analysis as a process of internally examining and exploring issues of concern, triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self, and which result in a changed conceptual perspective. In his definition Schon (1983) stated that it using one's own experience to provide learning and that self-initiated learning concerns the whole person, both feeling and intellect, and in this way the learning becomes lasting and pervasive. Webb and D'Souza (1995 p. 15) in his studies is quoted defining personal reflection in simpler terms as "a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse and evaluate and so inform learning from practice."

From the definitions given above by various scholars it can be asserted that through this individual reflective analysis that I have done, I am supposed as a learner to clearly identify lessons that I have personally learnt from the dissertation experience and how I have taken this learning forward.

I have categorized my personal reflection into five distinct section with the first one being recollection of experience where I have spelt out the pre-recorded recollection of key stages and events in the development of both the literature review and the integrated marketing plan. Under the second sub-section I have written up my own personal feelings and learning from the experience. It is important to note that under this sub-section I will explain specific roles I played, the problems I encountered and how I dealt with them. In the third sub-section I will write about the entire group's response to the dissertation process and also the learning experience obtained from working with the group. In the fourth sub-section I have spelt out lessons that I have learnt which I will apply in future group activities and projects so as to improve not only my own personal person but also for the entire group. Lastly I give a personal conclusion of the entire process.

It is important to note that diary entries greatly helped me in writing this personal reflection, since I was making daily entries on experiences that I have gained on that day while preparing and writing up the entire dissertation.

2.1 Recollection of experiences

This first part that we dealt with as group was in the preparation of the integrated marketing communication plan. In this task each group member was assigned different sections to write on or research on then at the end we compiled all the pieces together so as to present a complete integrated marketing communication plan.

Specifically I was assigned by the group to write about the objectives of the campaign. And since the key task was to create an integrated campaign that celebrates the inherent democracy of the McDonald, I my wrote objectives based on three different clusters that included; communication objectives of the McDonald's campaign, marketing objectives of the McDonald's campaign and business objectives of the McDonald's campaign. The classification of the objectives into three different groups helped me to come up with concrete aims and objectives that McDonald targeted through this campaign, which celebrated their inherent democracy, from a business sense, marketing and communication perspectives.

However I would like to state that for me to fill in all this objectives I repeatedly asked myself why would McDonald set up a campaign to celebrate their inherent democracy, while it is common for fast food companies to set up marketing campaign that are geared towards promoting their products. This twist from the norm offered me a unique opportunity to learn a new dimension of marketing which is not common i.e. A marketing campaign that is designed to celebrate the inherent democracy of a brand. In order to fill in the blanks and stay relevant with prevailing theories/scholarly works as well as link my integrated marketing plan with the literature review I thoroughly researched on different books that spell out the general objectives of marketing campaigns.