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Social Marketing: McDonald's
social marketing: McDonald's
Business executives are often perplexed by the continued expansion of society's expectations of business. For example, in the corporate world, many extensive laws and government regulations affect virtually all aspects of activities business. They play "almost all business decisions ranging from the production of goods and services to packaging, distribution, marketing and service" (Carroll, 1979, p. 98). Thus, not only responsible companies to maximize profits for owners and shareholders, and for the work within the legal framework also is expected to support the quality of their employees from work, to show his concern for the communities in which their companies operate, to minimize the impact of various risks on the global environment, and participate in purely social or philanthropic efforts.
Among researchers, this matter has caused a very rich and diverse literature investigating the role of business in society. Research in this area has followed two main streams. The most popular of these studies have focused on the relationship between the social responsibility of a company and its financial performance (McGuire, J., Sundgren, A., & Scheeweis, T., 1988, p. 858). The other stream of studies has examined the effect of the characteristics of board members and non-demographic population, about their individual responsiveness of corporate social orientation (Wood, 1991 p. 389).
Since the marketing of society implies some sort of corporate response to social demands, the first step is to identify and classify the numerous social needs. There are three categories of such needs. First, the survival needs consist of the diverse needs that are necessary for individual members segment for survival, such as food, housing, and preservation or restoration of health.
A second category concerns the needs of security. These are the needs that are necessary to protect members of the social segment signals against external and internal threats. Not only are nations establishments defense to protect against external threats but also to enact and enforce laws to protect individuals and other groups in society. Such laws cover numerous areas, from environmental protection to safeguard individual liberties.
The third category consists of growth of different needs which in turn can be divided into spiritual and material needs. The former have to do with enriching the segment of the social economy through (the allocation of limited resources) and technology (the use of tools and techniques to generate wealth). Spiritual needs are related spiritual growth with social segment, as they include metaphysics, education, science, arts and entertainment.
Social segments expect different actors to meet these needs. These agents can be an individual (for example, a parent who supports a family), one group (eg, political parties and groups interest representing its members), a business organization (eg, a company that supports the revitalization of the inner city), a nonprofit organization profit (for example, a hospital that serves the community), and the government (eg, for protection from external threats). Both the type and extent of needs to be fulfilled and the agent is expected to meet these social needs will depend on what segment culture and ethics, legal environment, and the extent that members of the social segment perceive that these needs are not met.
As a key member of society, a company should take into account the needs of society expected to be met by business. These requirements constitute a social demand. Therefore, the social demand is incorporated not only the demand for company products and services but also extends to meeting other needs of society. With this framework in mind, we can say that the scope of a business organization, ie what products and services it provides, is determined both by the organization and the expectations of society. In other words, we can say that a particular company working in various sectors of society are, in fact, two different areas. The failure of an organization to understand and meet the diverse demands of social segments in which it operates will lead to their rejection by society and their eventual disappearance. Consequently, the company's mission and goals should not only address to traditional organizational concerns such as profitability and markets served, but must also be concerned with identifying and meeting the different social expectations.
One aspect of social marketing includes partnerships that have emerged among environmental groups and businesses in the last decade. New relationships have been described as pioneering and innovative (eg, Long & Arnold, 1995; Wasik, 1996). In general, there are before the charity (eg, grants or sponsorships to environmental causes) and business relationships (eg, calendars, T-shirts produced by environmental groups) and to involve the expertise of the environmental and allow, to varying degrees, in joint problem-solving or decision making with strategic partner (Clair, Milliman, and Mitroff, 1995, p. 188). In this category are green product endorsements, audits by environmental groups to work programs or practices, and joint projects of the type carried out by the alliance green between McDonald's and Environmental Defense Fund, where the business practices of the member firms were evaluated and improved according to ecological criteria.
Green alliances also rhetorical function of a more complex traditional relationships with the company green. Here I Levy, who has established that management environment – ie business practices to reduce environmental damage of economic processes – responds to symbolic and political purposes, contributing to Building green business and to legitimize its role as manager of the natural environment (1997, p. 127). Green alliances, a strategy in corporate environmental management, also has a symbolic and political value – for both partners. The company borrows the environment not only knowledge but also the credibility of the group ecology, by their loyalty, implicitly or explicitly supported the company's shares – for example, the production of earth-friendly products and services or operation of an environmentally friendly way (Ottman, 1994, p. 86). The association also leads to corporate actors in the group in charge of the work of saving the earth.
McDonald's is the leader of the fast food industry, with operations worldwide employing approximately 500,000 people in 11,000 restaurants and service 22 million customers daily. When Environmental Defense (EDF) came to McDonald's, its entanglement in controversy over its packaging frustrated the company. From the perspective of EDF, the leading position of McDonald's, its problematic history of waste management, and the iconic value of waste management as an environmental issue made the company an attractive candidate for partnership. EDF was an important opportunity for environmental action and therefore greater visibility, high the opportunity to test their innovative approach to solving environmental problems through business associations.
With environmentalism on the rise among public general in the 1980s, the consumer-driven companies are particularly sensitive and subject to public pressure (Livesey, 1993, pp. 2-4). Plastic had been demonized by many environmentalist organizations, including grassroots groups Greenpeace and CCHW. The use-and-have philosophy at heart of McDonald's business and their peculiar plastic sandwich boxes of shells, which helped make the company one of the biggest individual users of polystyrene in the United States, McDonald's had a permanent objective of ecology groups (Livesey, 1993, p. 4).
Throughout the late 1980s, McDonald's and published a series of measures instituted friendly environment in their domestic operations. Consumption is reduced, for example, by using lighter weight paper in straws, paper bags and other items and recycled paper and cardboard packaging. In 1987, he changed polystyrene (used for the clamshells) blown with CFCs, the family of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer the plastic foam used hydrocarbon blowing agents (Annual Report, 1989, pp. 10-15). In 1989, the company established a pilot program in 450 stores in New England, to recycle their plastic clam (Livesey, 1993, pp. 12-14). In April 1990, pledged $ 100 million, or a quarter of the construction company's annual and remodeling budget to buy recycled materials for restaurant construction, remodeling, and operations under a program called "McRecycle" (Livesey, 1993, pp. 13-14).
In 1989 and 1990, McDonald's strengthened its management practices environment with a proactive public relations campaign. The centerpiece was the 1989 Annual Report, which highlighted the issue of the natural environment. McDonald's also offers in-store flyers to educate customers about company practices environmental management, policies, philosophies and positions on issues such as rainforest beef's ozone problem. Brochures environmental issues, including packaging, were available in their public relations department. In addition, McDonald's worked with several different environmental and nonprofit groups (eg, the World Wildlife Fund and the Smithsonian Institution) to co-produce primary school materials into the environment.
Annual Report 1989 McDonald's represents an aggressive attempt by the company to manage the public discourse around the role of business as an environmentally responsible corporate citizen and build itself as green. The report falls under the category of epideictic advocacy, the discourse of praise and blame that is commonly used to establish or consolidate value premises especially in corporate management issue campaigns, this discourse often serves as the basis for persuasive efforts (Cheney and Vibbert, 1987, p. 183). epideictic rhetorical construction of shared premises and loans from values and beliefs embedded in the common culture. In this case, because of the new public environmental awareness, McDonald's positions itself having regard to ecological and practical, both social and economic.
As described by the media, the 1989 Annual Report is "more like an Audubon Society brochure of a financial statement" (Horovitz, 1991 p. D2). images of nature, poetry and quotations from national and international figures prominent in the environmental movement (eg, Gro Brundtland) are interspersed throughout the report, together with the product and financial information. The fold contains an image of four pages of the jungle of northwest America with a quote from Chief Seattle about the proper relationship of man to the ground. The report itself is "dedicated" to a "Discussion of the challenges] [environment ahead "(McDonald's Annual Report, 1989, p. 2). The discussion is contained in a supplement of 10 pages.
The themes of dialogue, rational discourse, pragmatic solutions, the value of individual effort and shared social responsibility management or land which are reproduced in the supplement are initially articulated in the letter to shareholders. This letter is remarkable for what it omits as for what it says. It is at once involves the reader, inviting a dialogue, yet leaves ambiguous situation, particularly vis-á-vis the responsibility of the company and its intentions.
The supplement contains several distinct parts: a response to a letter from Dan Getty, a 11-year-old who calls for responsible action by (McDonald's Annual Report, 1989, pp. 7-8), an overview of philosophy McDonald's and historic commitment to "responsible conduct [] the environment", including the mandate of the company founder Ray Kroc to crews to clean up trash near McDonald's (p. 9), three sections addressing facts and expert opinions on solid waste management, resource conservation and recycling (pp. 10-15), and a collective call "to help [sic]" to meet the challenge of the environment (p. 16).
The letter of response to 11-year-old Dan Getty shows several of the rhetorical strategies of McDonald's uses to achieve a symbolic identification with their customers and the general public. First, McDonald's construction of himself as a naive, non-expert, and the innocent individual actor. Like Dan Getty and "people of all ages," McDonald's is "ask questions about our environment and learning the answers to environmental issues are "complex" (Annual Report, 1989, p. 7). It avoids the complexity inaction: "It's easy for each of us to claim that we are not responsible for these complex forces. But then we must ask, 'Who is it? " "(P. 8). At the same time, sounds a cautionary note: It is important to "do what is environmentally sound, when the responsible course of action becomes clear" (p. 7). Who or what will bring clarity for action is left ambiguous.
Secondly, the positions of McDonald's as one of a community of stewards of the land: "Every one of us, knowing what we have at stake, must commit to a course of action to preserve and improve the environment we have in trust for future generations .. . . You can count on "(p. 8). Appeal through the words of Gala theory author James Lovelock – "It's a personal action that counts" (quoted in McDonald's, 1989 p. 
– and founder Ray Kroc dictum – "None of us is as good as all of us" (quoted in Annual Report 1989, p. – call the son to seek help McDonald's is transformed into a call for all to act. Identifying actions and invites are personal. The identification with their customers, McDonald's asked to identify with it. McDonald's goes up to 11 years of age. Thus, through rhetorical sleight of hand – on (1992) Cheney words "pure juxtaposition of images … As a substitute for reasoned discourse, the argument" (p. 174) – McDonald's equates people business physical person and power differences – differences between the producer and consumer, corporate giant and small child – are made to disappear: The folks at McDonald's, no different from people everywhere, must act to save the Earth. Of course, on one level, the people of McDonald's are like people everywhere and, like them, to hold a series of views on the problem of the natural environment. However, on another level and at the same time, the people of McDonald's constitute a legal person.
McDonald's defends its environmental record by making a list of specific actions it has taken to manage waste and conserve resources by reducing, reusing and recycling. It cites experts who support their position on plastic containers and be noted the low contribution of industry to quick service restaurants throughout the U.S. waste. He also criticizes "the" Not In My Back Yard "syndrome – Or NIMBY "(for example, people in the communities of McDonald's who opposed the company's incinerators in their neighborhoods) that are barriers to solutions responsible waste (Annual Report, 1989, p. 11).
In addition, McDonald's emphasizes the individual personal action: Plant a tree, turn off light, recycle a spoon. However, also described as an active player in corporations seeking opportunities to work with individuals, public officials, and other enterprises as with the communities we serve.
The more McDonald's was established as a "green", most had to accommodate environmental issues affected for their business practices. McDonald's attempts at recycling, resource reduction, incineration, and the like were not merely symbolic. The company was the subject and the object of his own eco-discourse. The story emerging, built had a positive impact on the environment on the material plane, in addition to an open society the possibilities of dialogue with EDF.
In April 1991, the strength of McDonald's, EDF joint work gave its final product, a policy of reducing corporate waste and a comprehensive plan of action on waste reduction with 42 initiatives. Many real environmental improvements were generated by the working group. For example, environmental considerations are integrated into the decisions of the packaging company that had previously been driven by the quality and cost criteria (see Final Report of McDonald's, 1991). The media mostly praised the results of the alliance (Reinhardt, 1992, p. 14), and the story was recycled for several years (for example, Gutfeld, 1992). Ultimately, the partnership entered into the green business literature as a milestone that marks a change in relations between business and environmental groups (Long, FJ, and Arnold, MB, 1995, p. 80).
Therefore, in the footsteps of McDonald's in the management of environmental issues are examples of social marketing. People become increasingly aware of the damage may be caused by environmental products, packaging, products and production processes. Little by little you can learn products to adopt more environmentally friendly and, in particular, reject throwaway products. environmental issues are increasingly important for consumers as and this is reflected in the types of products that consumers want to use. Organizations have to change the nature of their products to meet these requirements. Most companies seem have a social conscience or see the benefits of meeting the demands of environmental issues, this is the case of McDonald's.
The belief that the responsibility environment is now a business function is based on research indicating that consumers want these changes and, theoretically, will be canceled investments industry by accepting higher prices. In a survey conducted by Dagnoli (1990), 82% of respondents said they had changed their purchasing decisions because of concerns environmental. Seventy-seven percent of respondents also reported that company's environmental reputation influenced their choice of brands. Environmentalism is sufficient concern that 78% of respondents said they would to a container environment if it were priced 5% higher than a container less than half environment. Another 47% said they would be willing to pay up to 15% more environmental packaging.
Companies involved in the environmental movement has noticed the increasing number of outlets is affected by consumers for the environment and, naturally, we expect that this trend can boost their companies' long-term benefits. companies proactive as McDonald's are trying to adopt leadership roles in the area of organic products in order to gain a competitive advantage (Smyth, 1991, p. 70).
For McDonald's, the marketing environment has become one of the primary social marketing tools. Although there is still much confusion on the specific characteristics of green marketing, one thing has been learned is that consumers do not always pay more for organic products (Winski, 1991, p. 3). Despite consumer claims to the contrary, the initial sales of environment friendly products and packaging has been slow (Reitman, 1992, B1). Trends Recent studies indicate a lack of willingness to pay higher prices in reality for these products (Wasik, 1992, p. 17).
Therefore, the current product market friendly environment is greater than ever. To capitalize on this movement, managers and vendors such as McDonald's case shows, it must promote the environmental benefits their products and keep prices within a range close to that of its competitors that do not emphasize environmental concerns. Promote environmentally friendly products will be more attractive to some customers, while the attributes for convenience will be attractive to others. Despite these aspects of the product range are important, and competitively priced environmentally friendly goods may be the key to capturing a significant market share. Once the high market shares are reached, the cost reduction programs should allow producers to increase profit margins of green products.
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