The Value Engineers » Innovation

McDonald’s uses ethnic marketing to attract mainstream audiences

Lou Ellerton — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:04:19 +0000

There’s nothing revelatory about the idea that ethnic foods are becoming more popular with mainstream consumers, or that consumers are seeking out more exotic flavours in food and drink. Witness Mintel’s flavour predictions for 2010, which touted traditionally ethnic ingredients such as cardamom, hibiscus, cupuaçu and rose water as emerging flavours of choice for US consumers.

Now, McDonald’s has taken ethnic marketing one step further, using African Americans, Hispanics and Asians to shape products and communications that the company then rolls out to its white, middle-class audiences.

According to McDonald’s US CMO, Neil Golden: “The ethnic consumer tends to set trends…So they help set the tone for how we enter the marketplace”.

While the fast food giant still uses specialist agencies to create communications tailored to minority ethnic audiences – particularly African Americans - it then increasingly puts mass-market spend behind them. A recent article in Business Week examines what it calls McDonald’s ’minority-shapes-majority’ strategy in more detail, and is well worth a read.

McDonald's recruitment ad targets African-American communities

The traditional model of marketing to minority ethnic communities has revolved around one of two things. In one, a mainstream company tailors its communications – and in rare cases, its product – to so-called niche audience using the services of a specialist agency. In the other, a specialist manufacturer finds their success in appealing to minority markets can translate to the mainstream, and adopts their communications accordingly.

McDonald’s decision to reverse the dynamic of ethnic marketing may not seem like a great leap forward at first sight, but it’s a strategy that could have a dramatic impact on FMCG markets in both the US and the UK.

Inevitably, success will see imitators riding the wake of the Golden Arches in the US. But with changing tastes, social trends and culture over the past decades showing that the ’salad bowl’ analogy is becoming as ripe for the UK as the US, there’s an opportunity for the real fast movers to remove the ‘niche’ from ethnic marketing – and potentially find themselves ahead of the trend.

For those interested, the Business Week article can be found here – and is well worth a read.

Loaded Magazine’s energy shot aims to put the stimulation into stimulant

Lou Ellerton — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:18:15 +0000

Oft-criticised and much-read monthly men’s magazine Loaded has announced the launch of an own-brand energy shot drink with neutraceuticals company Podium Brands. It’s a partnership that brings new life to the idea that you are what you read.

The Loaded Stamina Shot contains amino acids, herbal extracts, vitamins and natural stimulants, claiming to provide all the benefits of a 250ml can of energy drink, for “hours of energy without the jitters”. According to IPC Media, the new product will tap into consumers’ growing desire for drinks that offer more functional benefits than simple energy.

But that’s not all – the Loaded Stamina Shot is staying true to its parent brand’s heritage as a magazine famed for bringing T&A to the middle shelves of newsagents across the UK, with “a few extras under the hood at night time to help drinkers to lift their game”.

From a brand strategy perspective, it’s an interesting move on the part of IPC’s licensing arm. Will Loaded’s core audience of 18-30 males go for a product that’s positioned as helping them to ‘lift their game’? This is, after all, a demographic whose performance is better known for being hindered by than helped by drink.

At its heart, the question is one of associations. Loaded’s heritage is one of supplying well endowed, scantily clad models around editorial carefully worded to leave no doubt as to its male readership. Can a brand known and loved by its readers for its laddish, pub-time values tune (retune) consumers’ perceptions of stamina to become something of everyday desirability, standing apart from the dreaded phenomenon of ‘PE’?

Loaded, the world may be your mollusc of choice. We’ll await results with interest.

FESTIVAL FOOTWEAR

Anna Eggleton — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 08:00:35 +0000

The Orange Power Wellies, which were developed by renewable energy experts Got Wind, convert heat from the feet into an electrical current.

Twelve hours of fancy footwork can generate enough energy to power a mobile phone for one hour.

Great for all festival goers this year.