In the first of a new series looking at what it takes to be a marketer in different regions, Marketing Week puts the spotlight on Japan. From navigating the working style and overcoming language barriers, to determining marketing’s role in corporate culture.
McDonald’s has increased restaurant visitor numbers in key cities after introducing a new approach to targeting audiences through outdoor advertising.
Companies like McDonald’s are abandoning the CMO role in part because marketers insist on constant, pointless reinvention of the position and its responsibilities.
McDonald’s is one of a growing number of companies scrapping the global CMO role in favour of spreading marketing responsibilities more broadly across the business.
The fast food giant has restructured its marketing team in the UK and Ireland under the leadership of new senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Gareth Helm.
Helm, who has previously held marketing director roles at Nestlé, Mars, Innocent and MoneySuperMarket.com, replaces Emily Somers who left the business last year.
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McDonald’s is bringing back its ‘Reindeer Ready’ campaign for the second year as it looks to remind customers of its role during the festive period.
Big investments in quality, provenance and technology have led to questions over whether McDonald’s is trying to be more premium, but its CEO says the plan is to broaden the customer base and differentiate from the competition, not go upmarket.
Partnerships that embrace tech and make people’s lives easier are proving an effective way for brands to increase their value, according to this year’s BrandZ ranking.
The campaign is part of a push from the fast food giant to highlight its innovations in customer service such as the mobile ordering, in-store touchscreens and table service.
McDonald’s UK CEO admits it made an error with the ad but says he still wants the brand’s marketers and agencies to be “brave and bold”.
McDonald’s looks to be staking its claim for the premium burger market as the fast-casual sector hits the rocks.
Alistair Macrow, who joined McDonald’s in 2007, will now run marketing in nine of the fast food chain’s high-growth markets.
Moneysupermarket.com, Dove, McDonald’s and Match.com also featured in the ASA’s top 10.