11  

 

Creating  a  Healthy  Brand  Image  at  McDonald’s  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A  CLEDJ  Hammer  Report  Devon  Dyrdahl  

Joshua  Kel ly  

Lauren  Nehotte  

Elena  Robino  

Claire  Sieracki  

  12  

Table  of  Contents  

I .   Executive  Summary   2  

I I .   Introduction   4  

I I I .  Methodology   6  

IV.  Findings   8  

    A.   Survey   10  

    B.   Cross  Tabulation   13  

    C.   In-­‐depth  Interview’s   14  

V.   Conclusions  &  Recommendations   15  

VI.  Appendix   18  

 

 

   

  13  

I .   Executive  Summary  

We  have  conducted  our  marketing  research  focusing  on  McDonald’s  marketing  research  

problem,  which  consists  in  its  unhealthy  brand  image.    In  order  to  address  customers’  changes  in  

flavors,  we  defined  our  research  objectives  trying  to  gather  as  much  information  as  possible  

about  college  students’  perceptions  about  McDonald’s  and  what  could  be  their  suggestions  or  

changes  to  improve  the  company's  healthy  image.    

To  learn  more  about  McDonald’s,  our  team  used  tried  and  true  research  methods.  Using  

the  internet,  we  collected  information  on  McDonald’s  restaurant,  its  competition,  and  its  

position  in  the  fast  food  industry.  We  then  utilized  a  focus  group  to  begin  our  research  on  

consumers.  Then  we  conducted  an  internet  survey  using  Qualtrics  data  collection  software.  To  

analyze  the  data  we  also  used  Microsoft  Excel.  Finally,  we  conducted  in-­‐depth  interviews  to  

assist  in  drawing  conclusions.  

After  conducting  the  research  and  asking  questions  about  all  aspects  of  McDonald’s  and  

health,  we  found  three  significant  results.  First,  some  McDonald’s  customers  limit  consumption  

due  to  bad  perceptions  of  how  unhealthy  the  food  is.  Next,  McDonald’s  current  advertising  

campaign  is  eliciting  positive  responses  but  could  be  more  effective.  Lastly,  many  millennials  

respond  positively  to  the  possibility  of  a  separate,  healthy  menu  at  McDonald’s  in  addition  to  its  

current  offerings.  

In  conclusion,  we  have  discovered  that  Millennials  don’t  have  a  completely  negative  

brand  perception  of  McDonald’s  overall.  In  addition,  they  are  willing  to  try  new  healthy  options  

in  the  menu  and  they  appreciate  that  McDonald’s  is  improving  its  offering  in  order  to  meet  their  

eating  habits  changes.  Finally,  our  first  recommendation  is  “fish  where  the  fish  are”  in  order  to  

  14  

reach  the  “light  users”  market  segment  and  built  a  brand  relationship.  Then,  in  our  opinion  

McDonald’s  should  make  “our  food  your  questions”  more  interactive  to  address  customers  

questions.    Our  last  recommendation  is  to  introduce  “McTrition”  which  is  a  separate  healthy  

menu  in  order  to  satisfy  customer’s  healthy  conscious  segment.      

I I .   Introduction  

Even  though  McDonald’s  has  been  successful  for  decades  due  to  its  efficiency  and  its  

worldwide  popularity  as  a  fast  food  restaurant,  it  is  currently  struggling  with  customers’  

behavioral  changes.  Healthy  eating  habits  are  becoming  a  more  and  more  popular  trend,  which  

represents  a  challenge  for  fast  food  restaurants.  This  is  the  reason  why  we  decided  to  conduct  a  

marketing  research  study  in  order  to  collect  college  students’  brand  perceptions  about  

McDonald’s  and  their  suggestions  to  improve  its  healthy  image.  

Founded  in  1955,  McDonald’s  has  now  over  35,000  restaurants  worldwide  in  100  

different  countries  with  $28.1  billion  of  revenues  in  2013.  Since  the  beginning,  the  company  

committed  to  do  the  right  things  and  serve  the  world  its  favorite  food,  as  stated  by  the  website.  

However,  McDonald’s  admits  to  have  some  problems  about  its  brand  image,  in  particular  after  

the  last  campaign  where  the  company  showed  where  its  ingredients  are  coming  from,  which  

increases  its  unhealthy  image.  In  addition,  as  a  popular  documentary  called  “Super-­‐Size  Me”  

brought  the  unhealthiness  of  McDonald’s  in  the  spotlight,  and  consumers  started  considering  its  

food  much  more  negatively.  As  a  result,  guests  counts  fell  by  2%  globally  and  1.6%  in  the  US  last  

year.  Consequently,  McDonald’s  should  take  away  fatty  as  well  as  supersize  options  and  add  

healthier  ones  to  its  menu.  

  15  

The  fact  that  “McDonald’s  image  is  unhealthy”  is  our  research  problem.  The  company  has  

established  its  image  worldwide  as  a  fast-­‐food  restaurant  and  many  people  have  been  growing  

up  with  the  idea  of  French  fries  and  hamburgers  as  the  typical  McDonald’s  meal.  However,  in  

order  to  be  successful  and  maintain  its  strong  competitive  position,  the  company  should  address  

the  new  customers’  changes  in  flavors  as  they  are  looking  for  healthy  options  in  the  menu  

instead  of  fattening  food  only.  Consequently,  McDonald’s  has  already  done  a  first  step  in  order  

to  satisfy  the  new  customer  segment  introducing  salads,  chicken  wraps  and  specific  sandwiches  

in  different  country  made  with  typical  national  ingredients.  

  Investing  more  money  in  advertising  focused  on  a  healthy  menu  is  the  challenge  of  

McDonald’s  marketing  decision.  This  investment  could  represent  an  opportunity  to  fill  the  gap  

between  McDonald’s  products  and  new  customer  segment  tastes  in  order  to  increase  

customers’  satisfaction.  This  could  also  represent  a  useful  way  to  improve  its  brand  image  and  

reputation  after  at  the  failure  of  the  last  campaign.      

Our  research  objectives  are  focusing  on  how  college  students  consider  McDonald’s  and  if  

it  could  be  seen  as  a  place  where  they  could  get  a  healthy  meal.  Then  we  would  like  to  gather  

their  suggestions  about  new  healthy  options  that  McDonald’s  could  use  to  implement  its  menu  

as  well  as  any  changes  that  the  company  should  do  to  improve  its  healthy  image.  Even  though  

some  efforts  have  already  been  done,  as  the  introduction  of  premium  quality  products  and  

limited  national  product  lines,  it  seems  that  there  is  still  something  left  to  be  enticing  in  the  age  

of  wellness  and  health.  In  order  to  identify  how  the  company  could  be  successful,  the  goal  of  our  

research  objectives  is  to  define  if  health-­‐conscious  college  students  consider  McDonald’s  as  a  

healthy  place  to  take  an  affordable  and  quick  meal.  

  16  

While  we  were  conducting  our  marketing  research,  we  only  focused  on  college  students  

from  18  to  25  years  who  mainly  live  on  campus.  As  a  consequence,  the  limitation  of  our  study  is  

that  the  sample  used  couldn’t  be  considered  as  representative  of  the  entire  population.  They  

usually  choose  McDonald’s  without  considering  the  effects  of  the  unnecessary  calories  that  

products  contain  but  mostly  because  it  is  inexpensive  and  offers  a  quick  service.  As  a  result,  their  

decisions  are  influenced  by  their  limited  income  and  their  lack  of  time.        

I I I .  Methodology  

Upon  identifying  the  problem  McDonalds  is  currently  facing,  both  secondary  and  

exploratory  research  was  conducted  in  order  to  further  develop  research  methods  and  designs.  

In  our  secondary  research  we  utilized  the  Internet  as  an  external  source  to  collect  information  on  

McDonalds,  its  competitors,  and  on  trends  developing  in  the  fast  food  service  industry.  We  also  

took  an  in-­‐depth  look  into  the  company’s  website  in  order  to  get  an  understating  of  the  

McDonalds  brand  image  as  well  as  current  marketing  efforts.  From  there  we  also  took  a  look  at  

consumer  trends,  specifically  looking  into  healthy  mentions  on  social  media  and  how  the  trend  

of  consumer  health  consciousness  has  affected  the  fast  food  industry  as  a  whole.  In  knowing  that  

health  is  a  growing  trend  we  also  researched  health  and  how  it  relates  to  McDonalds  when  it  

comes  to  menu  offerings,  ingredients,  and  the  environment  itself.  In  McDonalds  being  a  globally  

recognizable  brand  we  also  used  our  experience  as  McDonalds  customers  as  well  as  our  

knowledge  of  documentaries  concerning  the  health  of  McDonalds  to  guide  our  secondary  

research.  Once  we  completed  gathering  background  information  on  McDonalds,  its  competition,  

and  the  consumer  industry,  we  conducted  exploratory  research  to  further  our  understanding  of  

the  environment.  

  17  

In  conducting  our  exploratory  research  our  goal  was  to  learn  more  about  the  research  

problem  by  clarifying  the  exact  nature  of  the  problem  and  identifying  the  important  variables  

contributing  to  McDonald’s  unhealthy  image.  In  order  to  do  this  we  performed  a  focus  group  

consisting  of  9  college  students  ranging  in  age  from  18  to  22  who  were  compensated  for  their  

time  by  providing  their  favorite  candy  bar.  The  focus  group  was  directed  using  a  discussion  guide  

created  by  all  researchers  and  was  videotaped  in  order  to  review  important  contributions  to  the  

discussion.1  During  the  discussion  we  asked  questions  relating  to  their  fast  food  consumption  

habits  and  their  views  of  McDonalds.  The  majority  of  the  focus  group  was  focused  on  the  idea  of  

health  to  the  consumer  and  how  McDonalds  relates  to  health  in  the  consumers  mind.  We  also  

asked  about  possible  changes  McDonalds  could  make  in  order  to  change  their  unhealthy  image.  

The  information  gather  from  both  the  secondary  and  exploratory  researched  guided  the  

development  of  our  primary  research.  We  conducted  a  computer-­‐administered  survey  consisting  

of  nominal  and  interval  levels  of  measurement  as  well  as  short  answer  questions.  Attitudes  were  

also  measured  through  semantic  differential  scales,  Likert  scales,  and  purchase  intent  scales.2  

The  computer-­‐administered  survey  was  chosen  in  order  to  reach  the  greatest  amount  of  people  

in  a  short  period  of  time  and  due  to  our  limited  resources,  it  was  the  most  cost  effective  medium  

to  perform  research  through.  The  questions  asked  in  the  survey  relate  to  fast  food  eating  habits,  

attitudes  towards  McDonalds,  and  attitudes  towards  new  healthy  menu  additions.  The  survey  

received  99  responses  but  only  87  of  those  respondents  completed  the  survey  and  only  those  

who  completed  the  survey  were  included  in  the  analysis  of  the  results.  The  research  software  

Qualtrics  was  used  to  compile  the  survey  and  organize  the  results.  We  then  downloaded  the  

data  into  Excel  in  order  to  analyze  the  individual  results  from  each  survey  and  to  read  each  

  18  

response  to  the  open-­‐ended  questions.  All  open  ended  questions  were  coded  by  pulling  out  and  

tabulating  mentions  of  specific  recurring  words  for  each  open-­‐ended  question.  Cross  tabulation  

was  also  used  to  compare  intent  to  purchase  to  characteristics  of  price,  taste  of  food,  

cleanliness,  variety  of  menu,  and  healthy  options.  

After  gaining  insight  into  the  factors  contributing  to  McDonald’s  unhealthy  image,  we  

wanted  to  improve  the  efficacy  of  the  survey  results  and  enrich  the  quantitative  findings  from  

the  survey.  In  order  to  do  this  we  performed  8  in-­‐depth  interviews,  with  each  researcher  

performing  2  interviews.  Our  sample  was  made  up  of  college  students  ranging  in  age  from  18  to  

22.  All  researchers  followed  an  interview  guide,  which  consisted  of  questions  asking  about  fast  

food  eating  habits,  McDonalds  and  their  current  marketing  campaign,  and  their  views  about  a  

new  hypothetical  healthy  menu  addition.3    

IV.  Findings  

In  our  initial  focus  group,  we  found  that  many  observations  we  made  confirmed  what  

many  of  us  had  previously  thought  about  McDonald’s  restaurant.  That  is,  our  preconceived  

notion  that  McDonald’s  is  cheap,  fast,  and  relatively  unhealthy  in  the  collegiate  consumer’s  

mind.  In  fact,  the  results  of  the  focus  group  not  only  confirmed  the  need  for  further  research  on  

the  topic  of  consumers’  perceptions,  they  begged  for  it!  Our  focus  group  contained  one  

freshman,  two  sophomores,  and  one  senior,  and  its  results  did  not  surprise  us  one  bit.  

Not  one  of  our  focus  group  members  listed  McDonald’s  in  their  top  two  choices  of  fast  

food  restaurants  to  frequent.1  and  this  was  only  the  beginning.  We  went  on  to  discuss  the  

reasons  why  college  students  go  to  McDonald’s  and  specifically  why  our  subjects  themselves  go  

there.  They  listed  negative  reasons  such  as  being  drunk  and  going  because  the  Redbox  machine  

  19  

is  there  and  positive  such  as  convenience,  friends,  and  inexpensive  food.  The  group’s  reasons  for  

not  going  to  McDonald’s  were  more  along  the  lines  of  why  McDonald’s  is  so  bad.  They  said  that  

food  at  other  fast  food  places  is  “better,”  “more  filling,”  and  “doesn’t  make  the  stomach  hurt”  as  

much.  These  are  not  things  McDonald’s  wants  to  be  hearing  from  fast  food  consumers.  The  top  

positive  of  going  to  McDonald’s  is  that  it  is  “cheap  and  fast,”  while  the  top  negative  is  that  it  is  

“highly  processed.”  These  introductory  questions  showed  us  that  the  collegiate  population  

thinks  of  McDonald’s  food  as  unhealthy  and  secondary  to  other  fast  food  options.  

Next,  we  moved  the  conversation  towards  what  consumers  thought  of  health.  Common  

words  that  the  participants  used  were  “organic”  and  “green.”  When  they  were  asked  how  

important  health  was  to  them,  the  participants  responded  “yes,  it  is  important,”  but  listed  

certain  factors  that  inhibited  healthy  behavior.  Time  was  the  most  significant  of  these  inhibitors  

while  difficulty  and  the  work  involved  were  also  important.  When  asked  if  McDonald’s  is  

considered  unhealthy,  responses  were  varied.  Some  said  “yes,  McDonald’s  food  has  a  high  fat  

concentration”  while  some  said  that  “McDonald’s  is  not  unhealthy  in  moderation.”  In  response  

to  the  answers  from  the  previous  question,  we  then  asked  the  participants  if  they  considered  

any  menu  items  at  McDonald’s  healthy.  They  responded  with  the  items  that  one  would  expect:  

oatmeal,  parfaits,  coffee,  and  water.  

We  moved  into  some  more  personal  health-­‐related  questions  to  find  out  what  college  

consumers  value  in  healthy  foods  and  what  they  actually  eat  that  they  consider  healthy.  To  eat  

healthy,  the  participants  said  they  eat  salad,  fruit,  nuts,  yogurt,  whole  grain,  and  brown  rice.  

These  were  all  basic  foods  and  relatively  easy  to  procure  as  a  college  student.  It  seemed  as  if  

being  healthy  as  a  student  was  a  matter  of  time  and  price.  The  participants  also  said  that  they  

  20  

would  consider  themselves  about  a  2.5  on  a  5  point  healthy  scale  and  that  it  depended  on  how  

active  they  were  at  the  time.  Activity  also  plays  a  large  part  in  a  healthy  lifestyle  of  the  college  

student.  Finally,  we  asked  where  they  were  most  likely  to  eat  healthy  foods.  The  responses  were  

along  the  lines  of  “when  they  are  homemade”  and  “when  I  go  to  a  sit-­‐down”  and  “when  I  am  not  

feeling  lazy.”  If  one  knows  anything  about  college  students,  these  options  combined  do  not  make  

up  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  student  lifestyle.  

To  round  out  the  health  question  section  of  the  focus  group,  the  group  discussed  ways  to  

change  the  “unhealthy  image”  that  many  perceive  McDonald’s  to  have.  The  ideas  they  

presented  were:  1)  to  change  the  current  “cheap  and  fast”  branding  by  adding  more  expensive  

healthy  items,  2)  go  public  with  the  actual  content  of  the  food  (and  then  change),  and  3)  (the  

two  others  doubted  McDonald’s  could  change).  As  one  final  task,  we  had  each  member  write  

down  what  they  thought  McDonald’s  must  consider  in  creating  a  healthier  image.  They  said  

things  one  might  expect:  fresher  ingredients,  more  nutrients,  less  processing,  more  cost,  more  

organic,  being  transparent  about  ingredient  quality,  joining  the  anti-­‐obesity  movement,  real  

meat,  and  spending  more  money  to  increase  food  quality.  

  A.   Survey  

  To  continue  our  research,  we  conducted  an  Internet  survey.  It  included  many  important  

insights  for  the  group  of  people  we  were  able  to  reach.  To  get  an  idea  what  this  segment  of  the  

population  was  looking  for  our  first  question  was  an  open  question  simply  asking  them  “what  are  

the  most  important  things  you  look  for  when  you  go  out  to  eat.  Many  things  were  mentioned  by  

the  91  people  surveyed.  Of  all  the  responses  a  couple  common  themes  kept  popping  up.  These  

were  Price-­‐  with  39  mentions,  quality  of  food-­‐24,  taste-­‐15,  and  health-­‐9.  While  price  was  

  21  

mentioned  the  most,  it  was  almost  always  accompanied  by  something  else.  Taste  and  quality  

also  seemed  to  be  accompanied  by  other  things  as  well.  What  was  interesting  was  that  of  the  9  

people  that  mentioned  health  8  of  them  exclusively  mentioned  health.  So  for  most  people  health  

was  not  really  something  they  looked  for  when  choosing  a  place  to  eat.  However,  for  a  select  

group  it  was  the  main  thing  they  looked  at.  Our  second  was  a  screening  question  that  asked  if  

the  respondent  had  eaten  fast  food  in  the  last  month.  78%  answered  yes  and  continued  with  our  

survey.    

The  3rd  question  asked  respondents  how  often  they  ate  fast  food  with  7  choices  ranging  

from  never  to  daily.  The  results  showed  a  near  perfect  normal  distribution  pattern  from  the  

middle  choice  which  was  2-­‐3  times  a  month  (4)  with  the  mean  equal  to  4.06(where  4  is  2-­‐3  times  

a  week).  Nobody  chose  the  extremes  of  daily  (8)  or  never  (1).2  

The  4th  question  revealed  McDonald’s  popularity  as  a  fast  food  restaurant.  Respondents  

chose  from  the  same  7  choices  on  how  often  they  ate  places,  but  this  time  for  particular  

restaurants.  McDonalds  scored  the  highest  with  a  2.84  where  Subway  was  2nd  2.68  and  the  

lowest  was  Wendy’s  with  1.57.  Only  5  out  of  68  respondents  said  they  never  go  to  McDonald’s,  

which  was  substantially  lower  than  any  other  fast  food  place.    

Question  5  produced  interesting  results.  People  were  asked  to  choose  between  5  

importance  levels  they  had  on  particular  features  of  restaurants  with  very  unimportant=1  

neutral=3  and  very  important=5.  The  most  important  thing  was  taste  with  a  score  of  4.21  

followed  by  price,  cleanliness,  health,  and  variety.  Health  scored  a  3.16  with  a  spread  out  range  

of  answers.  Slightly  important  (4)  was  chosen  the  most  often  21  out  of  68  times,  showing  health  

was  a  fairly  neutral  subject,  but  it  is  a  concern.    

  22  

Question  6:  we  specifically  asked  respondents  what  they  thought  of  McDonald’s  

characteristics  of;  taste  of  food,  restaurant  cleanliness,  price,  variety,  healthy  options,  and  

quality  of  food.  The  two  answers  that  elicited  relatively  strong  negative  responses  were  healthy  

menu  options  and  food  quality.  The  other  categories  scored  positively.  This  data  supported  our  

initial  assumption  that  people's  image  of  McDonald’s  is  that  it  is  unhealthy  and  does  not  have  

very  quality  food.  

Question  7:  we  asked  respondents  their  willingness  to  purchase  some  healthy  menu  

options  we  came  up:  sweet  potato  fries,  turkey  burger,  southwest  burger,  and  gluten  free.  The  

results  were  fairly  inconclusive  with  the  averages  falling  around  neutral,  except  for  the  gluten  

free  option  which  many  people  said  they  would  not  be  willing  to  purchase.  

Question  8:  Question  8  was  related  to  question  6  and  asked  how  much  respondents  

would  be  willing  to  pay  for  a  healthy  food  option  with  the  example  being  a  turkey  burger.  45%  of  

the  respondents  said  they  would  be  willing  to  pay  3-­‐4  dollars,  which  is  a  standard  large  burger  

cost  at  McDonalds.  The  distribution  was  approximately  normal  with  the  mean  being  slightly  

above  the  $3-­‐4  choice.  

Question  9:  Question  9  asked  if  how  likely  respondents  would  be  willing  to  purchase  from  

a  nutrition  menu  at  McDonald’s.  From  the  relatively  low  numbers  our  earlier  questions  related  

to  health,  we  did  not  expect  a  positive  response.  But,  the  results  was  positive  with  37%  saying  

they  would  be  likely  to  purchase  from  a  health  menu,  and  15%  very  likely.  25%  of  people  were  

undecided  and  only  15%  unlikely  and  7%  very  unlikely.  The  mean  of  3.37  showed  that  people  

were  more  likely  to  purchase  than  not,  and  the  large  amount  of  undecided  respondent’s  shows  

that  there  is  not  necessarily  opposition  to  the  idea,  and  they  would  require  more  info.  This  data  

  23  

while  not  completely  conclusive,  gives  reasonable  support  to  the  idea  that  people  would  like  and  

purchase  from  a  health  menu.  

Question  10  asked  respondents  what  the  thing  they  liked  the  least  about  McDonald’s  

was.  The  two  things  that  came  up  the  most  frequently  was  unhealthiness  with  16  mentions  and  

poor  food  quality  with  12  mentions.  Respondents  had  a  lot  of  random  responses,  but  these  were  

the  most  prevalent.  This  data  supported  responses  from  question  6,  supporting  that  people  view  

McDonalds  and  unhealthy  and  low  quality.  

Question  11:  Asked  respondents  what  they  liked  the  most  about  McDonalds.  The  

overwhelming  thing  that  people  liked  about  McDonalds  was  the  low  price  followed  by  the  taste  

of  the  food  and  overall  convenience.  These  are  the  core  values  that  respondents  feel  

McDonald’s  does  well  at,  and  it  would  be  important  to  incorporate  them  to  some  extent  into  

potential  healthier  options.  

Question  12:  we  asked  respondents  what  suggestions  they  would  have  for  a  healthier  

menu.  The  responses  were  very  mixed,  but  the  most  mentioned  thing  with  10  mentions  was  

keeping  the  prices  low  if  they  do  make  one.  This  agrees  with  our  findings  in  question  11  that  

McDonald’s  should  stay  true  to  low  price,  tasty  food,  and  convenience.  

  B.   Cross  Tabulation  

We  did  a  cross  tabulation  of  multiple  survey  questions  and  found  a  couple  key  

correlations.4  

One  of  the  main  findings  we  found  was  that  overall  people  had  a  poor  perception  of  

McDonalds  with  regards  the  quality  of  food  and  health.    There  was  especially  a  pattern  among  

light  users  of  McDonalds.  This  data  along  with  interviews  and  focus  groups  led  us  to  the  

  24  

conclusion  that  many  users  limit  their  usage  of  McDonalds  due  to  bad  perceptions.  77%  of  

average  users  (2-­‐3  times  a  month)  in  our  survey  ranked  McDonald’s  menu  options  as  somewhat  

or  very  unhealthy.  The  average  users  made  up  only  about  20%  of  our  results.  65%  of  users  went  

to  McDonald’s  once  a  month  or  less,  but  with  the  addition  of  these  users  the  perception  stayed  

close  to  the  same.  71%  of  McDonald’s  light  to  average  users  (2-­‐3  times  a  month  or  less)  ranked  

McDonald’s  menu  options  as  somewhat  unhealthy  or  very  unhealthy.    Of  this  significant  group  of  

average  to  light  users  a  relatively  significant  50%  ranked  healthy  options  as  either  important  or  

very  important  to  them  when  they  were  eating  out.  

Quality  was  also  a  concern  about  McDonalds.    Overall  59%  of  respondents  ranked  

McDonalds  quality  as  low  or  very  low.  People  that  said  they  never  went  to  McDonalds  were  

especially  critical  of  McDonald’s  quality.  4  out  of  5  of  them  ranked  quality  as  very  low  with  the  

other  one  ranking  it  moderately  low.  The  lighter  users  tended  to  rank  quality  slightly  lower  with  

60%  of  light  to  average  users  ranking  McDonald’s  quality  as  low  or  very  low.  

  C.   In-­‐depth  Interviews  

To  complete  our  results  we  had  found  in  our  Internet  survey,  we  set  up  7  in-­‐depth  

interviews  with  students  between  the  ages  of  18  and  25.  We  asked  probing  questions  that  

continued  where  the  survey  left  off.  We  were  able  to  compile  three  key  findings.  The  first  was  

that  most  students  would  like  McDonald’s  more  if  food  wasn’t  so  unhealthy.  The  main  reasoning  

for  this  is  that  they  consider  McDonald’s  to  be  high  in  fat  and  sodium.  Second,  we  found  that  

people  who  looked  at  the  current  “Our  food,  your  questions”  campaign,  responded  positively  to  

it  by  saying  that  they  do  appreciate  the  willingness  that  McDonald’s  has  in  answering  questions  

about  its  food.  However,  most  students  wanted  answers  to  the  questions  presented  in  the  

  25  

campaign.  Third,  we  found  that  there  were  two  opinions  when  we  asked  students  if  they  would  

purchase  from  a  new,  separate  health  menu  containing  brand  new  healthy  products.  75%  of  

students  would  purchase  from  the  menu  while  25%  of  students  wanted  the  current  menu  and  

taste  but  with  added  nutrition.  

  After  a  focus  group,  an  internet  survey,  and  several  in-­‐depth  interviews,  the  team  was  

able  to  synthesize  three  significant  findings.  First,  McDonald’s  customers  limit  their  consumption  

due  to  bad  perceptions  of  how  unhealthy  the  food  is.  This  is  especially  evident  in  the  focus  group  

and  IDIs.  Next,  McDonald’s  current  ad  campaign  is  eliciting  positive  responses  but  could  be  more  

effective.  Lastly,  millennials  respond  positively  to  the  possibility  of  a  separate,  healthy  menu  at  

McDonald’s  in  addition  to  its  current  offerings.  

V.   Conclusions  &  Recommendations  

Reflecting  on  the  process  of  this  research  project,  we  can  now  answer  the  question  

“what  do  we  want  to  know”  that  we  asked  ourselves  in  the  initial  stages.  Generally,  millennials  

do  not  have  a  specifically  negative  perception  of  McDonald’s.  They  do,  however,  limit  

themselves  and  understand  that  it  is  not  a  poor  decision  when  eaten  in  moderation.  It  is  widely  

believed  that  McDonald’s  food  is  of  low  quality.  The  current  “our  food  your  questions”  

marketing  campaign  has  been  moderately  successful.  Consumers  appreciate  the  fact  that  

McDonald’s  is  acknowledging  their  unfavorable  reputation.  They  feel  like  they  have  a  voice  and  

are  relevant  to  the  brand.  This  has  established  a  more  solidified  relationship  with  the  brand  and  

its  customers.  As  this  relationship  is  vital  to  the  brand’s  success,  McDonald’s  is  interested  in  not  

only  what  questions  people  have,  but  also  what  suggestions  customers  may  have  to  increase  

satisfaction.  Millennials  respond  positively  to  the  idea  of  a  healthy  menu  at  McDonald’s.  They  

  26  

would  be  willing  to  try  new  health  niche-­‐focused  options.  Overall,  we  have  concluded  that  

people  are  changing  to  become  healthier,  and  they  expect  McDonald’s  to  change  with  them  in  

order  to  meet  their  evolving  demand.  

In  order  to  address  the  issues  that  were  identified  in  the  primary  research,  McDonald’s  

has  several  potential  options  to  exploit.  The  first  recommendation  is  to  “fish  where  the  fish  are”,  

per  say.  McDonald’s  already  has  a  solid  relationship  with  its  current  dedicated  customers.  Now,  

they  must  reach  out  to  its  unsaturated  market  consisting  of  “light  users”  who  have  a  very  

insignificant  relationship  with  the  brand.  By  establishing  a  new  reputation  and  presence  in  the  

minds  of  these  consumers,  McDonald’s  will  be  able  to  potentially  attract  a  new  market  segment.  

An  additional  relationship  and  brand  management  strategy  would  be  altering  the  “our  food  your  

questions”  campaign  to  further  address  and  publicly  answer  the  questions.  We  recommend  that  

McDonald’s  makes  the  campaign  more  interactive  and  cooperative.  Currently,  users  who  as  a  

question  get  a  personal  email  with  an  answer.  McDonald’s  should  instead  make  the  answers  

public  and  accessible.  The  consumer  does  not  want  to  go  searching  on  the  website  to  find  the  

answers  to  these  questions.  If  the  commercials  and  other  methods  of  advertising  include  the  

answers  with  the  questions,  there  is  a  higher  potential  to  alter  the  consumers’  perception  and  

satisfaction.  As  McDonald’s  has  the  reputation  of  serving  low-­‐quality  food,  it  must  dedicate  more  

time  and  resources  to  this  campaign  to  prove  otherwise.  Our  final  recommendation  is  a  more  

drastic  and  specific  change.  McDonald’s  should  develop  a  “McTrition”  menu  solely  targeting  the  

health-­‐niche  focused  market  segment.  This  new  menu  would  be  somewhat  separate  from  the  

main  menu,  much  like  the  McCafe.  By  offering  healthier  and  more  nutritious  menu  options,  

customers  will  not  have  to  eat  McDonald’s  in  moderation  or  worry  about  the  physical  effects  

  27  

that  a  Big  Mac  may  have  on  them.  This  new  menu  would  have  a  positive  effect  on  McDonald’s  

brand  reputation  and  show  consumers  that  McDonald’s  is  dedicated  to  evolving  along  with  

them.    

  28  

VI.  Appendix  

1. Focus Group Discussion Guide

  29  

2. Survey  

 

  30  

  31  

  32  

3. In-­‐Depth  Interview  Discussion  Guide