Every organization tries to maintain high level competition in the market; however, very few of these successfully create their position in the market. Different marketing concepts and strategies are adopted by the companies to remain successful (Lovelock & Wirtz 2010). Among other strategies, uniqueness of product or services contributes to the success of the company. Moreover, constant update and external market scan is also necessary to remain informed about the changing demands and needs of customers (Kotler 2002). One such organization is McDonalds that has maintained its leadership in the fast food industry.

1. Marketing and Innovation
by
Name of the Student
Institution
Date

2. Task A
Introduction
Every organization tries to maintain high level competition in the market; however, very
few of these successfully create their position in the market. Different marketing concepts and
strategies are adopted by the companies to remain successful (Lovelock & Wirtz 2010). Among
other strategies, uniqueness of product or services contributes to the success of the company.
Moreover, constant update and external market scan is also necessary to remain informed about
the changing demands and needs of customers (Kotler 2002). One such organization is
McDonalds that has maintained its leadership in the fast food industry.
This paper discusses the marketing and innovation at McDonalds. The paper initially
presents a brief introduction of the company. Then the benefits and value derived by the
McDonald’s customers is discussed. Moreover, the paper also highlights the uniqueness of
McDonalds design elements – shape, colour, design, imagination, relevance and usefulness.
Finally, the paper discusses the McDonalds brand appeal in relation to competitors in
contemporary market.
McDonalds
The McDonald's is known as one of the largest chain of hamburger and fast food
restaurants internationally (Vieregge, Scanlon & Huss 2007). The brand serves more than 68
million customers on a daily basis in more than 119 countries with approximately 35,000
restaurant outlets. McDonalds Corporation has its head-quarter in the US. The company was
started as a barbecue restaurant in 1940 which was operated by Maurice and Richard. In the year
1948, the restaurant business was reorganized as a hamburger stand through the use of principles

3. of production line. In the year 1955, Ray Kroc joined McDonalds as a franchise agent (Bertoli
2013). Since then, consequently purchased the complete chain from Maurice and Richard an
expanded the business internationally. The primary menu of McDonald's include desserts,
milkshakes, soft drinks, breakfast items, french fries, chicken, cheese burgers and hamburgers
(Onkvisit and Shaw 2008). However, to address the changing tastes of consumers, McDonalds
has extended its menu and now also includes seasoned fries, fruit, smoothies, wraps and fish.
The benefits and value derived by the McDonald’s customers
Customers or clients or recipients are very important for any organization. Therefore, it is
necessary for every organization to consider the benefits and value derived by the customers
(Lovelock & Wirtz 2010). According to business dictionary, perceived value refers to the
customer’s opinion regarding a product’s value to her or him that may have nothing or little to do
with the price of the product or its ability to satisfy the requirements or needs of the customers.
Moreover, it also refers to the worth that a service or product has in the minds of the customers
and influences their buying decision (Peters 2011). The perceived value of a consumer for a
service or good also affects the level of price that she or he is ready to pay for it. In most cases,
the consumers do not consider the actual cost of production of the product or service they are
buying (Ramaswamy &Namakumari 2007). Alternatively, they have an internal satisfaction or
feeling that a certain product or service is worth to them. As a result, the companies often charge
higher prices for a product that have a higher perceived value or benefit to the customers
(Vignali 2001). McDonalds is also one of those brands that have higher value and benefits for
the customers. As McDonalds offers hamburgers and other fast food restaurant menu, therefore
the primary benefit or value to the customer is hunger satisfaction besides providing them with a
feeling of a worthy brand product (McDonald & Payne 2006).

4. Initially, McDonalds sold only hamburgers with no change in flavour. However, in
response to changing customer taste and rise in fast food chain restaurants, McDonalds have
changed its menu by adding more products to its menu (Knight 2010). However, the main menu
remained same. In addition, the company also took a giant step to increate value and benefits of
its products worldwide by offering customize menu. McDonalds now offers products according
to the region it serves (Snyder 2003). For example, McDonald’s main products are based on
chicken which is not preferred by Indians due to their religion. Therefore, to cater Indian market,
McDonalds offers the vegetable burgers and other items that are prepared using vegetables.
Similar approach is adopted in China, Thailand, and Europe etc (Vrontis 2006). This customized
change in menu was accepted and appreciated worldwide. Similarly, with the rise of diet
conscious customers globally, the trend of fast food was affected largely (Krishnamurthy &
Singh 2005). This is because the fast food products are being considered as unhealthy food. As
McDonalds was dealing with fast food items, therefore the company was required to change its
menu to remain in its global position (Lovelock & Wirtz 2010). McDonalds included healthy
food items to its menu which was also contributed to the company’s success. Moreover, the
company also added healthy menu to breakfast food in which Egg McMuffin is one of the most
successful item in the menu. Thus, in order to maintain its value and position in the minds of the
customers, McDonalds changed its food menu from time to time according to the changing
needs, tastes and demands of the customers (Onkvisit and Shaw 2008). This is the reason behind
the McDonalds strong global position and its success.

5. Besides food menu, McDonalds also provides value and benefits to its potential
customers through its restaurant services (McDonald & Payne 2006). The employees at
McDonalds are trained to provide best services “with a smile” to its customers. Besides this, the
restaurant also provides appropriate sitting arrangements for families, singles, couples or friends
where they can enjoy their meal with good ambiance (Bertoli 2013). Besides this, McDonalds
also provides its customers with Wi-Fi. Thus, it could be said that McDonalds offers value and
benefits to its customers through both i.e., its products and services.
The uniqueness of McDonalds design elements – shape, colour, design, imagination,
relevance and usefulness
As discussed previously, McDonalds is an innovative brand that has brought in the
unique characteristics from time to time to maintain its position as a leader in fast food industry
(Vrontis 2006). Moreover, McDonalds has unique elements incorporated in both product and
restaurant that has made the brand more than just a hamburger chain. With respect to shape, it
has not changed much (Vieregge, Scanlon & Huss 2007). Often the shape is changed for
promotion i.e., soccer game etc. However, the basic shape of the hamburger is same globally

6. whether the burger is single or double Mac. This standard shape is to ensure standardization of
product internationally (Krishnamurthy & Singh 2005). The following image shows different
shapes of McDonalds Burger.
Likewise, the colour and design of the hamburger is also same but often modified as
shown in the above image. However, the colour and ambiance of the restaurant is customized
according to the region, but the brand’s logo is standardized globally i.e., red, white and yellow
is found in all restaurant chains (Peters 2011). Initially, the design of the restaurant was same,
but in the last few years the designs of the restaurant has changed a lot and is now in bright
colours with an ambiance that depicts joy and happiness that is what McDonalds provide its
customer through its products and services (Snyder 2003). This change in restaurant design was
made due to large emphasis on the outlook and ambiance of the restaurant by the customers.
Moreover, the restaurants also have latest technological devices to serve their customers (Vignali
2001). For instance, facility of WIFI is provided at almost all McDonald’s restaurants. The
following are few images of restaurant designs of McDonalds.

7. With respect to imagination and relevance McDonalds incorporates both the elements in
their corporate strategy. New food menu items are introduced from time to time that are unique
in their own ways (Knight 2010). Similarly, new trends in fast food restaurant are also
introduced by McDonalds. For example their concept of breakfast menu is unique and less
copied by its competitors (Krishnamurthy & Singh 2005). Similarly, McDonalds introduction of
coffee was unique that was not offered by any other hamburger restaurant. Likewise wide range
of healthy and low calorie food items are also offered by McDonalds that has made McDonalds
stand alone in the healthy and competitive menu (Onkvisit and Shaw 2008). Finally, with respect
to usefulness, the brand satisfies basic needs of its customers i.e., hunger and thirst in all ways.
McDonalds provides different beverages ranging from cold drinks to coffee and shakes.
Likewise, for hunger satisfaction the brand offers wide range of food items that include both fast
food and healthy food items.
McDonalds brand appeal in relation to competitors in contemporary market
A product or services can be endorsed in the market through different ways such as
uniqueness, quality or price etc (McDonald & Payne 2006). Apart from these, the brand is also
compared with its competitors on the basis of size, shape, reputation and several other product
features. These different features help to distinguish a product from the eyes of customers and

8. make a brand worthy (Vrontis 2006). With respect to McDonalds, the product’s brand name is
now recognized globally. One of the major factors in this global recognition is the strategic
expansion of McDonalds in different markets (Ramaswamy &Namakumari 2007). Besides
McDonalds, several other fast food restaurants have also expanded internationally, but none of
them has been so far able to overtake the position of McDonalds in international market (Kotler
2002). Fioroni and Titterton (2008) say that the successful brand is the one which has an ability
to face fierce competition in the market. This competition is followed by many different factors
on the basis of which customer selects a brand as the best brand (Vieregge, Scanlon & Huss
2007). Moreover, the competition in the market is also created by the continued market
expansions and operations, timely introduction of new products and quickly responding to the
changing needs and demands of the customers. According to Christodoulides (2012), it is
possible to create value of the brand in the market through regular proceedings in the competitive
market. Because of the continuous operations in the market, the brand can increase customer
retention and can create strong customer equity and base to enhance the value of the brand.
Customer retention with a loyal brand increases the competition in the market.
McDonalds is known as a strong brand and as a leader in fast food industry with a good financial
position, international presence, and quality and perceive image (Bertoli 2013). These factors
have made McDonalds as more appealing brand in the international market among middle and
upper class consumers. Due to the increased success of the brand i.e., McDonalds, it is easy for
any competitor to copy any innovative services offered by the brand (Snyder 2003). Thus, for the
protection of the McDonalds restaurant chain is operated by either by an affiliate, a franchisee or
by the company itself (Peters 2011). This helps to standardize the quality of the company besides
maintaining the uniqueness of the services and product of McDonalds. Despite of this, the trends

9. introduced by the McDonalds of breakfast menu, offering coffees, healthy food menu etc are
intimated by other direct competitors of McDonalds that now sells similar products (Knight
2010). Thus, this act of intimation shows that the brand i.e., McDonalds has an exceptional
appeal in the current market that shapes up the competition in the market (Vignali 2001). If taken
this competition positively, it has enabled McDonalds to constantly engage in introducing
innovative products and services to satisfy customer needs and to maintain its leadership
position.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, McDonalds has its unique way of creating benefits and value to its loyal
and potential customers where one of the most contributing factor is the timely response to the
changing customer needs and tastes i.e., healthy food, customized food, comfortable ambiance
etc. Thus, in order to preserve the uniqueness, McDonalds holds the right to preserve its chains
by sharing it with an affiliate, a franchisee or holding the rights by the company itself.
Task B
In the module of marketing design and the innovation, i have studied regarding the
behavioural patterns and marketing methods for the successful businesses. The module
marketing design and innovation is important for the clear classification of the necessity of the
innovation that is required in the business. Moreover, the module marketing design and
innovation also sheds light on the relevant changes that takes place in the contemporary business

10. environment and how products and services are modified by the brands accordingly. The module
marketing design and innovation was engaged with many practical lessons which had defined the
practical implementation of the innovation theories and market design in the practical business
environment. This has led the students including me to critically find out the relationship
between the practical proceedings and theoretical underpinnings. Moreover, the theory and
practice was also compared. The main objective of the module marketing design and innovation
was to create and develop up a successive personality in the profession of marketing through
perfectly positioning the actual meaning of the concepts laid out in the module.
The strength of the module marketing design and innovation was increased by the
theoretical understanding that was taught by the professor and the practical lessons that were
carried out during the course of module. The information regarding the actual practical
experiences provided by different sources has encouraged the module students to obtain more
confidence and information about the field of marketing. Moreover, the practical appliance of
theories learnt were utilised by the critical thinking methods of the module followers. Besides
this, the practical assignments and theoretical lessons assigned enhanced the ability to take
decisions critically and analyze the situation practically. This has led to utilise one’s own
capabilities in the direction of the origin of the definitions of the concepts learnt in the module
marketing design and innovation.
As the field of marketing changes frequently with more updated information on the
subject, information is required to handle the marketing functions in real business situation. This
is very challenging as it directly relates with the changing preferences of the consumers or
customers that has increased the importance of the module. Moreover, a marketer must have the
ability to accurately investigate real market situations and the minds of the customer. In addition,

11. the marketer must also have the ability to predict the future accurately particularly in the middle
of the satisfaction of consumer needs before time through the innovation. Thus, it is important to
study marketing design and innovation as without proper knowledge of theories, these abilities
could not be developed through conventional thinking patterns. Apart from this, a market must
also have knowledge of philosophy i.e., he or she must be able to think out of the box. This is
every important for marketer as each time new ideas that lead to innovation and creativity is
required. Thus, these different aspects are included in the module marketing design and
innovation that has allowed the module followers to do different practices throughout the module
lessons. Moreover, these practices were done under the supervision of the professions that have
provided good guidance and practical information of real world.
Throughout the module i.e., practical lesions and the theoretical understandings, the
conventional thinking patterns regarding the production of goods was widely discussed and
challenged i.e., through the introduction of different factors that must be taken into account in the
real world while marketing design and making innovative decisions while product positional that
requires thinking beyond the scope. Moreover, the module marketing design and innovation also
defines the different features of innovation, opportunities, space to come up with new ideas,
thinking and creativity in all the assignments given in the module. The practice of these practical
lessons gave student with personal experiences where they can handle different business
scenarios in future.
Besides the considerations of specific marketing, the module marketing design and
innovation has defined all the related areas on the subject. This has provided the students with an
opportunity to personally straight with the scenario of real world via experiences and theoretical
underpinnings learnt from this module. in addition, the most significant part of this module is

12. how needs of customers are identified at the initial stage of the innovative and change
development besides further evaluation of the cut-throat competition on the decisions made by
module followers. Regarding customer exploration, many different theories are remained to be
self practiced along with apparent theoretical background. The customer exploration is the main
section of the module that enables a student to obtain wide knowledge on the innovative
strategies and market design.
Besides the evaluation of the competitive position regarding the business is another most
interested and information area that helps a module follower to understand the implementation of
the innovative changes and the market design techniques with respect to different business
cultures. Moreover, the knowledge on the subject promotes the ability of the student to find out
the company’s cultural impact through decision making focussed on bringing change. Because of
these different options, the real knowledge on different business scenarios could be strengthened.
This has also allowed module followers to personally experience the main essence of the module
market design and innovation. The theoretical support that this module has provided has given
vast information and knowledge that has increased the understanding of how things in pratical
business world happens and how these are dealt by the business organizations in most effective
manner. The practical sessions help throughout the module has further enhanced the
understanding of the marketing design and innovation.
In a nutshell, it could be rightly said that the module marketing design and innovation has
provided with valuable knowledge. The module is essential for students as it provides a wide
array of practical knowledge and real world situations. Moreover, the course will enable student
to address market situation rightly and predict future happenings in the market. Thus, it is

13. important for students to understand this module with interest as it will also help in career
progression.
References
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Knight, G 2010, Born Global, Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing.
Kotler, P 2002, Marketing Management, Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd.
Krishnamurthy, S & Singh, N 2005, ‘The international e-marketing framework (IEMF):
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Lovelock, C & Wirtz, J 2010, Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, 7th Edition
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