How McDonald's marketers and advertisers who use different types of motivational factors that influence consumer decision making process are responsible for the apparent increase in childhood obesity?
Introduction
Several advertisers claim that food advertising aims to change brand preference and suggest it has little or no effect on the aggregate demand for a product category (Young, 2003), advertising does not create a desire for McDonalds but reorders the hierarchy of brands from which consumers choose. Hastings, Stead, and McDermott (2004), challenges view and highlight the need to consider the broader effects of food advertising on consumption because the causes of obesity are complex, advertisers have argued that their products and advertising make a negligible contribution to the problem (Divehall, 2003). Instead, they note that people now exercise less, have more sedentary lifestyles, and make greater use of convenience foods (Lvovich, 2003). While disproportionate consumption of fast food may contribute to obesity, advertisers argue that the specific role played by these types of food remains impossible to define (Young, 2003) as overeating, and reduced levels of physical activity, contribute to obesity, it is difficult to quantify the precise role played by each of these variables. Amiably, eating as well as patronizing fast food chain products like at McDonald's is truly been a increasingly popular especially to teenager groups down to children age groups, as the behavior placed by marketers and advertisers have allowed the company to always target their markets in accordance to food ethical standards and principles and be on a high note in terms of sales and profits, there is the children's intention to crave for McDonalds meal servings and that motivation tactics have led to childhood health problems and uncontrollable eating habits that resulted to the reality of obesity, having in obese children not just where McDonald's have started but in all places wherein McDonald's is found, as there can be advertising persuading technique which are responsible for too much eating attitude of fast food products, and that certain aims, objectives is being presented in the study.
The aim/objective of the combined essay can deal to the following points?
1. Discuss essential company and business background of McDonalds
2. Define what motivation is and describe how it works for McDonalds customers
3. Identify consumer decision making process and its underlying influence
4. Recognize how McDonald’s marketers and advertisers who use different types of motivational factors that influence consumer decision making process
5. Elaborate and explain certain motivation factors used by McDonald’s marketers and advertisers
6. Know and understand childhood obesity
7. Assume impact of McDonalds products and services in children example given, the super size meals McDonalds serves
8. Research apparent increase of childhood obesity due to motivation factors linked at McDonalds
9. Find out literature studies, certain theories or secondary research imperative to the focus topic
10. Assess literature through discussions/analysis
11. Find out supporting data and evidences of McDonalds and issues of childhood obesity
Content Analysis
According to McDonald's site, the company is leading in terms of global foodservice retailer with more than 31,000 local restaurants serving more than 58 million people in 118 countries each day as being owned and operated by independent local men and women as founded by Ray Kroc, strong foundation that Kroc built continues today with McDonald's vision and the commitment of talented executives to keep the shine on McDonald's Arches for the years to come (http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html). The environment in which McDonald’s commercials appear is highly important factor in selection of media as the company strives to associate advertising with entertaining, responsible programs and that, McDonald's continues to focus its management and financial resources on the McDonald’s restaurant business as opportunities for long-term growth remain significant. McDonald’s plans to win its strategic focus on being better, not just bigger has delivered even better restaurant experiences to customers and superior value to shareholders. McDonald's momentum continues because of global alignment and ongoing focus on the Plan to Win as well as operating from a position of strength and prepared to capture the growth opportunities in the marketplace.
In addition, McDonald's creativity contributed to the successful introduction of the Lemon Shrimp Burger in Germany and the Southwest Salad in the U.S. in 2007. Looking ahead, premium burgers in Europe and new beverages and Southern Style Chicken in the U.S. will give customers more reasons to visit McDonald’s. Thus, new food innovation is essential to McDonald's future, yet the real food success story remains McDonald's classic menu favorites like the Big Mac and the famous French Fries which account for a continued growth (McDonalds Annual Report, 2007). Delivering great value has been a hallmark of the McDonald’s serving relevant balance of new products, premium salads and sandwiches, classic menu favorites and everyday affordable offerings around the world, McDonald's create value for customers and satisfy their demand for choice and variety, serve customers great food at a great value, it’s important for the company to effectively manage restaurant operating costs as well as ensure McDonald's have reliable supply of high quality ingredients at affordable prices and believe in locally owned and operated restaurants are at the core of McDonald's competitive advantage and make them not just global brand and continually evaluate ownership structures in McDonald's markets to maximize brand performance and further enhance appropriate ownership mix in key markets around the world taking into account plans for prospective franchisees with the experience and resources in the relevant markets (McDonalds Annual Report, 2007), as McDonald evolution towards less capital intensive business model has favorable implications for amount of capital McDonald's invest, to continue growing in coming years and beyond.
Literature Review
Fast food has been defined in variety of ways, with no single definition or interpretation gaining consensus such for instance proponent Backman (1994) have stated that fast food should have low relative monetary price, quick service of the end product, suitability for eating with fingers and low finished product durability. The growth of McDonald's for example in Hong Kong has aroused concerns over wellness and health especially for children even though it is crucial that customers are satisfied not only with McDonald's products and its environment but also with service McDonald's provide but it did not lessen the level of customer expectations of McDonald's in terms of quality food and services. There implies that, employee satisfaction is important because customer satisfaction can only be achieved when employees are content, and the level of employee satisfaction is positively related to customer satisfaction (Rogers et al., 1994). However, there can be motives which determine food choice existence from specific foods in a set of potential choice criteria such as tasty, healthful and other factors like easy to get, parents serve and others as obesity is seen upon motivated by taste of such super size meals also choices determined by friendly influence as well as owned with parental influence. The McDonald's marketers and advertisers are always on the side of ample sales and profits and can be true that they use various types of motivation factors that has influence towards consumer decision making process mostly, those children who are fond of their food products they offer for example, super size McDonalds meal can trigger children to buy more McDonalds food choices without being aware of their health and appetite limitations not aware that too much eating of super size meals makes them obese and way out of diet control and food intake. As nowadays, there is no surprise that McDonalds loyal customers are increasing in numbers from adults, to young adults down to teenagers and children, serving age brackets at all levels despite the fact that behavior of consumers of such services and products offered is not being always consistent in such behavior patterns that they have and does not fit the stereotypes that segmentation strategies would have us believe. For instance, Gabriel and Lang (1995), pointed out that there are many types of consumer, not in the sense of different segments, but rather that one consumer can vary their type from time to time or even within one act of consumption, McDonalds consumer as chooser, explorer and or identity seeker, having in mercurial character attempting the marketers and advertisers in recognizing children consumers of McDonalds as uncontrollable with the thinking that they enjoy the food and will buy them with no limits and care to health, too much consumption is visible, assuming an opportunistic act, providing in sealable food choices targeting McDonalds children consumers from within consumer marketing and service options. The motivational factors responsible for the increased childhood obesity have to involve with the type of food they serve, the composition of food in various meal sets and promos have shaken obesity reality in children and the amount as well as sizes of food served, the fats and calories in stored at each meal is placed at the marketing stance at McDonalds without considering negative effects towards wellness and health. Thus, McDonalds will seek to control the consumer whether consumer wants it or not as they have strict codes and practices and constrain the options of the consumer and there assume that, several consumers will behave in predictable ways and have set up systems on certain assumption, unmanageable McDonald’s consumer can be an anathema according to Ritzer and Ovadia (2000). Aside, it may be that older and very young consumer may for different reasons be less susceptible to McDonalds products and lead them from standardized products and services which emphasize personal attention and service and that, McDonalds has been careful in advertisements and marketing plans esp. affecting children underage. The marketers and advertisers needs to provide enough variety, change, and updating of McDonalds offers so that children will be able to consume just enough meal in whatever way they wish and without reference to extra food purchase expectation. The fast food market is growing, due to busier consumer lifestyles and dual-working families with children, emphasis is increasingly being placed on quick meal solutions (Atkins and Bowler, 2001), as consumers tend to regard convenience and wholesomeness as polar opposites and not complementary type of food value (Jack et al., 1998). Indeed, fast food meals based on burgers and fried chicken intend to be perceived as convenient but in fact unhealthy if too much consumption will take place esp. for children with possibility of getting obese. Recently, the notion that convenience foods are contributing to an obesity epidemic has led to litigation proceedings against McDonald's also, certain number of fast-food companies and food manufacturers have reviewed the fat and sugar contents of their product ranges, and reconsidered the size of the portions they offer. McDonald’s marketers are now on promoting new healthy options to be purchased from various McDonald’s outlets alongside its popular burger and chicken meals. For service marketing and consumer research, one better innovative strategy planned by McDonald's enables dietary information for each meal to be accessed via nutritional calculator tools on each company's web site, there may refer to: (www.mcdonalds.co.uk). Thus, the UK Food Standards Agency's current diet and nutrition strategy emphasizes role for the food industry in helping to improve the nutritional quality of dietary intakes (Scottish Food Advisory Committee, 2002), this means offering healthier choice for children, as there balances of food ingredients to avoid people, mostly children to be obese through reducing the presence of fat as well as salt/sugar and increasing vegetables and complex carbohydrates (Laurance and Mitchell, 2003). Consumer value plays crucial role at the heart of all marketing activity as it refers to things of value that have been created for a specific market (Holbrook, 1999). Consumer value is a highly complex concept in that it integrates an array of possible product quality attributes, process-related attributes and less tangible sources of value, in particular, brand image (Schroder, 2003). At McDonalds, product attributes may be further broken down into nutritional, sensory and hygienic quality. The nature of food production and processing is becoming more important to consumers (Baltas, 2001; Bredahl et al., 1998), even if these aspects cannot be verified through the actual consumption of the food. It is then not surprising that global players in McDonald's intend to find themselves in the firing line of groups concerned with the various aspects of food quality. It is worth speculating, given the prominence of convenience among the different types of consumer value in fast food that such behavioral inconsistencies are especially likely in context. Childhood obesity is an escalating problem that has received much attention as the prevalence of overweight children for example in the US that can be ideally doubled in figure and the finding of causes for the dramatic increase in obesity among children is an important input in designing prevention policies. On the simplest level, weight gain is caused by more energy intake than energy expenditure over a long period of time. Television viewing may contribute to childhood obesity both by reducing energy expenditure from displacement of physical activity and increasing energy intake from increased snacking during television viewing or as a result of exposure to food advertising. In addition, commercial advertising of foods contributes to the epidemic of obesity among children is still an ongoing debate. There is widespread speculation that the exposure to food advertising may contribute to unhealthy food choices and weight gain despite lacking evidence showing the direct linkage between television food advertising and childhood obesity. Consumer behavior in response to advertising could be explained using Becker and Murphy (1993), wherein brand’s advertising level interacts with consumption in the consumer’s utility function is proposed. In this model, by treating advertising as a complementary good, consumers may simply derive more utility from consuming a more advertised good. As an example, it may be that a child values the toys that go together with the commercial products, as advertising may then serve as an input that enables the consumer to derive more utility when the advertised product is consumed. Moreover, children may not be able to distinguish advertisements from regular programs and have little understanding of their persuasive intent. Using children’s favorite characters and linking products with concepts such as fun, happiness, and well-being, food advertisements can successfully entice children to consume their products. Not surprisingly, the advertising industry has reacted strongly to suggestions that governments restrict or ban advertising screened during children’s programs and there has been intense media debate over advertisers’ rights and responsibilities, raised issues like role played by parents in moderating their children’s behavior, the effects advertising has on behavior, the multiple factors alleged to contribute to obesity (Ambler, 2004). Advertising and industry spokespeople argue that children’s food consumption is a matter for parents to determine (Sykora, 2003). Consumer value inherent in fast foods tends to include convenience, cheapness, consistency and reliability, the character of filling snack or meal and fun context, consumer expectations of food ethics related standards may increase and possibly become mainstream, and McDonalds players will be affected by the situation. There may perceived McDonalds sales culture that promoted too consumption by encouraging customers to upsize portions, and leads to obesity that children customers should expect to be actively sold to and that it was up to them to make the correct choice (Bacon, 2004). It is clear that a strong corporate emphasis on consumer health, quality and socially responsible initiatives must be incorporated. New advertising campaigns or new product lines alone are not sufficient to communicate changing brand values, if McDonald's wish to maintain and attract new customers, the overall brand value must be redefined. Consumer value, research and trends needs to be protected, more readily if McDonald’s quality policy and strategy are aligned with the values of marketers, advertisers, the employees and customers and every product manager and market sector needs to be aware of the types of consumer value represented. It is crucial that fast-food retailers communicate the essence of their brand values effectively and honestly throughout the value chain and to attract key target consumers (Bacon, 2004). Furthermore, some of the economists have found that increases in labor force participation rates and declines in cigarette smoking also are significantly related to the rise in obesity as they view the population increase in weight gain as an implicit trade off by product of sedentary as well as salary work combined with the reality of falling food prices (Seiders and Petty, 2006 p. 20). Thus, the increased food consumption are being driven by convenience-related trends, such as heightened consumer spending on meals outside the home and increased snacking and eating frequency. Of the many factors associated with rising obesity, food industry marketing practices are among the most criticized and so the food industry, for instance McDonalds is often held accountable for increased portion sizes for meals and snacks and intensive distribution and promotion of fast foods and snack foods (Seiders and Petty, 2006 pp. 20-21).
Discussion
The heightening interest of motivational aspects of consumer behavior provides additional impetus to food services research stream of better understanding specific roles played by each construct in influencing different consumer behaviors. The motivational process model is developed, explicating the process by which different components of risk and involvement become salient to the consumer, influence behavioral responses, provide better understanding of mechanisms through which motivational states occur and help McDonald’s marketers to develop more effective strategies for advertising in a valuable process for healthy advocacy of McDonalds consumers, children as a majority influence consumers’ judgments of the likelihood of product failures, positively from the consumer’s involvement with the process. Another factor implies to the level of enduring involvement of McDonalds product class directly influences the experienced situational involvement as the enduring involvement influences consumer responses directly, as well as through its influence on the value of customer service. The motivation resulting from consumer involvement is to arouse the consumer to expend more effort in considering the cognitive elements of risk in detail, impeding consumer involvement as the customer prefer choices that satisfies them, as too much purchase represents health risk, the motivational state resulting from enduring and situational involvement will operate on the individual through the different cognitive risk perceptions. The food industry that McDonalds belong were criticized for types of marketing practices: the use of large servings of high fat, high calorie foods; the failure to provide nutrition information before purchase targeting children with high-fat, high calorie foods by media and toy promotions and saturating distribution channels like in schools. Super sizing is an efficient and profitable practice for McDonalds because the incremental costs of size upgrading are low. The value proposition is compelling for consumers because the price differential between regular and super sized products typically is fairly minimal (Seiders and Petty, 2006 pp. 20-21). Thus, marketers in consumer industry face new frontier of electronic information and commerce as understanding buyer behavior in this new marketing channel is crucial since the consumers are mature, sophisticated and intelligent, demands higher product information before making purchasing decisions, enhancing the consistency, from availability and quality of support to consumers. The consumers will be more likely to develop new patterns of information search and decision making strategies involving new information technologies if the time and energy expended in these activities are perceived to be judicious and beneficial as indeed McDonalds marketers may aim to provide consumers with information on which to base their decisions, the question of how to provide such information arises, McDonalds marketers have to select the type of information system they want to utilize in order to deliver the most appropriate information to consumers. The view that the obesity epidemic is environmental in origin has been expressed in extensive media reports.
Conclusion and RecommendationTherefore, consumer behavior and its development seem to increase the probability that behavior change will occur even though complex decision making or merely habit are involved in many purchase decisions, it appears that increasingly the consumer is less predictable and less of a machine than some existing theories would imply. The older and younger consumer fit less with what existing theory is useful views of consumer behavior suggest the lack of prediction in consumer behavior models may be simply because the consumer is unpredictable and may change their decision strategies from occasion to occasion and within one purchase sequence and knocks on the head much of current marketing theory and in particular the assumption consumers will behave like other consumers within particular market segment indeed, consumers are less predictable than people thought in order to understand the variety of behaviors engaged in by individuals in certain contexts. There is ample need for advocates as well as parents to guide McDonald’s marketers and advertisers in presenting their products, and it should be a healthy choice for children not to get obese and be victims of the situation, the controlling of children’s media understanding id imperative thus, helping them to limit their choices and preference of McDonald’s meals, explain why certain food groups should be consumed in moderation, and resist requests that would exceed a moderate consumption level however, argument that advertisers have the right to communicate with children, while parents must take responsibility for the consequences of these communications, is clearly unbalanced. Deferring action until a specific causal relationship between advertising and obesity levels has been established would overlook actions that could be taken using knowledge of how advertising supports and maintains behavior. The advertising can prompt behavior, its main role is to reinforce and maintain existing behavior patterns. The view of advertising as a reinforcer rather than as a cause of behavior aligns strongly with operant conditioning and a more behavioral theory of advertising. McDonald’s industry’s reliance on advertising to promote healthy eating behavior, however, seems somewhat at odds with their argument that advertising does not cause behavior. While they assert that advertising does not persuade non-consumers of fast food to begin consuming this type of food, they appear to believe it may persuade consumers to moderate their intake and begin a regular exercise program. Behavior modification theory and advertising theory suggest that social marketing and education campaigns will achieve limited results since they are rarely powerful enough to alter established behavior patterns. Using policy to decrease the visibility of less healthy foods, while also making these more expensive or more difficult to access, reduces the salience of these foods and discourages consumption.
Reference List
Ambler, T. (1996). Can alcohol misuse be reduced by banning advertising? International Journal of Advertising, 15(2), 167–174
Atkins, P., Bowler, I. (2001), Food in Society: Economy, Culture and Geography, Arnold, London
Backman, P. (1994), "Fast food explosion", Caterer & Hotel Keeper, pp.324-39.
Bacon, T. (2004), "You are how you behave: customers can't be fooled", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 25 No.4, pp.35-40.
Baltas, G. (2001), "Nutrition labeling: issues and policies", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 No.5/6, pp.708-21
Becker GS, Murphy KM. 1993. A Simple Theory of Advertising as a Good or Bad. Quarterly Journal of Economics 108: 941-64.
Bredahl, L., Grunert, K.G., Frewer, L.J. (1998), "Consumer attitudes and decision making with regard to genetically engineered food products – a review of the literature and presentation for models for future research", Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol. 21 No.3, pp.251-77.
Divehall, D. (2003, September 2). Fast food industry perspective. Childhood Obesity Symposium, Massey University at Albany. Retrieved June 20, 2004
Gabriel, Y., Lang, T. (1995), The Unmanageable Consumer: Contemporary Consumption and its Fragmentation, Sage, London
Hastings, G., Stead, M., & McDermott, L. (2003). A review of research on the effects of food promotion to children. Report prepared for the Food Standards Authority by the Centre for Social Marketing, Strathclyde University.
Jack, F.R., Piacentini, M.G., Schröder, M.J.A. (1998), "Perception and role of fruit in the workday diets of scottish lorry drivers", Appetite, Vol. 30 No.2, pp.139-49.
Jack, F.R., O'Neill, J., Piacentini, M.G., Schröder, M.J.A. (1997), "Perception of fruit as a snack: a comparison with manufactured snack foods", Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 8 No.3, pp.175-82.
Laurance, J., Mitchell, B. (2003), “Heinz fights for its claim that tins are good for you”, The Independent, 24 April
Lvovich, S. (2003). Advertising and obesity: The research evidence. International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children, 4(3), 35–40.
McDonalds Site http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html
Ritzer, G., Ovadia, S. (2000), "The process of McDonaldization is not uniform, nor are its settings, consumers, or the consumption of its goods and services", in Gottdiener, M. (Eds),New Forms of Consumption, Rowan and Littlefield, Lanham
Rogers, J.D., Clow, K.E., Kash, T.J. (1994), "Increasing job satisfaction of service personnel", The Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 8 pp.14-26.
Schröder, M.J.A. (2003), Food Quality and Consumer Value, Springer, Berlin, .
Scottish Food Advisory Committee (2002), Document SFAC/Apr-02/P/31/OPEN, Scottish Food Standards Agency, Aberdeen
Sykora, A. (2003, 2 September). Our approach. Presentation on behalf of Coca Cola New Zealand to Childhood Obesity Symposium, Massey University.
Young, B. (2003). Does food advertising make children obese? International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children, 4(3), 19–26.
Appendix
The full length of McDonalds Annual Report (2007) can be accessed through the URL below for details:
http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/etc/medialib/aboutMcDonalds/investors.Par.94194.File.dat/Downloadable_AR_final_4_8_08.pdf
0 comments:
Post a Comment