These days, McDonald's is trying hard to make sure everyone is "lovin' it."
Against the backdrop of neon-yellow arches, Larry Light, global chief marketing officer of McDonald's, spoke to Penn students on the recent marketing strategies of the multinational corporation Friday evening.
Light was hired as McDonald's global chief marketing officer two years ago as the corporation encountered its first-ever month of financial loss. With some fast-food chains experiencing losses, Light entered McDonald's recognizing the need for a change in direction.
At the time, McDonald's was completely supply-focused and opened a new store approximately every six hours. People ate at McDonald's because it was "cheap" and "convenient," Light said.
"Over 60 percent of our most frequent customers said they would rather eat somewhere other than McDonald's," Light continued.
This bleak statistic led the company to change its corporate mission to becoming "our customers' favorite place and way to eat" by building brand favoritism.
With this new aim in mind, Light worked with McDonald's to adjust its marketing strategies to "reinvent, restore [and] rebuild" the brand.
The strategies focused on "restoring" the store's relevance to customers who grew too old for McDonald's traditionally child-focused image. This was done by modifying menus and store designs.
The corporation also had to work on "rebuilding" trust from customers by increasing transparency of operations and contributing to the fight against child obesity.
During the question-and-answer session, Light was asked about anti-Americanism abroad.
Light said that American corporations venturing abroad had to deal with issues "on the brand image of the United States."
"Without expressing too much political bias," Light said, "let's just say that [America's] chief brand manager isn't helping much."
Light closed the presentation on a hopeful note by emphasizing the importance of big corporations cooperating with scientists, governments and other authorities to resolve social issues.
Second-year MBA student Rebecca Chiu, however, said that solving problems such as child obesity involves changing people's behavior fundamentally.
"Which I don't know if a brand can do," Chiu said.
