When I was eight, I was unshakably loyal to a manufacturer’s line of products. I knew their specifications, advocated their purchase and was absolutely unwilling to consider the merits of the closest competitors. In short, I was a McDonalds fanatic.
My interaction went beyond cheeseburgers and shakes. McDonalds gave me my first taste of the Three Stooges via a projection TV one franchise set up in its dining room. McDonalds issued the first gift certificates I ever cared about redeeming. The burger-slinging firm even provided my introduction to comedian Professor Irwin Corey through a movie trivia promotion.
I haven’t indulged in McDonalds regularly for 20 years, and company management doesn’t know what my consumption patterns were or why they changed – or indeed, who I am. McDonalds is one of the biggest advertisers on the planet, yet it has no way of reaching me short of Saturday morning commercials.
This comes at a time when McDonald’s should not be writing any customer off. Its sales have been dropping steadily for three years, and it’s been price-cutting its profit margins to shreds with its dollar menu promotion. Clearly, mass advertising isn’t meeting the brand’s needs any more.
But loyalty marketing might. Automobile manufacturers are starting to understand cradle to grave – or at least license issuance to license revocation – marketing. A few have established programs to migrate a consumer from the first car to one that meets the needs of a starter family, all the way through to cars that are retirement-age status symbols.
McDonalds could apply this concept by enrolling young enthusiasts (with parental permission) into a program that applies overlay data, and tracks the kids throughout every life stage, offering a series of age-appropriate incentives. Mailings would be addressed "to the parents of," at least initially.
As the program member ages, the burger chain could encourage after-class stops during high school before students hit the books. For college students, McDonalds could offer a late-night cup of coffee and a clean, well-lit place for a study break. For someone new to the workplace, McDonalds can provide comfort food to mitigate the stresses of a first job.
Adults with children will have all the urging to return they need. But even without kids of their own, adults can be brought back into the fold. Take the trivia contest from my youth, the one that introduced me to Irwin Corey. If McDonalds knows the approximate age of its customers, it could design a contest with questions geared toward the time when the participant was most actively involved with the chain.
If the lifetime marketing program is strong enough, grandparents and great uncles/aunts who are members may make a trip both to eat and to enroll the young ‘uns. How many Saturday morning advertisements would that be worth?
To respond to the opinions in this column, please contact rlevey@primediabusiness.com
