Week 5 Writing Journal

Summary of two sources:
1. The Associated Press. (September 17, 2007). McDonald’s china strategy. February 16, 2010. Retrieved from: Los Angeles Times- Article Collections: http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/17/business/ft-mcdon17?pg=2

This source stated that McDonald’s created two niches which is a special region demand from customers for supply special goods or services. There are two niches McDonald’s provides in China: drive through and locations open all night. Moreover, the article mentioned that McDonald’s had reported sales increases than before. It is useful to me, because this information support my point which McDonald’s does good job on their marketing strategy. Also, the two niches had opened McDonald’s restaurant leading place in China. I would synthesizes this article when I mention about McDonald’s is well-known in China. I will provide the report from the article to support my idea.

2. Hume, S. (2010). The road to china. February 16, 2010. Retrieved from: BuyerZone: http://www.buyerzone.com/professional_services/franchises/rbic-road-to-china.html

This source has some related to the first one, which mentioned about McDonald’s drive through in China. Also, the article talked about McDonald’s has researched local consumer taste behavior and has created new flavors to fix Chinese consumer taste. Especially, there is not only one menu in China, but a bit dissimilar in some China’s cities, such as Beijing, Hong Gong and Shanghai. Thus, I would add this data into my first main point which stated that McDonald’s research local consumer taste behavior first and has changed the menu a little bit different.

Combine two new sources into paragraph:

In China, McDonald’s has adjusted their marketing strategy to create new flavors of the products. For example, McDonald’s has changed their menu a little bit different than the original menu in the United States. According to Adams (2008), “they seem to have found the magic touch for capturing that taste bud of people all over the world, even in countries that don’t eat beef, like India, or those that prefer rice, like the entire Asian region”. McDonald’s has researched local consumer eating behavior first and then decide to change the menu. Moreover, Hume (2010) stated that in addition to provide core menu which included Big Macs, McChicken, and Egg McMuffins in China, they has changed a little bit of menu in local city to fix the consumer preference. There is one information Hume (2010) provided, “In Hong Kong, the traditional Filet-O-Fish sandwich is the top seller. In Shanghai, McDonald's Spicy Chicken Filet Burger sells best, and a Spicy Filet-O-Fish recently was added” (p. 1). It evidences that McDonald’s would look at the sales reports and then decides what have to be changed in original menu. Thus, research local information is an important step to any business. McDonald’s does well on it and perform their marketing strategy well in China.

McDonald’s successfully promotes the products into entire China region in recent years. It does really good brand marketing plan in China which is not only making good profit, but has been well-known for the China people. Also, the people most easily recognize McDonald’s and even the age from five to seventy. According to Griffith (2008), “Two decades ago, McDonald's was largely unknown here, except as a symbol of the decadent west. But a capitalist revolution has swept through the People's Republic. And today mainland China, still officially Communist, is home to 800 McDonald's restaurants — with 200 more in Hong Kong”. It represents that McDonald’s has grew very fast within two decades and has big market share in China. Furthermore, McDonald’s has created two niches: drive through and locations open all night. Niche means a special region demand from customers for supply special goods or services. The two niches perform successfully and let McDonald’s become the restaurant leading place in China. There is one example talked about McDonald’s did the drive through service excellent while the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008, “it has 770 units in China now (the first opened in 1990) and intends to have at least 1,000—and 50% of new stores with drive-thru windows—when the Beijing Olympic Games begin in August 2008” (Hume, 2010). As a result, drive through and locations open all night are two successful niches.

Reference
Adams, B. (November 7 2008). Purple Slinky. February 8, 2010. Retrieved from: Nine mcdonald’s products that actually flopped: http://purpleslinky.com/humor/food/nine-mcdonalds-products-that-actually-flopped/
Griffith, W. (August 15, 2008). McDonald’s has a big appetite for china. Retrieved from: msnbc.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26226387/
Hume, S. (2010). The road to china. February 16, 2010. Retrieved from: BuyerZone: http://www.buyerzone.com/professional_services/franchises/rbic-road-to-china.html
McDonald’s franchise. (February 3, 2010). February 14, 2010. Retrieved from: GreenwichMeanTime.com: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/websites/business/franchise/mcdonalds/index.htm
The Associated Press. (September 17, 2007). McDonald’s china strategy. February 16, 2010. Retrieved from: Los Angeles Times- Article Collections: http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/17/business/ft-mcdon17?pg=2