Come On Eric: April 2010

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Week 13 Writing Journal

In fact, we haven’t talked much about the webtext in conference. I really have no idea about what I need to write in today’s journal. Maybe I remembered one we have talked about which is where I need to insert the podcast link and the slideshow page. Is this the topic what I have to write today?

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Week 12 Writing Journal

1. Given what you have learned so far about your subject.

I have learned a lot of information about McDonald’s within my research. Firstly, in fact, in China, I only know few new flavors McDonald’s has created but not exactly whole flavors what they looks like. However, after I research about McDonald’s menu, I found out there are many tastes that the menu only in China, such as red bean pie, Filet-O-Fish Burger, and Crispy Chicken Wings. Secondly, I have learned that McDonald’s did a lot of good marketing strategy to Chinese consumers, such as drive through and the store opens 24-hr services, and cutting price of meal as a promotion. Lastly, I have understood that the reason McDonald’s standing in the leading place of fast food industry, such as founded focus group to find out Chinese tasting behavior and perform new niches which is 24-hr delivery service.

2. What can you say to your readers that they may not already know and that you would be expected to support with facts, statistics, examples, or expert opinions?

I would say that my readers probably do not know well about China’s McDonald’s marketing strategy before they read my article. Also, I expected after they read the research, they would become excited to taste McDonald’s new flavors in China. However, I also expected them to understand how McDonald’s performs their marketing strategy under the pressure of many competitors such as KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s Pizza.

3. Summarize and respond to at least three of the texts in your bibliography. How will you use each of these in your webtext?

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
- In this article, it mentioned about the detail of McDonald’s marketing strategy in China, such as focusing on 5 P’s (people, products, place, price, promotion). Also, it has talked about that McDonald’s intends to open more and more new outlets in the mainland and increases the sales force to make more profit. I will use it to describe the detail new flavors name of China’s menu. Also, this article is like a overview of McDonald’s in China, thus, there are many sentences I can quote in my research, such as McDonald’s open more outlets, the main new flavors in China, and how McDonald’s sees China as a big market.

Lomax, A. (April 7, 2010). McDonald’s seeks a chinese fortune. April 14, 2010. Retrieved from: The Motley Fool: http://www.fool.com/investing/international/2010/04/07/mcdonalds-seeks-a-chinese-fortune.aspx
- In this article, the main point is obviously in the title: McDonald’s seeks a Chinese fortune. The author stated that McDonald’s gains more profit in Asian region year by year and tries to raise the number of outlets in the mainland. Also, it showed a graph to indicate the growing sales among Asia region, the United States, and Europe region. This graph is useful to me to support the reason McDonald’s choose China as a future marketplace star.

McDonald’s cuts prices in china to promote sales. (February 10, 2009). March 7, 2010. Retrieved from: ChinaRetailNews.com: http://www.chinaretailnews.com/2009/02/10/2242-mcdonalds-cuts-prices-in-china-to-promote-sales/
- This article is talking about McDonald’s has started cut price of its meals since 2009. The reasons they cuts price are raise the sales and compete to other opponents. I would use it to mention about McDonald’s marketing promotion and how well it performs. Also, there is one good place I also can put in, which is competitor part with KFC. Due to KFC owns highly competitive ability against with McDonald’s, McDonald’s treats its marketing strategy seriously.

4. What other new sources do you need to find to help you fully answer your questions? What information will you look for? Where do you expect to find it?

I think the new sources I need to find out is report the McDonald’s original menu in the United States. The reason I decided to do it is because I hope my readers can compare the original menu with new menu in China. My readers will clearly understand what different McDonald’s has changed. Also, I would find the information of the United States original menu from McDonald’s website. Moreover, I just jump out an idea which I might research how McDonald’s targets new consumer groups (healthy concern consumer & Kids) to increase the sales. The information would be found in McDonald’s website as well.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Week 11 Writing Journal

After I reviewed my webtext, I would insert my podcast after “More and More Competitors in China” section. Due to my podcast is discussion one specific competitor (also the largest threats to McDonald’s) to McDonald’s in China, thus, I would insert my podcast by using one big KFC’s picture with the audio presentation after that paragraph. Also, I would put my slideshow after the paragraph “McDonald’s Research and Develop New Flavors to Appeal to Chinese Consumer”. To illustrate my slideshow, I would insert one word attachment below the paragraph.

Outline:
Working Outline for: McDonald’s Marketing Strategy in China
Research Question: How Does McDonald’s Strategy of Marketing Deal with Consumer Taste in China?
Working Thesis: McDonald’s adjust their products to create new flavors for Chinese consumer and marketing it well.
Purpose: I hope after my audience read my article, they would understand how well McDonald’s performs their new marketing strategy in China
Audience: McDonald’s faithful consumer who are Chinese related and who are living in China.

I. Introduce the topic- McDonald’s marketing strategy in China and basic view of McDonald’s.
McDonald's is a worldwide leading fast-food restaurant today. Especially in Asia, McDonald's has a huge market share within China. It has used almost same marketing strategy as the United States in China, but it has expended the marketing strategy to fix the local consumer’s eating behavior.
II. McDonald’s history
A. McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc & How Kroc had founded McDonald’s (place, time…etc.)
On April 15, 1955, McDonald's Corporation founder, Ray Kroc, created his first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, IL. After Kroc had founded McDonald’s he built a logo which success to appeal to the people a brand name McDonald’s. According to the page name 1955 of McDonald's (2010), “the attention getting red and white tiled building with the Golden Arches was designed by architect Stanley Meston in 1953”.
III. McDonald’s marketing strategy in China
A. Research and Develop New Flavors to Appeal to Chinese Consumer
(after this paragraph, there is one attachment shows the detail of McDonald’s new menu in China)
McDonald’s has researched local consumer eating behavior first and then decide to change the menu. According to Hume (2010), he 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).
B. Founded Focus Group to Study the Chinese Consumer
C. Chinese View McDonald’s as a Western Restaurant
D. More and More Competitors in China (after this paragraph, there is one big KFC’s image showed in the webtext with the audio presentation)
IV. McDonald’s become famous in China
A. The people know the brand, who can easily recognize the brand
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.
B. McDonald’s Promotion and Growing Sales in China & Perceives Potential Marketplace in China
McDonald’s has created two niches in China: 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 (The Associated Press, 2007). 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.
C. New Future Marketing Strategy in China
V. Conclusion- restate the topic and the research information

Conclusion for my outline:
The thesis, audience, and purpose are still relevant to the content of my webtext. I think they are good to go. However, probably I would add one last paragraph for my conclusion in the future 2000 webtext.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Week 10 Writing Journal

In my slideshow, I would develop a new topic for my webtext. Especially I plan to extend my third paragraph (McDonald’s Research and Develop New Flavors to Appeal to Chinese Consumer) into a new paragraph. The heading sentence would be: The New Flavors Only in China. My main point of this paragraph is to introduce more detail about McDonald’s new menu in China. For example, I will provide the picture of Chicken McNuggets with chili garlic sauce, Crispy Chicken Wings (McWings), seasonal Chinese New Year meal, Premium Grilled Thigh Fillet Burger, Hot and Spicy Grilled Thigh Fillet Burger, Shake Shake Fries, Double Filet-O-Fish Burger, and pineapple, taro (a kind of sweet potato), chocolate, banana and red soy bean pies. If the slideshow’s space is enough, I would analyze each new flavors separately and explain why these flavors can appeal to Chinese consumer and make McDonald’s got good profit in China. Moreover, I think this topic is well-suited to an audio/visual presentation because I can easy to visualize the exactly images of those McDonald’s new menu for Chinese consumer. My audience would understand and picture what I am talking about McDonald’s new menu in China. Thus, I decided to use this topic to make my project more interesting.

For visualization:

1. http://www.mcdonalds.com.cn/images/mclub/coupon_list.jpg

For this one slide, I would state my heading sentence first and talk about McDonald’s new flavors of China (give the new flavors’ name). The purpose of this image is to give a general idea of McDonald’s menu in China.

2. http://www.mcdonalds.com.tw/newsroom/download/news/485a3f0cd5e28.jpg