A few months back, I examined the ultimate failure of McDonald’s attempt to force a social media strategy with #McDsStories.
I then compared their lack of success, one week later, to a very solid campaign by Domino’s, whereby the company opened itself up to criticism in a very public manner.
I guess McDonald’s was listening to me, because their latest campaign feeds off of the “Domino’s Effect”.
This morning I was surfing through Facebook when I came across an ad from McD’s Canada. (Facebook, of course, still has the seedy strategy of getting you to click on ads by showing that your friends like something, but that’s another blog for another time.) The ad directed me to the company’s Facebook page, and a new tab – Our Food. Your Questions.
Here’s what happens – users from social media get to post questions to McDonald’s which populate on said Our Food. Your Questions page. The questions that have been asked so far are pretty diverse, ranging from sugar in their french fries to the possible return of McPizza.
As you scroll through the questions though, there are certain trends that start to emerge among the questions that are and aren’t answered. One of the trends surrounds the long-standing rumour that the McD’s “100% Pure Beef” guarantee. The urban legend, of course, is that the tagline that you see on their wrappers is actually the name of the company that processes the patties.
Now while McDonald’s answers that their beef comes from Cargill and denotes elsewhere that the beef does not contain anything but meat (along with some salt and pepper for seasoning), it doesn’t answer the 100% Pure Beef queries directly, at least not yet – there is an opportunity to “follow” certain queries and be alerted when an answer comes.
To me, this is just asking for trouble. Any sense of aversion to a direct question of that nature will cause consumers to be concerned that they’re not being paid proper attention. McDonald’s could have simply gathered these queries into one section (still using the submittor’s name, photo and city) and group answer, do a Q&A blog or use similar means.
But by having these questions hang, they are putting doubts in the minds of their customers, and ultimately, this will only serve them poorly.
First off I would like to say fantastic blog!
I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing. I have had trouble clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints? Thanks!
Thanks for your comment and compliment!
The best thing to do when attempting to write is to not force your writing. In the training sessions I run with clients, I always advise not to write just for the sake of writing. Find something that impassions you and apply it to your subject. In the case of this blog, for example, I was able to draw from my interest in McDonald’s marketing, especially in light of how they were lambasted by Morgan Spurlock.
Remember – blogs can be scheduled to go up on certain days – so if you get a stroke of brilliance at 11pm (and it will happen), don’t squelch or put off your inspiration; use it to your advantage. Write it as a draft, hit the sack then check in the morning and publish it when ready.