Mcdonalds Marketing Analysis

Introduction

History/Background

McDonald’s is the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California.

Their introduction of the “Speedee Service System” in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The original mascot of McDonald’s was a man with a chef’s hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was “Speedee.” Speedee was eventually replaces with Ronald McDonald by 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having puffed out costume legs.

McDonald’s first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name McDonald’s on May 2, 1961. In the same year, on September 13, the company filed a logo trademark on an overlapping, double arched “M” symbol. The overlapping double arched “M” symbol logo was temporarily disfavored by September 6, 1962, when a trademark was filed for a single march, shaped over many of the early McDonald’s restaurants in the early years. The Modern double arched “M” symbol that continues to be in use today at McDonald’s restaurants did not appear until November 18. 1968, when the company filed a U.S. trademark on the now famous symbol that continues to be in use through the end of the year 2009.

The first McDonald’s restaurants opened in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France, El Salbador and Sweden, in order of openings.

Nature of business

McDonald’s Corporation earns revenue as an investor in properties, a franchiser of restaurants, and an operator of restaurants. Approximately 15% of McDonald’s restaurants are owned and operated by McDonald’s Corporation directly. The remainder is operated by others through a variety of franchise agreements and joint ventures. The McDonald’s Corporation’s business model is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary...