The Promotional Mix Explained | McDonald's Examples

The promotional mix encompasses various techniques a business employs to reach its target audience effectively. It focuses on optimizing communication methods to boost sales and brand awareness. There are five primary strategies within this mix, each playing a crucial role in marketing efforts.

Advertising is a key promotional technique where companies pay to promote their products to potential customers. This can be done through traditional methods like TV, newspapers, radio, and billboards or modern outlets such as social media and search engines. McDonald's exemplifies this strategy by spending over 600 million dollars on various advertising campaigns in 2020 alone.

Sales promotions are short-term incentives designed to encourage purchases. Techniques include special offers like buy one get one free, discounts, and coupons with limited timeframes to prompt quick action from customers. Games and contests add excitement; McDonald's monopoly giveaway is a prime example where stickers on meals offer chances for prizes, boosting sales as people purchase more frequently and in larger quantities.

Direct marketing is a personalized promotional strategy targeting customers individually through post, phone calls, text messages, and predominantly email. Email marketing stands out due to its effectiveness and ability to measure campaign success via open rates and link clicks. Tailoring direct marketing efforts based on customer preferences and past purchases enhances the likelihood of success. McDonald's employs this method by emailing special offers and seasonal menu items to entice customers into their stores.

Public relations (PR) is the communication and relationship a business has with the public, often built through media outlets discussing what the business stands for. This method provides mainly free promotion but can also lead to negative narratives. McDonald's struggles with PR due to its association with obesity and health issues highlighted in documentaries like 'Super Size Me' and various lawsuits. To counteract this, McDonald's uses press releases about community work via Ronald McDonald Foundation, food quality improvements, and sponsorships of high-profile sporting events to foster a positive image.

Personal selling involves direct interaction between an employee and a customer to influence purchases, commonly seen in car sales or door-to-door sales. At McDonald’s, this technique is subtly used when employees ask if customers want to upgrade their orders. The introduction of self-service kiosks has taken upselling further by prompting customers to enlarge meals or add extra items, leading them to spend 20% more on average compared to face-to-face ordering.