McDonald’s is cashing in on one of its most famous brands, the Quarter Pounder, by launching standalone stores in Japan.
The stores are branded THE QUARTER POUNDER and do not feature the fast food giant’s famous golden arches or Ronald McDonald. (Thank you to Neil Duckett who tipped us off about this and took the images below – see his site here for more information, pictures and a first-hand account….)
McDonalds Japan is testing the waters of no-brand marketing with the newly opened Quarter Pounder stores in Tokyo which offers generic packaging, minimalist décor and a two-item menu (Quarter Pounder and a Quarter Pounder with cheese).
The fast food giant’s dip into no-brand marketing comes as quite a shock to those who see the global burger master as the poster child for brand name advertising. But perhaps that is the very reason the brand has branched out with this innovation.
It’s credit crunch, well that’s no secret, and Quarter Pounder seeks to cash in on it’s product’s iconic status. The burger is one of the best selling products McDonald’s offers so by launching a “spin-off” store selling it and it alone will attract customers from far and wide that are fans of the burger. No decisions, no distractions and no promotions. It’s fast food at its best – and most convenient.
This also bring up the whole question of love or products – myth or fact? This idea from McDonald’s was built on the idea that people love this product and this product alone, will it work?
**All images copyright of Neil Duckett @ NeilDuckett.com
November 20, 2008 at 3:47 am |
This is so weird, especially since I was just reading about McDonald’s on Dr. Tantillo’s marketing blog, where he praises McD for being so flexible and adapting to demand but prefaced this with: “The big things about McDonald’s cosmetic image (i.e., colors, designs, clown mascot) have never essentially changed. Neither has the basic serving and restaurant setup.”
Guess they are even more flexible though… Tantillo’s full post
Even though this is supposed to just be temporary/buzz marketing, I wonder if cultivating this sort of aesthetic wouldn’t make sense for them–a move to diversify their holdings (they own a significant portion of Chipotle, or did last I knew) and expand/diversify their customer base (Ex. their ‘unsnobby coffee’ campaign. Tantillo did a post on
Starbucks/Dunkin’ Donuts mentioning McDonald’s coffee, too.
The food definitely isn’t just selling for its own sake, though. I was surprised by the rhetorical question at the end of the article, because as you say in the introduction…the Quarter Pounder IS a McDonald’s brand.