McDonald's to expand retail spread; earmarks Rs 18 crore as marketing budget

McDonald's firmly believes aggression is the best way to weather a storm.

So in this scenario where everybody is talking in terms of cutbacks and roll-ins, McDonald's India has unveiled an ambitious expansion plan.

To begin with, the company aims to double the number of its retail outlets and take the tally to 80 by the end of 2003. To this end, the company has earmarked an investment of Rs 300-Rs 400 crore, which is more than 50 per cent of the total investment the company has made in India since its launch in 1997. The fast-food chain currently has 40 restaurants, of which 20 are in Delhi, and the rest cover top cities like Mumbai, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad etc. The company says while some of its new outlets will open in cities where it has a presence already, the bulk of the new restaurants will target new cities such as Bangalore (which will be McDonald's first in the south), Bareilly, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Baroda.

To make its way to a captive audience of sorts, the fast-food chain has tied up with key railway services across the country. In Delhi it has tied up with the Delhi Metro (which is under construction), in Mumbai with the Mumbai Central railway station and with Jaipur station in the pink city.

Alongside the company is working at spicing up its menu to make McDonald's a complete family experience. In a related move, McDonald's has recently launched two new products targeting an older set of consumers. Priced at Rs 45 and Rs 55 respectively, the Paneer Salsa Wrap and the Chicken Mexican Wrap were introduced last week with a lot of fanfare. Vikram Bakshi, managing director, McDonald's India, says, "This product is the first of its kind from McDonald's India. It will cater to the wide customer base for a more filling meal at McDonald's."

The company claims it plans to spend as much as Rs 18 crore on marketing this year. A two-ad TV campaign created by Mudra Communications, Delhi, will announce the new product launches. The campaign broke last week in the top TV channels in the Zee and Sony bouquet. Interestingly, the agency has excluded STAR from its media plan. "The prime objective was cost efficiency. We can reach out to the same target group through these channels in a more cost effective way," says Saurabh Saksena, associate branch director, Mudra, Delhi.

Since the products are for adults, the lens is on the father in both the commercials. In the first ad, the son comes to his father seeking help in tying his tie. While helping his son, the father suddenly starts rolling the tie upwards and shoves it in his mouth. The second ad has a husband about to leave home for office. As his wife gives him a handkerchief, he unconsciously rolls it into the shape of a Wrap and bites into the handkerchief.

"The task of the advertising," says Bakshi, "is to be relevant to the adults without actually compromising on our distinctive style and taste." Based on that premise, the brief to Mudra was to highlight the irresistible taste of the Wrap. "To this end, we decided to dramatise the situation, where the father just cannot get the Wrap off his mind," explains Saksena.

The company hopes the new products will result in increased footfalls in the McDonald's restaurants. And eventually pave the way for the company to realise its plan of breaking even in 2003. © 2002 agencyfaqs!