The Wrong Play at the Wrong Time

McDonald's has enlisted professional skeptic and former "MythBusters" co-host Grant Imahara for its latest attempt to counter what it says are some of the persistent myths about the quality of its food. The launched it’s new "Our Food. Your Questions" series began on Oct 13^th with TV spots showing real people's questions and an invitation to consumers to pose questions via social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  Imahara is featured in a series of webisode videos addressing consumers' persistent doubts and questions.

McDonald's is hoping their campaign will dispel the unappetising rumors about "pinkslime", worm meat and other burger fillers that have long haunted the chain. The company is also inviting the public to send questions via Twitter and Facebook about what actually goes into their food. Among the many stubborn rumors circulating on social media for years include claims about burgers that never rot. Another question on its US homepage asks: "Does McDonald's beef contain worms?" to which the answer is simply "No. Gross! End of story." A video posted as part of the campaign showed Grant Imahara, a former host of the TV show Mythbusters, touring a Cargill beef plant where McDonald's burgers are made. However, it could be the wrong play at the wrong time.

Social media is not the right answer

Ben Stringfellow, a spokesman for McDonald said, “People are looking for faster, more straightforward responses to their questions about our food.” Actually they’re not. That’s what late-20th century research techniques and the ad agency told you. 

What they’re looking for is quality food (quality, which by the way, it turns out they’re willing to pay for at fast-casual restaurants), served in a reasonable timeframe. That’s not exactly the secret of the decade. But with consumer decision-making more emotional than rational, Q&A, no matter how many social media platforms are used, isn’t the answer to this problem. A new wrap, a “natural” frappe, or a social media app won’t fix what needs fixing. It’s the brand. And it needs reinvention.

That and what the brand stands for à la emotional engagement. Where emotional engagement with a brand is high , consumers are six times more likely to trust you. When they do, they don’t ask questions like “Are your ingredients pure?” or “Is it actually meat?” They walk into your restaurants already believing all that! 

The right answer for McDonald

When your hamburgers are rated as the "worst in America," it's not time to show customers educational videos about meat processing -- it's time to make and market better quality hamburgers. 

McDonald's has the right idea with its "build-your-burger" test program in several locations, which lets customers order custom burgers via a touch screen menu. It makes McDonald's burgers look fresher and more "bistro-like," as opposed to pre-made burgers which are left under the heat lamp.

As for its value menu, McDonald's needs to offer more creative menu options, on par with Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Tacos or Burger King's French Fry burgers, to get customers talking about the chain (in a positive way) again.

McDonald's Q&A social media campaign is an interesting approach to improving its public image, but it simply shines the spotlight on the fast food giant's previous problems. If the company wants to turn itself around, it needs to give customers better quality hamburgers and more exciting menu options -- not simply remind them that they're not made from pink slime.