5 Blogs Before Lunch

McDonald's Brings Back The McRib And Is Taking It Mobile

McDonald's has announced that it is bringing back the McRib pork sandiwich (first launched in the 1980's) and is using mobile marketing to lure customers to the golden arches.

A promotion for the McRib, will run regionally in cities including Dallas, Austin, Texas, Salt Lake City and Durham, N.C.

McDonald's has created a campaign that prompts consumers to text the word "MCRIB" to 69937 to get free mobile content, such as ringtones and wallpapers touting the McRib.

From Brandweek:
Unlike traditional media like TV or print, the promotion targets consumers ages 18-34. Myxer's Bullseye platform allows McDonald's to narrow the demographic down by gender, age, music genre and mobile preferences. As the platform is entirely mobile, 65% of visitors to the site are between the ages of 15 and 28, said Myxer's vp-marketing Steve Spiro.

"With mobile, the audience demographic tends to skew younger," said Spiro, adding that Moroch tapped the company because they "liked the concept of being able to take their brand with them."

McDonald's As A Responsible Corporate Citizen

McDonald's is touting its corporate responsibility index by announcing today that 82% of its packaging in its nine largest markets is now made from renewable materials.

It also reports that more than 91% of the fish used in its products originated from sustainable fisheries and, as part of its rainforest commitment policy, it continues to refuse beef sourced from rainforest areas. Nearly all (99%) of its approved slaughterhouses were audited for animal welfare in 2007, and 99.2% of those passed.

All of this information was released as part of its reported titled “Responsible food for a sustainable future”

 McDonald's currently has created green restaurants in the U.S. and Sweden, and is constructing more in Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica and France.

Source: Brandweek

McDonald's McDouble Offers Less and Costs More

McDonald's is launching a new sandwich called the McDouble.

The double patty burger has half the cheese of a Double CheeseBurger (making it cheaper to make) and will cost more than the Double Cheesburger. Do corporations really think consumer don't notice these things?

"We want our customers to know they can depend on McDonald's to provide the everyday value and convenience they've come to expect, every time they visit our restaurants," said Greg Watson, vice president of marketing at McDonald's USA. "These recommended changes will ensure we continue to satisfy our customers' tastes and wallets."

Obamamercial Pulls in 33.5 million Viewers

Nielsen Media Research is reporting that the aggregate viewership for the 30-minute paid ad for Barack Obama (affectiionately called the Obamamercial)  was more than 33.5 million viewers across Fox, NBC, CBS, Univision, MSNBC, BET and TV One. The special outdrew the average audience for that time slot, and seems well worth the reported $3.5-5 million paid for the airtime.

Leadership, Design and Innovation in Challenging Times

If you're in San Francisco this coming Monday, November 3, I encourage you to check out a discussion of leadership, design and innovation at the Commonwealth Club. You can learn more, and buy tickets HERE.

Starbucks Joins (Red) Campaign

Starbucks has joined Gap, Apple, Microsoft, Converse, Hallmark, American Express and Motorola in supporting (Red) to raise money for the global fight against AIDS over the Christmas season.

The program will be part of Starbucks' new 'Shared Planet' initiative. The Red partnership donates five cents from the sale of Red-branded beverages to a global fund, which raises money for programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The three Red drinks, Peppermint Mocha Twist, Gingersnap Latte and Espresso Truffle, will be available between November 27 and January 2 in the US and Canada.

Source: Brand Republic

Delta Buys Northwest. But What's in it for Consumers?

Delta's purchase of Northwest is in the final stages. The combined company will create the world's largest airline and marks the end of the Northwest brand. It is being reported that the combination of the two airlines will serve more than 375 worldwide cities, more than any other airline, and employ around 75,000 people worldwide.

Richard Anderson, chief executive of Delta said: "With much of the work to bring our airlines together well under way, the new Delta will be at the front of the pack in achieving the benefits of consolidation and is well positioned to navigate the tough waters ahead in a difficult economy."

What's missing from all of this information? No mention of what consumers will get from the deal. This is becoming common dialog among airlines--survival first, customers last. Once the industry has sorted itself out from its long, long financial decline, it will be interesting to watch which airlines return to paying attention to their customer's first--how successful they will become for it.

30 Minutes of Obama--Tonight

Barack Obama will go on national television tonight. He's bought 30-minutes of airtime on a slew of networks.

It is being reported that Obama's paying  $3 and $5 million to buy half-hour blocks of time at 8 p.m. tonight on NBC, CBS, FOX, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One.

It is his chance to deliver his " final argument" directly to the voters.

Obama's team has used a slew of unconventional media opportunities--from Facebook to Twitter, from online ads to email campaigns and in-game ads--all with great success. This 30-minute time blck is just another savvy media play.

Domino's Trademarks Names of Pizza Hut Products

Last August, Pizza Hit began test-marketing its 'Natural' and 'Natural Rustica' pizzas in Florida and Texas. A wider roll-out in the US is expected.

In an aggressively competitive move, Domino's UK operation has trademarked those names in order to roadblock their use in the UK.

Obviously this is a blunder by Pizza Hut. The company should have considered trademarking the product globally to prevent this kind of action.

Domino's Pizza sales and marketing director Robin Auld said: 'We are frequently registering trademarks as part of our ongoing new product development program and this often includes names used by Domino's and other companies in other countries.'

Source: Brand Republic

The Budweiser "Wassup" Crew--8 Years Later

What a difference 8 years can make. Remember the legendary Wassup Budweiser spots from 2000? Here they are 8 years later...