McDo waitresses © Si Mao Savait

 

I was always told it is rude to play with food but fast food doesn’t really count, right?

I just love the latest marketing operation of Mc Donald’s in China : coupons from KFC and Burger King can be used at Mc Donald’s until March 23rd. This is priceless : imagine you being in KFC marketing team, working your ass off, trying to get budget from the account guys for investing in some campaigns, standing behind the designer until it is done, doing silly excel tabs for planning, only to get your clients stolen by Mc Do…That’s infuriatingly brilliant.

 You can read the original article (in French) on Si Mao Savait – If Mao only knew…or just order a take-away :

KFC arrived in China in 1987 with a shop near Tiananmen Square. Actually, that’s where I had my first KFC when my Chinese friends took me there in 1992 and I remember being quite happy having something else than noodles (for my defense, I was 12) but I digress. KFC with 2000 locations is the leader on the Chinese market with “localized” menu with a chicken base and a family . The ratio here KFC vs McDo is 2:1, the opposite of other markets throughout the world. If you should order, dial 4008 823 823. But you should know that my uncle’s cats, which are fat greedy thieves, don’t eat KFC…

McDonald’s came first in Shenzhen in 1990 and counts today around 1000 locations. Interestingly, McDo is perceived by Chinese people as foreign : only 8% think it is a Chinese brand, vs 25% of Chinese considering Coca Cola as local. McDo is also opened 24/7 with delivery available at 4008 517 517 (517 pronunciation in Chinese is close to “Wo Yao Chi” meaning I wanna eat) and the company recently signed an agreement with Sinopec to develop Drive-Ins in gas stations throughout the country.

Last but not least, Burger King has around 30 locations and adopts a “higher” positioning with menus around 28 Y vs 15 Y for its competitors, playing the foreign card with allegedly swiss cheese melted in their buns and high-end locations (like Beijing Airport latest Terminal 3), and you can order in Shanghai on Sherpa’s.

One last for the road : McDo @ 4am