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Americans Rank McDonald’s Hamburger the Worst

Americans Rank McDonald’s Hamburger the Worst

mcdonalds hamburgerA survey of over 32,000 Consumer Reports magazine subscribers in the United States ranked McDonald’s hamburgers as the worst of 96,200 dining experiences at 65 national and regional fast and casual restaurant chains serving hamburgers, Asian, pizza, sandwich, chicken and Mexican foods.

The most important finding of the study for these restaurant chains is that they’re missing the key to fully satisfying customers today, particularly the millennial audience segment. According to the survey findings, only 20% of consumers consider whether or not a restaurant has healthy menu options when they eat out, and only 19% ordered a healthy menu item the last time they ate out.

Fast and casual restaurant chains are adding to their healthy menus, but that isn’t the top priority for consumers. The survey found that consumers are not concerned about dieting when they eat out. They’re concerned with quality and taste.

Of course, the convenience and affordability of fast and casual restaurants keep consumers coming back again and again, but recent brand strategies seem to be heading in the wrong direction. As sales for fast and casual restaurants decline, it appears to be time to re-strategize and shift priorities for these brands.

Given these important findings, let’s take a look at how the top players in the fast and casual restaurant industry fared in the Consumer Reports survey.

Hamburgers

1st Place: The Habitat Grill
2nd Place: In-n-Out Burger
3rd Place: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Last Place: McDonald’s

Chicken

1st Place: Chick-fil-A
2nd Place: Boston Market
3rd Place: El Pollo Loco

Last Place: KFC

Mexican

1st Place: Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill
2nd Place: Chipotle Mexican Grill
3rd Place: Qdoba Mexican Grill
Last Place: Taco Bell

In a press release, Consumer Reports senior projects editor  Tod Marks called for large fast and casual restaurant chains to take notice of shifting consumer demands saying, “Strong regional players and slightly more upscale fast-casual chains like Chipotle are giving the heavy-hitters in the fast-food business a wake-up call. And our survey clearly shows the big guys need to respond.”

It’s important to remember that many of the restaurant brands that ranked high in this survey don’t necessarily offer healthier menu choices overall. Again, consumers have made it clear that they want quality and taste when they eat out. The opportunity is wide open for these smaller brands to steal market share from the heavy hitters.

What do you think? Do you consider diet and health when choosing a restaurant? Is it the most important consideration or is quality and taste more important?

McDonald’s and similar restaurant brands have experienced negative publicity due to their unhealthy menu options, but based on this study, it appears that the problems these brands face are actually quite different from calorie counting.

Image: Rusty Clark licensed CC BY 2.0

Google’s Project Tango Marries Mobile to Brick and Mortar Retail Shopping Experience

walgreensEarlier this year, Google announced Project Tango, an effort with a specific goal—“to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.”

In partnership with research labs, industrial partners, universities, and more from nine countries, the Project Tango team is using the past decade of work in robotics and computer visioning to develop a mobile phone that can scan and map 3D environments.

Google is also working with professional developers to find innovative ways to turn these new capabilities into useful applications.

For example, the video from Google below suggests using the new technology to assist the blind, to determine if furniture will fit in your house, and more.

Fast forward to this week and Google’s Project Tango is already being used in some Walgreens’ stores in the United States. Retail mapping company, aisle411, developed unique mobile technology with Project Tango that enhances customers’ in-store experiences. Walgreens is the first store to roll out the new technology.

In simplest terms, Walgreens customers can access a mobile device affixed to their shopping carts which maps the entire store and displays discounts and special promotions as shoppers pass them. Customers can also passively earn loyalty rewards when they walk by specific products in the store, and they can actively find products by typing them into the mobile device.

You can see how the technology works in Walgreens stores in the video from aisle411 below.

In Walgreens stores, the technology displays personalized coupons, offers, and rewards as well as standard offers. As a customer walks by an item, it pops out on the device screen, so they can quickly review the offer and determine if it is one they want to purchase or not. What makes this technology so revolutionary is the passive nature of it. Consumers don’t have to do anything except walk up and down the aisles in a Walgreens store to access discounts and earn loyalty rewards.

According to a press release from aisle411, the Project Tango technology is being piloted in a number of major retailer locations (including Walgreens). Each participating store will use the augmented 3D maps as well as in-store experiences that are meant to engage consumers as they’re shopping.

It seems safe to say that this is just the beginning, and the brick-and-mortar retail experience is poised to change significantly in the near future, particularly in terms of the integration of mobile and real-time engagement. The opportunities for brands are significant!

What do you think?

Image: Mike Mozart licensed CC BY 2.0

8 out of 10 Consumers Prefer to Research Products on the Internet

online shopping cart mobileNew research from comScore and UPS reveals that 82% of U.S. consumers prefer to research products online rather than in a brick and mortar store or catalog (18%). When they’re ready to make a purchase, 55% prefer to do so online vs. 45% who prefer to buy in brick and mortar stores or print catalogs.

These are just some of the interesting statistics from the third annual UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper™ Study. A total of 5,800 U.S. online shoppers were surveyed for the 2014 study.

While survey respondents were more likely to research products and buy online, they were still reluctant to do both activities using mobile devices. Respondents ranked four key reasons why they prefer to shop using their computers rather than their mobile devices:

  • Images of products on mobile devices aren’t clear enough or large enough = 43%
  • Information about products cannot be easily viewed on mobile devices = 34%
  • It is hard to compare products using mobile devices = 31%
  • There are concerns about providing credit card information using a mobile connection = 30%

These statistics show that it’s not privacy and security that is keeping many consumers from purchasing online but rather, it is a poor user experience. When asked what mobile shopping-related activities they do using their mobile devices each week, survey respondents ranked the following four activities:

  • Tracked a delivery = 28%
  • Researched products prior to visiting a store = 25%
  • Researched products and alternatives on a mobile device while at a store = 22%
  • Searched for store locations or checked store inventory = 22%

User experience is critical for retailers to motivate consumers to make purchases using their mobile devices, but it’s important to point out that the online shopping experience isn’t perfect yet either. When asked to identify the most important options retailers should provide when checking out online, survey respondents ranked free shipping far above any other option (81%). Coming in second and third were providing estimated delivery data and shipping costs early in the process for convenience (63%) and providing an estimated or guaranteed delivery date (62%).

Overall, the majority of U.S. consumers who participated in the UPS and comScore study were satisfied with the online shopping experiences offered by retailers today, but there is a lot of room for improvement. For example, the highest ranked purchase experience aspect was the ability to see the expected delivery dates of products. A total of 72% of respondents indicated that they are satisfied with this aspect of the online shopping experience offered by retailers today, but that means 28% (nearly 1 out of 3) is not satisfied. Ranked second in terms of consumer satisfaction was ease of checkout (1 or 2 clicks). A total of 68% of respondents were satisfied with the ease of checkout provided through online shopping experiences, but again, that means nearly 1 out of 3 consumers is not satisfied.

Bottom-line, the online shopping experience is far from perfect, which makes the shift to mobile shopping experiences even more challenging for retailers and consumers. Use the data provided in these types of research studies to improve the user experiences delivered by your brand, and online and mobile sales should increase.

Image: Junior Gomes

Brands Successfully Leveraging Crowdsourcing for Marketing

coca cola world cup 2014 brazilCrowdsourcing isn’t just for raising money for startups and personal projects anymore. Today, crowdsourcing is an important part of brand marketing. Not only can you crowdsource content for your brand’s blog, Facebook Page, and so on, you can also crowdsource for marketing campaigns.

Many brands are having great success using crowdsourcing as an integral part of recent marketing campaigns. Two excellent examples are discussed below—Coca-Cola and Bic.

Coca-Cola Happiness Flag

In the months leading up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Coca-Cola launched a campaign to create the Coca-Cola Happiness Flag. The flag would be created as a mosaic of photos submitted by people around the world. Artists would use these images to create one giant flag. Together, the photos would look like a single, large image, but up close, all of the individual photos would be visible. Ultimately, people from over 150 countries submitted photos to the HappinessFlag.com website, and millions of photos are included in the final flag, which includes over 3600 square meters of printed material.

Coca-Cola’s strategy was to involve as many people in the campaign as possible. On the day the flag was revealed at the 2014 World Cup, everyone who submitted a photo received an email message so they could see their photo in the actual flag and as well as a digital version of the flag on the website. This way, Coca-Cola hoped to involve everyone in the final results of the project both physically and digitally, even if they couldn’t be in Brazil to see the flag in person.

The video was created earlier this year to drive excitement for the campaign.

Bic Universal Typeface

Bic launched its own crowdsourced marketing campaign this year to promote hitting a company milestone by producing 100 billion Cristal Ballpoint Pens. As the best-selling pen, Bic suggests that it could be called the “universal pen,” and if it a pen can be universal, Bic asks what a universal handwriting would look like.

To find out, the company launched a website, TheUniversalTypeface.com, and invited people to enter their handwriting using a smartphone or tablet touchscreen with Mobile Connect technology to help Bic create the Universal Typeface. Each handwriting submission was run through an algorithm that calculates average based on statistical differences and similarities. The results are then aggregated to create the Universal Typeface, “one ever-changing, always evolving font,” which will will be downloadable in August. To date, people from 76 countries have submitted writing samples to the website.

The video below was developed to promote the campaign.

As Bic and Coca-Cola demonstrate, crowdsourcing can be very effective in building content and generating buzz. Don’t be afraid to get creative in leveraging crowdsourcing for your brand marketing.

Image: Mike Mozart licensed CC BY 2.0

3 Things Corporate Boards Must Understand about Digital Marketing and Branding

boardroomOne of the biggest challenges that marketers face today is securing adequate budgets to drive real results in the digital space. However, there is more to this problem than budgets. The problems actually start at the top with corporate boards who don’t understand digital marketing in 2014. As a result, companies are making the wrong investments and marketing departments continue to struggle.

For marketing results to improve in the future, corporate boards must understand the following three things about digital marketing and branding.

1. Training is Critical

Digital marketing changes rapidly. What worked a few years ago doesn’t work as well today (or at all). However, marketers aren’t given the training that they need to stay on top of this fast-paced discipline. An investment in ongoing digital marketing training for all marketers is essential and will give the company a significant competitive advantage.

Rather than simply increasing the training budget, it may be possible to shift training spending. For example, corporate boards should review current training programs to determine if some are outdated. This is a very real possibility in the marketing department. Training programs developed five years ago are almost certainly outdated and very likely to be irrelevant today.

Think of it this way—what worked in Facebook marketing last month has already changed (which is true since Facebook changed the layout of business Pages this month). The number one thing that board members need to understand is the critical importance of investing in the company’s human capital in order to improve digital marketing results and maximize returns on digital marketing investments.

2. There is More to Digital Strategy than Protecting Brand Reputation

Most board members still view digital as a source of worry first and a source of opportunity second (or third or fourth or even lower). They’re biggest concern is how the digital environment can put the brand at risk. As a result, the opportunity that digital presents can never be fully realized. Until board members accept the fact that you can’t stop consumers’ shift to digital for shopping, communicating, sharing, and just about every other part of life, those missed opportunities will continue.

3. Digital Provides a New Way to Improve Customer Experiences

Digital isn’t just about marketing, and boards need to understand that the value of digital extends beyond direct marketing. The opportunities to leverage digital to improve customer experiences and the overall user experience with the brand are numerous and should be prioritized.

Not only can the marketing department develop better brand experiences through promotions and content, but all functional areas of the business can leverage digital for improved customer experiences. For example, online, real-time customer service offered directly on the brand’s website as well as through social media can yield significant increases in customer satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Does your corporate board of directors fully understand digital marketing and branding yet? Have they taken the right steps to exploit the digital opportunity by understanding these three critical things? Leave a comment and share your experiences.

Image: Jennifer Lee licensed CC BY 2.0

Internet Advertising Will Overtake TV by 2018

television advertising remote controlWithin four years, internet advertising will surpass television advertising to become the largest advertising segment globally. That news comes from PWC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2014-2018.

By 2018, internet advertising revenue is expected to hit $194.5 billion. Paid search advertising will hold the majority of the internet advertising market share, but the most growth will happen in online video advertising. Furthermore, online television advertising revenue from traditional broadcasters will nearly triple from $2.7 billion last year to $9.7 billion in 2018. In fact, online television advertising’s share of total television advertising revenue will double in the next five years.

Another segment that will lose its dominance in global advertising revenue is classifieds. In 2014, mobile advertising will surpass classified advertising.

The U.K. Outlook

The PWC report provides global results as well as results for specific regions of the world, including the United Kingdom. Already, the U.K. is the largest internet advertising market in Europe and the third largest in the world (behind the United States and China). By 2018, internet advertising will be the dominant advertising segment in the U.K.. Online video advertising will be the fastest growing type of advertising, followed by mobile advertising. In fact, it is predicted that mobile advertising will surpass online display advertising in 2014.

According to the analysis, U.K. consumers will drive online advertising through their changing behaviors, habits, and preferences. By 2018, it is expected that 50% of the U.K. population will own a tablet and 73% will own a smartphone. Also in 2018, 88.9% of the U.K. population will subscribe to the mobile internet, and 15.5 billion apps will be downloaded.

The shift to digital expands beyond traditional internet and mobile advertising. PWC predicts that ebooks will outsell print books by 2018 with a 21.3% growth rate. Furthermore, digital out-of-home advertising will surpass physical out-of-home advertising this year!

You can follow the link at the beginning of this article to read more from the 15th annual report from PWC. This year, the report provides forecasts for 13 media and entertainment segments in 54 different countries around the world. You’ll see a great deal of consistency from one country or region to another in terms of revenues shifting from television, radio, and magazine advertising to online and mobile.

What do you think of PWC’s predictions? Share your thoughts on the future of advertising in the comments below.

Image: espensorvik licensed CC BY 2.0