According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of U.S. adults and approximately 17 percent—or 12.5 million—children and adolescents are obese. It goes without saying that marketers are regularly the targets for consumer advocacy groups looking to take action against the obesity epidemic, and fast-food restaurants and other purveyors of fatty and sugary foods are often at the center of the obesity debate. 

McDonald’s formulated a corporate response by announcing a long-term plan geared toward offering improved nutrition choices, including adding produce and low-fat dairy options to Happy Meals, reducing sodium and added sugars across its menu, and increasing customers’ access to nutrition information. The plan also includes a long-term qualitative research project, a nationwide “listening tour” featuring McDonald’s leadership and key decision makers, including senior director of Nutrition Cindy Goody, McDonald’s USA president Jan Fields, and CMO Neil Golden. 

The listening tour was designed to gather input from local audiences on the company’s nutritional messaging, sustainability, and overall brand promotion. McDonald’s menu has changed over the years, and the goal of the tour was to take feedback from various audiences. This would help with menu adjustments and help to determine how the company can be more sustainable. The entire premise was based on a two-way dialogue. 

McDonald’s approached the sessions with guidelines that varied, depending on the audience. It was not simply a wide-open discussion on any topic that came to mind. Several tour stops were to speak with minority consumers; other stops included the BlogHer conference, a social networking conference for female bloggers. Other groups visited included the American Dietetic Association’s Food & Nutrition Conference, a group of PTA members and educators in Washington, DC, and a group of students at Duke University.

McDonald’s found out that most people felt the firm was on the right track. In other cases, the company found that it needed to do a better job telling McDonald’s story. It was not getting credit for things that it was doing. For example, McDonald’s has an iPhone app with nutritional information, but very few knew about it. Others didn’t realize that McDonald’s menu is completely customizable. If you don’t want pickles, then you don’t have to have pickles. And if you want lettuce and tomato, all you have to do is ask.

Questions 

1. Is the listening tour really qualitative research? Why or why not? 

2. After the findings are presented to management, should quantitative research be done? 

3. Couldn’t McDonald’s just have done focus groups instead? 

4. Other than focus groups, what qualitative techniques might McDonald’s have used?