gmehtamit

[gmehtamit]

Beefy matter at India's McDonald

India has a huge Hindu and a decent size Muslim population. Hindus respect cows at a high standard and therefore will not eat beef; Muslims do not eat pork. If McDonald's' wants to penetrate in this food sensitive market, does it need to break its globally consistent menu? Affordability and cultural acceptance to fast food may also be a factor - what does that mean for McDonald's product management, marketing, branding,....and can it impact its global brand?

McDonald had to re-establish its persona, change names (e.g. not big mac but rather maharaja mac) but it had to keep the essence of McDonald's look and feel the same. Last time I was in India, I took my kids to McDonald's for some "American" food as they are young and not used to the Indian food. Thank God for Chicken Nuggets and vanilla ice cream!! They were happy and it felt like home (i.e. American). Now, if they liked hamburgers....that may have been a problem; but the ambiance was great and the crowd was mind blowing. It still felt like McDonalds to me - same Ronald McDonald, ketchup, trays, trash cans, food delivery setup, etc....just a different menu. Must say, a big menu. Also, the offering of McCafe was present. So, all in all, McDonald handled this well in my personal visit to India's McDonald.

#2021sloanbrandinga

[gmehtamit]

Heavenly vs. Trash

Having lived in Singapore in the past, I have had the pleasure of experiencing the service difference between Singapore Airlines and American Airlines both in economy vs. business class.

American Airlines: Air Hostesses talking about economy passengers - still remember listening into their conversation sitting in the very back of the airplane "Those economy passengers demanding like they paid for business class...they need to pipe down and accept what they paid for" or "That's where my [Air Hostess] package goes - you need to find your space....you need to find that spot yourself." My reaction...."Welcome back home"....I meant that very sarcastically. Maybe I was getting spoiled by the Asian hospitality?!?!

Singapore Airlines was pure bliss. These were also the days when American Airlines was charging for drinks. Singapore went all out to make sure we were taken care of...perfect attitude with perfect service. No other airline compared. Although Singapore Airlines came at a premium, I was trying to think of all the creative ways to convince my management to support flying on Singapore vs. American.

#2021sloanbrandinga

[gmehtamit]

I am not a wine connoisseur; in fact, can’t tell you the ABCs of wine. I can hardly keep track of Chardonnay is a red/white....BUT, I have bought wine numerous times for friends and family. What’s my gauge? Price is one factor....maybe how fancy the label looks....and the liquor store or the waiter specialist advising me. When no one to help me or if in a hurry - California or some exotic place like Spanish wine especially with a fancier label....sounds safe. Perception holds a lot of weight.

Although I am not an expert, I have had wine and some taste amazing and some give headaches the next day. Usually the cheapie brand (with cheapo label) has a subconscious and conscious connection to the headache providing wines. But then again, Drizly the other day delivered the wrong and cheap wine....we ended up keeping it and tried it out....it was cheap and good....and it did not give a headache. Perception plays a role and unfortunately cheap yet good wines get overlooked.

I also have some friends who are totally fine with less than $10 wine...If I were to do an experiment, I would do a demographic and income based survey to test how they go about procuring wines.

#2021sloanbrandinga

[gmehtamit]

Online Live Streaming

We are working on a startup that brings retail experience online for skincare and cosmetic products. How do we get consumers to be attracted to our product? How do we bring this retail experience home? People want an easy way to get a product that works for them. They want the cognitive load reduced – they want shortcuts. Online platform provides a catalyst since research shows anonymity can thrust consumer decisions that they would not do otherwise. BUT, are they willing to wait for a livestreaming online call with a specialist to tell them how to put on skincare / cosmetic products? – not sure about that since people have searching capabilities at their fingertips. Are people willing to go onto a recording search but then there is no interaction and they may have to wait for the whole time to see if their question gets answered.

 Importance of creating a brand for our product goes up even more – people want something they can trust without having to do much research. If we want to build a brand around organics and natural stuff, we need to source only the most reliable piece. That still does not solve the problem how to avoid the problem of the customer waiting…..thoughts?

#2021SloanBrandingA

[gmehtamit]

Corona - it symbolizes relaxation - the fun brand. They sell the experience with their ads. They cater to that vacation feel and the fun demographic. Heck, even the word Corona symbolized the Sun before the pandemic. NAFTA only throttled Corona. Insecurities and internal turmoil hurt Heineken.

Heineken - quality and lost brand....as my Belgium friends call it... drinking piss.... broken brand. They should have simplified and stuck to a brand....market segmentation would have suited them better. Their ads displayed quality and then switched to attacking.... insecurity oozes....focus on the customer, not competion.

#2021SloanBrandingA