I recently visited London in the Easter period, which I don't recommend you to do because despite the religious holiday people do travel to London and the city is very crowded. However, besides enjoying the British weather, food, culture and museums, I payed attention to outdoor advertising because, of course, I love advertising!
What caught my attention was to see how McDonalds was promoting it's restaurant near the London Eye. The restaurant's location is advertised even in Westminster's tube station across the bridge. When you exit the station you can see some posters recommending you to follow your hunger and cross the bridge because in 5 minutes you'll reach a McDonalds restaurant! The same thing happens also on the Chicheley street, in the nearby of the London Eye, which is even closer to the restaurant. Here I could see a man standing on the sidewalk with a big board, advertising McDonalds.
When I went inside the restaurant I was amazed how big and crowded it was. Afterwards I realized what a strategical position it has. It is close to several tourist attractions as London Eye, The Dungeon, or the London Aquarium and no important competition in the area. These attractions are very successful among the tourists and usually you have to wait in queue between 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the attraction and the period of the day, and each tour would be of a minimum half an hour. However, after finishing visiting any of these attractions you are hungry! Where to eat? McDonalds, of course! Mainly because you can feel the smell of their french fries when you pass by and it's your only cheap option!
(I don't have the credits for the picture)
I am not a big fan of this or any fast food brand, but I do enjoy from time to time their fries and wraps. This is also what I did during my stay in London. After hours spent visiting the attractions in the nearby, I could not resist the smell and I had to grab a bite in the restaurant.
I am not a big fan of this or any fast food brand, but I do enjoy from time to time their fries and wraps. This is also what I did during my stay in London. After hours spent visiting the attractions in the nearby, I could not resist the smell and I had to grab a bite in the restaurant.
Being AdConscious
What is McDonalds exactly doing in the situation described above? Well, as a branding or marketing rule, you have to place your brand or product in a strategic location. A place where you can be seen by as many people as possible. Therefore, McDonalds has a perfect location, close to several tourist attractions which generates a large number of new visitors and new potential customers. They are new because they are tourists and everyday you will see new faces entering the restaurant.
Another marketing rule is that acquiring new customers is more expensive than making your current ones loyal. Obviously, McDonalds cannot fully apply this strategy as their customers are constantly changing and extra efforts to promote the location are needed. Therefore, the brand has to continuously acquire new customers, as tourists might not repeat their visit to the same restaurant during their short stay in London. However, I truly believe that this restaurant can easily survive even without the extra advertising efforts, as the location is a huge advantage for the business.
Suggestions
If you are not that lucky to afford a good placement for your business, I strongly recommend the following idea! It is creative, interactive and efficient! I think that this type of advertisement motivates customers to make an extra effort to try to find your new location. The bacon slices in the picture can easily open one's appetite and the free sandwich is an incentive to take action! However, I think that these posters would work better if they are placed in areas which are around 5 minutes close to your location. On the other hand, to place this advertisement all around the city would also be quite interesting! Good luck, and let me know how it's working for you!
(I don't have the credits for the picture)
