McDonald - The Arthur Page Society

proactive public relations efforts in anticipation of release of movies such as Fast Food
Nation or books such as Chew on This. In order to better manage for tomorrow,
McDonald’s needs to take more proactive measures in the evolving health and nutrition
controversy to build relationships into the future with key stakeholders.
5.5 Conduct public relations as if the whole company depends upon it.
Because of the emphasis traditionally placed on marketing in the fast food sector,
this case provides an excellent opportunity for students to investigate the need for
effective public relations management over and beyond marketing efforts. In other
words, McDonald’s conducts marketing, not public relations, as if the whole company
depends upon it.
The need to emphasize public relations is adeptly explained by Kai Boschmann,
Group Director of Corporate Affairs and DSG International, in a PR Week article. 135
Boschmann states:
The fast-food industry has faced a multitude of crises over the past decade, and it
continues to be deeply involved in the evolving health debate. Businesses need to focus
on far-reaching and integrated reputation building—the era of hard sales and pure
marketing has passed [...]. The fast-food industry often gets criticised [sic], and that may
be because its emphasis remains marketing-led. With greater focus on responsibility,
trnasparency and dialogue, the industry will gain more goodwill” 136 p. 15.
5.6 A company’s true character is expressed by its people
Top management at McDonald’s has maintained a consistent message that
McDonald’s needs to “do a better job of telling our story.” Both McDonald’s CEO, Jim
Skinner, and Vice President of Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Walt
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