Marketing to Women with Transparency: Green McDonald’s?
I, like so many others who are more focused than ever on eating right, have long been suspect of McDonald’s and their salads “for women” and such. Does a little lettuce really balance out the perceived negatives in where they get their beef or all that frying (as per the documentary, Super Size Me)? But, like Joel Makower, editor of GreenBiz.com newsletter (and author of a great book), I see something worth noting in the latest report from the fast food brand’s social responsibility department: transparency.
Here’s an example of one of the informational tidbits shared in McDonalds 2009 Global Best of Green report:
…after Greenpeace published a report indicating that the soy used to feed McDonald’s chickens could be contributing to Amazon deforestation, McDonald’s Brazil worked with the activist group to commit to a zero-deforestation plan, including a two-year moratorium by farmers on producing and sourcing soy from newly deforested land. The ban has since been extended.
Probably more than offering “salads” (every woman’s favorite, just like “yogurt”), the content of this report reflects a deeper understanding of what women, or more generally, today’s more health and green conscious consumer of either gender, want: The truth, delivered in an accessible – for all to see – manner and, an “on paper” commitment to continuing to do more.
That might include:
- the facts about why a brand has made the decisions it has,
- evidence of phasing in, or steps in the “right” direction (that would be the direction that reflects the values of most of its consumers), and,
- evidence of a fully integrated commitment to sustainable and socially responsible practices from packaging and recycling to nutritional efforts and supplier leadership etc.
One of the top five best green practices McDonald’s would like to spread throughout the company (globally) is this:
McDonald’s USA opened its first corporate-owned pilot green restaurant in Chicago late last year and it received LEED Gold certification last month. The company hopes to use it as a green building test ground for identifying practices to use in other restaurants.
Interestingly, the list of “top five” only includes the above USA example. The other four best green practices cited came from South American countries, Japan, Australia and France. I bet the brand’s corporate responsibility office will take note of that fact and figure out how their home-turf US business can show a bit more leadership in the coming years with green practices.
In any case, what is in this report should also be what women see happening on-the-ground at their local McDonald’s. Each step in the greener, more sustainable direction will be noticed. All consumers will gain more trust, step by step, as they see evidence of the brand’s growing transparency both on paper (or web sites) and in action.
In this case, it seems like McDonald’s has heard what its more nutrition and green-aware consumers have been saying. By getting the nod from the folks at Greenbiz.com, there is even more opportunity for brand trust-building. Customers will make greater demands on McDonald’s and they will expect continuing full, transparent disclosure. Any brand today really has no other choice but to serve the same.
Salads or no salads, women will be the first to take note and reward McDonald’s for these improvements and continuing efforts, but everyone will follow their lead. Green can be found in many places…
