What Does McDonald's Food Consist Of? New Transparency Campaign

Last week, fast food giant, McDonald's, launched a new campaign that centers around the brand being honest and transparent about their practices. The campaign is being launched in the U.S. and will be called, "Our Food. Your questions."

This is not the first transparency rodeo for McDonald's, as they have run similar campaigns in Australia and Canada in the past. They plan to answer questions like, "What is a McNugget?" "Is pink slime really in burgers?" etc.

The drive for the campaign is to improve the perception of their food quality and combat depressing sales with Millennials against chains like Chipotle and trendier burger joints like 5 Guys, as well as others.

The videos explaining everything will be featured on a dedicated part of the company's website as well as social media- Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. As a Chicago marketing agency, we hear a lot of what McDonald's does since they are just down the road and we think this is a mighty fine idea.

In one video, the question is asked, "Is the beef in McDonald's burgers real?" And in response, the host, Grand Imahara (formerly of Mythbusters) visits a beef supplier for the chain and witnesses the grinding and inspection process for the beef that goes into a McDonald's burger.

The chain is also handling questions with their social media marketing efforts, encouraging consumers to ask questions, where they give prompt, real responses (not automated) that contain a link to the videos.

This could prove to be a smart branding move for the chain, let's see if it pays off or if it… flops (lame joke?)

Have any questions about marketing or about our services? Then contact Integraphix! We'd love to help you navigate the complex world of marketing. Talk with one of our specialists today.  

5 Easy Ways to Have Better Content Marketing

The concept of content marketing is that if it used the way it should be, it is a great and wonderful to make your business more memorable. The operative phrase there being, "used the way it should be." You cannot create content that is broad and generic content, or duplicated content (yikes!), and expect it to be a useful tool for your business.

We have 5 ways to make sure your marketing efforts are working for you! Sit back and read while enjoying a Coke.

1. Write case studies. These are wonderful tools because they show that you have true, real, wonderful, proven knowledge and efforts in your industry that others can capitalize on. When you show your target audience that you can do what you say you do, it gives them confidence; it encourages them to think that you can reproduce the positive results with them. Stories create powerful messages that you can leverage with prospects. Use details. 
2. Remember repetition. Keep in touch with people and be memorable. We hardly remember the stranger that we met the one time at the place and we did that thing. Using emails, blogs, videos, posts on social media, etc. to keep in touch. We also emphasize the need for consistent and quality posts on your blogs, articles, newsletters, and any other print marketing efforts you use. If you have one post in January and don't do another until August, that's not good for business. 
3. Be descriptive. We as humans like to have details; we like to be able to picture things that are said in words. If I described a cat to you, would you prefer, "A small tiger looking thing. 4 legs. A tail. 2 ears" OR  "An animal that is a foot long, 10 inches tall. It has white fur with black brown stripes and a long, curly tail. It has eyes that are intense and give purposeful stares. Its 4 paws are soft and gentle. And don't ever, ever put it near water"? 
4. Use imagination. This includes using description but it also means using creativity. Content marketing means being able to tap into your well of imaginative words, descriptions, images, etc. Successful execution of this enables consumes to remember you on a deeper level and see how you can meet their needs. 
5. Use your voice. Write the way you speak while still being appropriate for your audience. If you cuss a lot, maybe it is best to avoid that but the point is to sound like a person, not a robot. No one likes reading something that sounds like it was automated. Ultimately, it does not matter if it was or not but we like to know that we deal with real people and something was hand-crafted. 

The best content marketing is done with a motivation to be remembered and talked about, not just gain eyes on your words. Don't let your business suffer from another subpar post or newsletter, contact Integraphix about your marketing. We have a team of dedicated professional copywriters who can help you or even handle the work entirely. 

What to Know About Naming a Business

The process of naming a business is sometimes one of the hardest decisions one can make. Your business's name is supposed to be something people will remember, describe your business, and let you stand out.

There are many challenges to naming your business; aside from the creative necessity, one may find that getting a name for a business requires patience and a knowledge of legal matters. So what are the various hurdles?

• Trademark law. This is one of the hardest things to overcome when you are thinking of a business name. You have to find a business name that has not been trademarked yet. The American trademark laws are not so lenient, either. As a business owner, there are two things to consider: confusion and dilution.
• Confusion is the chance that your business name will be confused with another brand. This is not only a worry about confusing consumers but could be a legal issue. One example I, even as a Chicago marketing company creative, is "Belvita" and Velveeta". Belvita makes energizing morning bars & Velveeta makes cheese. 
• Dilution is when your name/branding attempts to mooch or steal another company's, even if your names have no confusion. So, if your company name is "Ricky's Auto Shop" but your trademark is styled after the legendary "Carl's Auto Garage" by mirroring script, etc. then that's no good. 
• The penalties. If your business name violates a law, then the business could face some serious penalties. 
• No longer being able to use the name
• Being forced to recall products with the name on it
• Frozen inventory/seized inventory
• Monetary compensation
• What will your URL be like? Having a long but cute name might be good and dandy for your business but what if your site's URL is now going to be really long? That will make your internet presence hard and any search engine optimization will be a bit more difficult. At the very least, consumers will have some trouble remembering your site. 
• The realization that good products make great brand names. Sometimes we go into the idea of naming a business with the idea that we will be the next Apple or Nike; the reality is that they had to make great products before their names became great. 
• You have to love it. No good business name was created because the person thought, "Yeah, I guess it'll do." You have to think of a name that excites you; even better, it can excite those you ask for advice. 

As a marketing agency in Chicago of over 25 years, we have lots of experience with branding and naming a business. Is your business in need of marketing assistance? Then contact Integraphix!