McDonald’s presented its first quarter financial year results to its investors and praised the role of brand strength. They highlight a “world-class marketing engine” and reveal that digital now accounts for 40% of sales in key markets.

Brand power is essential for the growth of a business and, consequently, its well-being. But Chris Kempczinski, president and CEO of McDonald’s, presented its first quarter financial year results. Along with these numbers, executives reflect on the impact of marketing strategies on their growth. Get to know the details of the strategy that will seek to customize the offer even more.

Kempczinski has reiterated that one of the keys to driving solid financial results is building a strong brand. To do this, they have a strategy aimed at “getting faster, more innovative, and more efficient.” Thus, he praised the work of the brand’s “world-class marketing machine” to investors on April 25.

In the financial report, the company’s CEO highlighted having led WARC’s ‘Effective 100’, a list of the world’s most recognized companies in marketing communications. This achievement is the achievement of McDonald’s for four consecutive years. Managers attribute the results to brand strength. He also added that “more than just the food they serve” is the result of their financial success. “As our brand advances, so does the economic health of the company,” he added.

The fast food chain saw an increase in sales volume of around 12.6% in the three months to March 31. Operating income increased 10% to $2.5 billion. Kempczinski said he was “thrilled” by the strength of the brand. However, he added that “there are more opportunities ahead.”

McDonald’s plans to increase brand power

In January, the company announced it would be releasing “Accelerating the Arches 2.0.” This is the final phase of your long-term plan to strengthen your marketing, core product and delivery strengths. Details of the last phase are revealed in the investor report. “The second most recent element of our strategy is to fundamentally rethink how we as a company can best work together to be faster, more innovative and more efficient,” said Kempczinski.

There are three elements included in the plan. The first is implementing horizontal work to eliminate silos in the organization. The second is adopting the “McDonald’s way” to standardize work practices and make problem solving more efficient. The third is a strategic investment to digitize the organization.

For the McDonald’s marketing team, this new strategy phase meant working collaboratively across all markets and sharing ideas that worked. In the investor presentation, CFO Ian Borden gave the example of the ‘Raise Your Arches’ campaign. It was originally released in the UK. After proving hugely popular with the brand’s customers, it quickly expanded into 30 markets worldwide. It’s an example of the “one McDonald’s way” principle, says Borden. Because it shows how a single idea can make an impact across multiple markets for the brand.

Regarding digital sales, it was said that they continued to grow during the quarter. They now account for 40% of system-wide sales in McDonald’s top six markets. So, they represent $7.5 billion of sales in the quarter. As the company’s digital presence develops, it will be able to become more “targeted” and personalized to what it offers via the app, he said. He suggested that in the future, personalized offers could be provided to drive sales frequency or reach. “We are laying the groundwork for a very close and intimate relationship… I think this will allow us to be much more sophisticated about how and when we deliver value,” he said.