PMGT 703-Project Communication (section 402)

Assignment #2

Group Case Study 8

Professor: Nira Sharma

Student: Mohammad Reza Abdoljavadi

Student ID: 301122483

[email protected]
The issue that I have chosen regarding the negative project outcomes resulting from

communications-related mistakes in the real world is Why didn’t the most expensive campaign

of Mcdonald's save their Arch Deluxe Burger.

Trends are currently geared toward nostalgia and reminding consumers of what it was like to be

a child, rather than highlighting the increasingly limited perks of adulthood (such as paying $20

for a burger when you'd rather order from the kids' menu). But one thing remains consistent

between now and then: the type of person looking for a more sophisticated, elite burger

experience is unlikely to go to McDonald's. A person craving a McDonald's burger, on the other

hand, isn't looking for bells and whistles, but rather the comforts of a classic. In the mid-1990s,

the ultra-profitable fast-food chain found itself in an increasingly competitive market. Given the

ongoing expansion of other fast food companies such as Burger King and Wendy's, as well as

steadily declining sales rates at its own stores, McDonald's realized it was past time to add some

flair to its menu options.

As a result, the Arch Deluxe burger was born, a product that promised to mature the chain's

menu offerings as well as its customer base. McDonald's set aside $200 million in 1996 to launch

and promote the new product, which had been in development for nearly two years.

On the other hand, Understanding companies’ competition is critical for market success.

Understanding their competition is important, but knowing their target customer is even more

important - and this is the mistake McDonald's made with the Arch Deluxe burger in 1996.

What has been dubbed the chain's "biggest product launch" was also one of its most egregious

marketing gaffes. Despite a $200 million marketing campaign, the Arch Deluxe never lived up to

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its promises in terms of flavor or profitability. The burger was permanently discontinued four

years after it was introduced due to low sales and lack of enthusiasm.

Based on this real story and its implications, we will be able to get sufficient lessons. Briefly, we

realize that: This failed because it contradicted the family-friendly environment that McDonald's

had long fostered. Besides, Meager sales and a lack of enthusiasm led the franchise to

permanently discontinue the burger four years after its initial launch. However there were

different wrong assumptions that caused this failure, for instance, Urban sophisticated adults”

will be interested in Mcdonald’s expensive burger, The Arch Deluxe was designed to market

McDonald's fine cuisine to urban adults. Adults, however, were uninterested in paying more for

slightly different burgers. Because McDonald's is a fast-food chain, its main target audience

consists of people who prefer cheap convenience over sophistication and fine taste. In any case,

people who want to eat refined food and are unconcerned about the cost would prefer to dine at a

formal dining establishment rather than a fast-food establishment. Another reason it failed was

that the market campaign contradicted McDonald’s original brand of “Child-friendly” and

“Family-friendly”. Designing a new burger that excludes children and emphasizes luxury

consumer groups caused the loss of trust and broke the bond with former customers.

Consequently, We can understand that as learned lessons :

1- Avoid confusing customers, namely: A brand's image should be clear and straightforward so

that when customers think about it, they will know what the brand is famous for. Including

products that contradict the brand's identity may lead to customer confusion.

2-Time and market trends are the keys, say to speak: Although an expensive burger with

excessively good beef and other ingredients in a fast-food chain seemed unfathomable in the

1990s, it is now a popular trend that has worked well in many fast-food chains. Burgers from

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fast-food restaurants are no longer just for kids. Adults are not uncommonly seen eating burgers

with sophisticated ingredients that easily cost $10 these days. According to Business Insider,

McDonald's has begun to use Arch Sauce again in their burgers this year, at a lower cost. As a

result, while innovation is important, reliable market research is also essential, because some

ideas that may work later do not necessarily fit the current market trends.

3- A professionally crafted logo design sample is one of the most valuable assets to any

company, large or small. It gives them their own identity and distinguishes them from others.

4- Another intriguing aspect of Arch Deluxe's demise is that the product was thoroughly

researched. Following extensive market research, it was discovered that people would love to eat

a burger designed specifically for adults. Unfortunately, when the product was finally released,

these people appeared to be in short demand.

The lesson here is that project management does not end when a project is launched or a

campaign is completed. Successful projects are tracked, analyzed, and evaluated to ensure that

they maintain their momentum and continue to benefit the company's bottom line.

I find many connections between previous weekly courses (Week 1 to 5 ) and the discussed

story as follows:

In week1, we read about internal and external business communication in a company. In the

above example, the lack of appropriate external business communication was one of the factors

that pushed the project to fail.

In week 2, Domestic and international communication as a topic was studied and I believe if it

had been attention extensively. Perhaps it had helped to succeed in the project.

Within week 3, We worked on presentations, as a whole definition that most professionals make

presentations on a regular basis as part of their jobs. They may be asked to introduce speakers to

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their associates or civic clubs in some cases. The ability to create and deliver formal and

informal presentations is a skill that you should strive for. The presentation is a convincing

explanation of a proposition that the intended audience can see and hear. According to this

explanation the existence of experts highly skilled in professional presentations, possibly could

justify consumers and prevent projects faced with failure.

As we mentioned in previous pages, the failure of a well-known company like Mac Donald in an

Arc product can give us critical lessons for future projects as a project manager or any role as a

high power stakeholder. McDonald's is estimated to have spent more than $300 million on Arch

Deluxe research, production, and marketing. In 2003, the company stated that some of its initial

research into adult marketing was reused in the development of its successful salad line. As a

matter of fact, the problem was that no one went to McDonald's for sophistication; they went for

convenience. Knowing what to expect is part of the convenience. McDonald's restaurants may

serve gazpacho in Spain and lamb burgers in India, but they are essentially the same all over the

world. When most people walk into a McDonald's, they already know what they're going to

order before they even get to the counter. They don't want to be bombarded with a million and

one different version of what is essentially the same product – a hamburger. Another issue with

the Arch Deluxe was that it was sold based on personal preference. Everyone knows that

McDonald's will never be awarded a Michelin star, but they keep coming back.

After that Mac Donald goes ahead and achieves success and wins projects via lessons from this

catastrophe. This means that we must understand that accepting that failures are a part of having

a growth mindset is the first step. Staying nimble when uncertainty abounds (especially during

Covid-19 and its aftermath) is a critical capability in developing long-term resiliency for your

business. Failure should serve as a turning point for addressing priorities, developing new

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approaches to overcoming obstacles and fostering continuous learning. Furthermore, fail quickly,

analyze, learn, and move on. It is critical not to get bogged down by failures and to accept that

failure is one of the most powerful opportunities to learn and grow faster. I strongly advise

objectively reflecting on the failure, identifying gaps, and learning from it. Likewise, Recognize

that defeat is a tool. In other words, the truth is that for wisdom to continue to be valuable,

someone must be foolish. There is a definition of success that is incomplete without the inclusion

of failures. We do not grow out of warfare; rather, we learn to fight. If we focus on the lessons,

defeat becomes a tool for creating newness at that level. There is no visionary who has known

both success and failure. Moreover, We must learn that accepting changes as necessary

failure is a natural part of the learning process. Keep in mind that if you do not study and learn,

chances are your business will fail. Take the time to organize your thoughts, admit your

mistakes, and embrace change. Anyone can succeed; it all depends on how badly you want it.

Finally, consider it a learning opportunity. Trying things out and failing at them in a short period

of time, also known as failing fast, is a fantastic learning experience. Failure, however, is viewed

differently in different cultures. In Asia, failure means a loss of face and is simply unacceptable,

whereas, in the North of America, failure is a necessary part of the entrepreneurial journey.

Personally, I think it's a fantastic and low-cost learning experience, and we must locate the Weak

Link and look at what we failed. Locate the weak link, adjust and try again. Business is all about

a never-ending cycle of optimization and tweaking. Use failures to guide our optimization.

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 References

1- (n.d.). Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/07/29/11-valua

ble-lessons-business-owners-can-learn-from-failure/?sh=64b33

2-Medium. (n.d.). Medium.

https://medium.com/@aosiman96/assumptions-and-failures-how-and-why-d

idnt-the-most-expensive-campaign-of-mcdonalds-save-thei

3-Glass, J. (2021, July 23). The man behind the arch deluxe, McDonald’s

biggest flop, is still proud of his work. Eater.

https://www.eater.com/22584033/mcdonalds-arch-deluxe-burger-discontinu

ed-marketing-flop-andrew-selvaggio

4-The rise and fall of the arch deluxe, McDonald's most ambitious failure.

(n.d.). Ranker.

https://www.ranker.com/list/mcdonalds-arch-deluxe-failure/kellie-kreiss

5-Project failure: 10 famous failures and 5 ways to spot them before they

happen. (2018, May 7). Adobe Workfront.

https://www.workfront.com/blog/project-failure-10-famous-failures-and-5-

ways-to-spot-them-before-they-happen