Respite under golden arches
Beyond the brand
- Rebecca
- Suraj Katra + Matt Collamer
- 2022
- 9m read
Understanding diverse user groups and unintended consequence is a core competency for those working to maintain a brand’s image.
Traditionally, the perceptions of a brand have been influenced by what it does and what it says it does. In our interconnected world, what has also become important to analyse is how people use the brand and what they say about it. These factors don’t always match one another and in fact, sometimes completely unexpected activities become attached to a brand’s name. This has led us to question… who does a brand belong to?
McDonald’s is one of the largest companies in the world, with 39,000 restaurants in 100 countries. As a brand it is both uniform – in its instantly recognisable fast-food outlets – and at the same time, uncontrollable; it belongs to us all. Criticised for nutritionally questionable products, the brand is also the butt of many a joke, with the unimaginative western tourist desperately seeking a French Fry in a bid to escape ‘foreign food’. For decades, it has been the world’s public toilet but it has also served as a port in the storm for those seeking shelter and a cheap hot dinner.
McRefugees
Across South East Asia, 24/7 fast food outlets have become a place where people come to rest their heads. Interestingly, this is most prevalent in some of the richest and most populated cities in the world, such as Hong Kong. The city is the third most expensive in the world, where house prices have risen by 130% since 2008, equal to 17 times the median household income. Here, 25% of the city’s homeless population call in on McDonald’s for a night’s rest.
Research carried out by Junior Chamber International (JCI) revealed a more complex and intricate story to those seeking unofficial refuge under the golden arches. Shockingly, some of the sleepers, dubbed ‘McRefugees’ were found to hold full-time jobs – a total of 57% of them – and in most cases (71%), even had apartments.
The wealth gap is pronounced in this rich city, where 1 in 5 live in poverty. This chasm has fuelled the steady rise of ‘coffin apartments’ in the city since the 1950s, where rooms in existing flats are split up, leaving cupboard-sized rooms with no windows or air conditioning. In these conditions, it becomes near impossible to exist through the sweltering Hong Kong summers.
By comparison, the bright lights, long banquettes, and cool, clean dining rooms of a McDonald’s branch, with free WIFI and clean bathrooms to boot, seem positively luxurious. Far from turned away or seen as a blight on the restaurant’s ambience, the reaction to this ghost community by the McDonald’s branches in Hong Kong is one of quiet acceptance and even welcome. When asked, a manager said, “we welcome all walks of life to visit our restaurants anytime.”
McDonald’s as a brand is so iconic and singular that in Austria any American in distress can go to any branch in the country and be put in contact with the U.S. Embassy. Across the U.S. you will find accounts of branches being social clubs of the old or picked as wedding venues for those beginning their lives together. For the homeless in London, staff at 24-hour branches are known to offer the same refuge documented in Hong Kong to those in need of a kip. McDonald’s is not a brand beyond reproach but is one to watch in terms of how its roles and public perceptions can undulate and morph, separate from PR picture-painting.
Instantly recognisable.
'Stacks' billboard campaign.
When reports such as those cited above came out, they captured the attention of the global media. Outlets, of the likes of Time Magazine , The New York Times and NPR provided commentaries that dug deep into the global housing crisis stalking the world’s richest cities.
At us, we have been lucky enough to build subject matter expertise in housing, homelessness and municipal analysis through our work with MRI Software. The unintended social purpose of one of the world’s biggest brands begs the question: who does a brand or a business belong to and what do those roles say about its culture, staff and customers? More than this – how do these relationships interact with one another?
As we watched the first wave of coronavirus flow across Europe, Britain announced ‘Stay at Home’ measures, hitting rough sleepers hard as shelters and services closed. In those first days and weeks, many in the UK’s capital found shelter in Heathrow Airport until Robert Jenrick announced the ‘Everybody In’ policy, housing those in need in defunct hotels. A measure not repeated for the winter lockdown in 2021.
One of the most striking parts of the McRefugee story is the dual community built out of acceptance, tolerance and empathy. According to Gallup, ‘genuine expressions’ of kindness within a service setting can cement brand loyalty and drive engagement with the organisation.
British coffee and lunch chain, Pret A Manger have made a great success of tying their brand’s perception with social good. (In normal times) as theatres have gobbled the crowds in off the street in London’s West End, people seeking some sustenance near St Martin’s in the Field can be seen with Pret’s leftover sandwiches, juice and salads. This is linked to Pret A Manger’s official organisational policy of ‘random acts of kindness’, which gives each employee a daily budget of free food and drink that they can give away to whoever they think needs it.
Frontline workers are the facilitators of these kindnesses; the reputation of a brand reverberates up the ranks – and for those in leadership, recognising that role can bolster a business’ sustainability and directly impact its image.
brands are
community
property
Who does a brand belong to? According to Accenture, the age of a brand belonging to those who own it or hold shares in it is over: “The question is no longer rhetorical. Brands are community property.” Tailored and glossy messaging can be easily disrupted and seen through; authenticity lies in service delivery. Even global giants cannot escape, as control is wrested from them by the global community of bloggers, tweeters and TikTokers. In this environment a brand’s reputation is out of its hands; honest practices matter.
The customers that sustain a business now enjoy increasing exposure to air any grievances they have, as well as – though harder to obtain – share when their experience has been worthwhile. These very experiences are moulded by frontline staff. The elements of board, ownership, frontline and customer work together; when an organisation tunes into this ecosystem, continual improvement and co-creation becomes what a brand stands for.
“In an era of radical visibility, technology and media have given individuals the power to stand up for their opinions and beliefs on a grand scale.”
Accenture
The role of customers and service users is expanding in every sector. Their experiences of an organisation’s services and perception of its practices is growing in importance, making them valuable stakeholders within the business ecosystem. Consumers are becoming increasingly values driven and amongst this trend, acts of kindness or sustainability will be rewarded.
© suraj Kara
More beautiful photography here
© Matt Collamer
More beautiful photography here
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