Business Case Studies & Business Publications

McDonald's: The Arch Deluxe Launch (Cond...

Parry, Mark E., Sa...

Case

McDonald's: The Arch Deluxe Launch (Condensed)

Parry, Mark E.; Sato, Yoshinobu

M-0575 | Published March 3, 1996 | 16 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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In 1995 McDonald's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States with domestic sales of almost $15.9 billion. McDonald's was also the country's fourth-largest advertiser, spending $490 million on measured media in 1995. On May 9, 1996, the company introduced the Arch Deluxe, a quarter-pound hamburger that was the first in a planned series of sandwiches targeted to adults. By the end of May, McDonald's had sold or given away 100 million Arch Deluxe burgers. Despite this success, in the second quarter of 1996 some store sales at McDonald's restaurants declined slightly from the same quarter in the previous year. Thus McDonald's faced several key decisions. Should the Arch Deluxe burger be modified? What changes, if any, should be made in the marketing campaign? Should McDonald's proceed with plans to introduce fish and chicken line extensions?