5 Things I Would Do if I Were CEO of McDonald’s

I remember waiting patiently by the phone, expecting one of the board members to call and convince me to leave my position as CEO of a communications agency in exchange for the same title at McDonald’s. However, if history had taught me anything about their business, I should have known that call was never going to come. McDonald’s is an organization built by promoting from within, which is not a bad thing. Well, maybe not always.

Steve Easterbrook, 47, exchanged the title of chief brand officer at McDonald’s for chief executive officer and is now in his second month of leadership (replacing Don Thompson, who held the role for two-and-half years). Mr. Easterbrook, you are certainly well-versed in your brand, but here are five things I would do if I were you:

Listen to your franchise owners about getting back to basics
Franchisees are yelling. Listen to them. They don’t want innovation around new products and McCafes - they want you to lead the brand back to basics. Remember when you knew that wherever you went in the world, McDonald’s was going to give you, the customer, consistent burgers, fries and shakes? Get back to those days. Don’t add in kiosks at the counter; put back that personal touch. Dave Thomas was king of this, but he vacated that castle.

Give the public what they want in numbers
McDonald’s still produces better sales than 99 percent of its competitors. Numbers are perception, and perception is reality. And reality is telling us a story about great unit level economics, net profits and franchisees growing their businesses. So, from a business standpoint, tell the story people want to hear – that McDonald’s is back – even though McDonald’s has been here the whole time.

Focus on innovation through the drive-thru, not in the restaurant
It blows my mind that brands are not innovating in the drive-thru. Innovation along the blank walls along a drive-thru would give you an opportunity to tell more stories. Put a sound board out there where drive-thru users, bored and waiting for their food, can control the music or the videos playing. Make your drive-thrus so cool that people start bringing their friends with them.

Find a way to win back kids
This is going to be tough, but find ways to win back moms and children by creating adjustments in your product line and experience. There are a bunch of suppliers who are baking veggies into foods kids love so you can sneak in the nutritional value needed. Also, the playgrounds were not the right answer. Go back to the basics with children.

Put a Millennial on the board
You want them, but you don’t know them. Be innovative as a business and announce that you are putting a Millennial on the board to provide insights. Think the movie “Big.” Tom Hanks’ character would be perfect for helping you find your way.

Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.

5 Things I Would Do if I Were CEO of McDonald’s

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