Day 048 - 08 Nov 94 - Page 15

     
     1   Q.   What, like a sports programme, or something like that?
     2        A.  It may be a sports programme, it may be the Eurovision
     3        Song Contest, something that people believe is going to get
     4        a high coverage.
     5
     6   Q.   Something unusual; not the kind of the run-of-the-mill TV
     7        programme?
     8        A.  Yes.
     9
    10   Q.   To what extent are you asserting that there is no point in
    11        running advertisements week after week?
    12        A.  I am not.  What I am saying is -- and this goes back
    13        into the annals of history with advertising -- at some
    14        point -- and no one, unfortunately, knows what that point
    15        is -- to keep reinforcing a message with someone, a
    16        specific message, has a law of diminishing returns.
    17
    18        The cumulative effect of our advertising -- remember, our
    19        advertising does not sell the same product every day, every
    20        week, year in, year out; we have a vast array of different
         messages.  The only consistency is that it comes from
    22        McDonald's.
    23
    24   Q.   That is right.  It does not really matter what people are
    25        buying, does it, as long as they are buying something?
    26        A.  No.  In terms of all kinds of messages; that may be
    27        take-away, the experience, Ronald, et cetera, et cetera; it
    28        is not all food selling.
    29
    30   Q.   The purpose is for food selling?
    31        A.  The purpose is for people to visit McDonald's, yes.
    32
    33   Q.   So you are not aware of when it becomes this thing about
    34        diminishing returns that you are mentioning; you are saying
    35        that nobody knows when that takes place?
    36        A.  I wish I was aware.  I do not know, I do not know.
    37
    38   Q.   Would you say that that applies to the particular product,
    39        rather than necessarily the company?
    40        A.  I am not sure what you mean.  What do you mean by
         product?
    42
    43   MS. STEEL:   Say, one particular food item.
    44        A.  We would work on the basis of, after a certain period
    45        of exposure to a product, we would believe that people know
    46        enough about it in order to act or not act.  If they make
    47        the decision to come, fine.  If not, then after that point
    48        in time, you could communicate the same message to them ten
    49        more times and it would not make any difference.
    50 
    51        The same actually does apply to McDonald's, too.  We have 
    52        established, I think earlier on, that we wished to be top 
    53        of mind with people, so that when they have decided that
    54        they will eat in the kind of restaurant that we offer,
    55        whether it be convenience or our type of food, that we will
    56        be the first name that they think of.
    57
    58        That is the cumulative effect of the advertising; and,
    59        again, if someone does not want to use our restaurants, you
    60        can go on advertising to them forever, as well, and it will