McDonald's latest concept is CosMc, Rodney

Where McDonald's goes, others follow. Maybe. You can't sniff at a concept trial from a global leader in QSR with over 40,000 branches, but CosMc's...?

McDonald's CosMc's Concept

McDonald's has unveiled its latest concept trial in Chicago. A hybrid mash up of a traditional Maccy D's and its McCafe stand alone stores, like a weird kids' Starbucks. Maybe that does Starbucks a disservice.

The intention is to focus on beverage and food occasions, with beverage leading and complimentary products sitting alongside, with many coffee/bakery mash ups we think would be too sweet for European palettes. A Churros Frappe anyone? We can feel the entire country of Spain tutting and folding its arms.

And the name? It comes from a long forgotten McDonald's character in the 80s. But is it 'Cosmic' as the branding suggests or 'Cosmac' as the 'Mc' is always pronounced 'mac'? Finer details but important when you have one of the biggest global brand awareness ratings going. And the word cosmic always reminds us of Rodney Trotter, delighted with Del Boy's latest business idea.

We are fascinated by how McDonald's came to the conclusion this was needed and would love to be a party to their research. It does suggest they started with trying to find a better competitive proposition to Dunkin' or Starbucks, key players in their battlefield. Did they actually ask their consumers what they wanted next from them? We're not sure it would have been this.

Even their chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, has hinted they don't have confidence in it themselves. He stressed that investors shouldn't get too excited about CosMc's but added, "It could go global." Hardly a ringing reindorsement.

For us, if McDonald's wanted to do justice to CosMc's, they should really focus on the fun element of their chain in the 80s and 90s, be true to the routes of the old characters, bring back the party areas (but allow teens and adults to have parties there too!), and create a space vibe with a fun food experience 'out of this world'. Bit like Pizza Planet in Toy Story!

Or focus on your strengths and make them better - shoppers pick coffee destinations for real indulgence, high calorie treats, great coffee and bakery. We're not sure they'd pick a CosMc's for this. It brings home the need to recognise your USPs in the marketplace and stick to a strategy that's well researched, thought through and activated.

Many brands and businesses cut back on budgets at this vital early stage of creating a proposition, but it's so important to get that right and better investment at the start of a go-to-market strategy can dramatically reduce costs in marketing at the end of it. If the proposition is right from the start, 'they will come'.

We are working with brands at just this stage of their lifecycle. We offer a reasonably priced service to nail your proposition and plan to win those listings and make them stick. Then, the stuff that comes afterwards is so much easier! If this sounds like your business, get in touch.