Identity Image and Reputation of McDonalds, Essay Example

Corporations need to attend to identity, image and reputation. The identity for a corporation includes such factors as graphics including the company logo, colors, people or mascots who represent the company publically, the appearance of employees’ uniforms, among others. It also includes communication such as the materials used for promotion and how public relations are handled, as well as the behavior of company representatives that show the company values. A corporate image involves the mental picture of the business such as what the structure look likes that houses the business or a visual representation of something associated with the business. The corporate image also involves the feelings associated with the business such as always having a good time there so associating the business with positive emotions. A corporate reputation results from the values that attributed to company conduct (Routledge, 2008).

A corporation’s identity, image and reputation are related to each other. The various images used to represent the corporation will help establish a mental image in the person’s mind which will automatically call up feelings associated with the business. When the customer’s beliefs and feelings about the company matches the values they hold about appropriate corporate behavior. When the actions associate with the company meet the beliefs and feelings held by the public who does business with the establishment the corporate reputation will be positive.

Most people associate McDonald’s with the Golden Arches, a graphic that is represented in a lot of advertising for the company. This identity is likely to call up a mental picture of a local McDonalds represented visited by the customer and associated feelings experienced when the customer has been there. As consumer’s have become more health conscious, McDonald’s have attempted to stay in line with these values, resulting in a more positive reputation, but as a fast food restaurant it is automatically viewed as an unhealthy eating choice. In order to better align the identity, image and reputation of McDonald’s they should work to create a better image as being a healthy restaurant through a strong marketing campaign giving visually arresting visual images and working such that the behavior of employees and restaurant representatives leads to positive experiences which will improve the company image.

Resources

Melawar, T. C. (Ed.) (2008). Facets of Corporate Identity, Communication and Reputation. Milton Park Abington OX: Routledge.

Dowling, G., (2001). Creating Corporate Reputations: Identity, Image and Performance: Identity.  New York, NY:  Oxford University Press.