Invite colleagues
I was interested to read that McDonald's has now announced plans to update its brand concept and will soon start to provide free wireless Internet services across China. Internationally, wireless has been offered at McDonalds for years and this move brings the Chinese restaurants into line with other countries.
However, after watching the local coffee shops become mobile offices I have no doubt that people will use this service. Chinese love (and embrace) the idea of 'free wireless' and I am sure this will draw in a new consumer group that will take up a chair, slowly lick their single cone ice cream or chew a cheese burger for a few hours while playing the latest QQ games or losing themselves in Renren or Tianya.
According to Lin Wenke, vice president for McDonald's China, the company's new brand concept includes three parts, including new exterior design, new interior decoration, and new staff uniforms. In the next three years, 80% of its restaurants in China will complete the brand concept update.
This is not only a smart move but absolutely needed to draw the 'starbucks crowd' away from their '3rd place' and have them identify with McDonalds as a legitimate location for business meetings and catching up. I would argue that currently, McDonalds is seen as a 'fast food' in and out location that will need reorienting in order for the free wireless offer to leverage additional and higher value consumers. If this fails, then McDonalds could become a proxy for the smokey Chinese Internet Cafe's filled with young people paralyzed by endless gaming and SNS use.
The wireless Internet coverage is expected for 50 restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen be completed by the end of April 2010. So come Spring, should be interesting where I will camp out with my computer; coffee or cheese burger
Source: China Tech News
Written on Friday, 15 January 2010 09:41 by Matt McDougall
