Everything Speaks McVolumes

Brands are not "positioned' in stone. Brands are organic not static---growing, shrinking, evolving all of the time. Contrary to common belief, the term "brand management" does not adequately describe how successful companies build brands. "Brand management" today is more synonymous with "cat herding" than with brand-building. Why? Because companies don't control the ultimate fate of their brand...key customers do.

What is a "key customer"? It is that individual who can directly influence the sustainable success of a business. By definition, "key customer" describes a group much larger than simply "those who consume/purchase a product or service"---the focus of most brand managers. "Key customers" consist of a company's employees, strategic partners, customers/consumers, influencers, analysts, and even investors.

A wonderful example of the organic nature of brands and the value of "key customers" is provided by this week's battle between two venerated and trusted brands, McDonald's and Merriam-Webster. In the world of brand-building, everything speaks. McDonald's may have spent millions launching its new tagline, but in the end of the day Webster's addition of "mcjob" (meaning "low paying, dead end work") into the official english lexicon could have long-term ramifications for the strength of McDonald's brand as it gradually erodes meaning for arguably McDonald's most valuable key customer franchise, its employees and franchisees.

"McJob" was first coined by the Washington Post in 1986 (OED), popularized by Douglas Coupland in his seminal work, Generation X, and has become part of the American lexicon. Webster didn't invent the word, "mcjob", it simply legitimized the term by adding it to the latest version of its dictionary. In doing so, Webster fulfills its brand promise of being a trusted authority on the evolution the English language. Unfortunately for McDonald's, one company's brand-building efforts can erode the brand of another. What is remarkable is that in the case of "mcjob" that brand erosion will occur to a brand that exists in an entirely different industry.

Rightfully so the new CEO of McDonald's is not taking the inclusion of "mcjob" in the dictionary lightly. Certainly recognizing that Merriam-Webster cannot delete the term "mcjob", he is making the best of a bad situation and publicly standing up for his valuable internal constituents--a stand that employees and franchisees will both respect and appreciate:

"It is a slap in the face to the twelve million people in the restaurant industry" --McDonald's Corporation CEO Jim Cantalupo (The Register)

In addition, a handful of McDonald's loyalists have attempted to rectify the situation on their own by posting new definitions for "mcjob" on on-line dictionaries:

A job that allows elderly people to reenter the workforce, trains more young people than the armed forces, provides steady income to families, and offers work to mentally and physically challenged people. A place where leadership and pride are encouraged and advancement opportunities are limitless. -Catherine 11/09/03

However, in the end of the day McDonald's is reaping what it has sewn from an organizational perspective. "Mcjob" is more than a simple definition in a dictionary, it is a commonly held perception among the public, McDonald's key customers and others. Trust, integrity, honesty, prestige--these are all attributes that corporations like McDonald's invest hundreds of millions of advertising dollars to add to the tapastry of meaning that is their brand. Merriam-Webster's most recent entry, may have pulled a thread from McDonald's tapastry, but McDonald's employment practices molded the perception in the first place. Words can mold meaning, and meaning can be an infinitely valuable asset for a corporation (just look at what Barista has done for Starbucks). However, brand-building is less about advertising and coining terms and more about an organization-wide understanding that "everything speaks" and in many cases actions speak louder than words. (First published by Peacock Nine...here.)