Many have wondered why McDonald’s doesn’t go head to head with other restaurant brands on social media, and there is an actual reason for that.
According to PR Week, Jano Cabrera — SVP, U.S. comms, global media and PR for McDonald’s — says that the Golden Arches company has a different philosophy than just hitting back at online bullying.
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“You have to go on the offense,” Cabrera told the outlet. “There has to be something you stand for that is appealing. What is the case, proactively, you are making?”
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He later clarified that the company is not oblivious to the jabs, but rather, chooses not to make them a priority.
“The nature of leadership brands is you get to a point where you understand real ROI is being mindful of and responsive to competition,” Cabrera said. “But you don’t stay a leadership brand by simply responding to competition. You do it by continuing to innovate and staying customer-focused.”
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He added that his position is that brands should always be moving forward and working to create new products and opportunities instead of indulging in social media wars, and he cites Amazon and Tesla as companies he looks at to be inspired.
“Amazon could get into a tit for tat with other online retailers but, instead, it focuses on, ‘How can we continue to provide value and innovate on our services for our customers?’” he explained. “They would rather focus on the possibility of drone deliveries, new devices they are offering, and other innovations that make the Amazon shopping experience all the better. That is our focus as well.”
Regarding Tesla, Cabrera admires them for building their brand so well that they have become one of the most valuable automobile businesses on Earth. Their stock value exceeds even that of GM and Ford.
“Wall Street sees them that way because they saw the value of electrification before the other major car manufacturers,” Cabrera said of the company. “Tesla cares less about tweets from Ford and GM and more about, ‘What are the long-term plans these brands have that intersect with or could possibly overtake us?’ “
Ultimately, Cabrera says, McDonald’s is focused on remaining customer-centric, and prefers to dedicate their time to the quality of their product rather than social media banter with their rivals.
