[05/12/2009]
Andrew Arntfield
Not according to 100% of the kids that took part in a recent Stanford University study.
A group of school children were given identical snacks in two distinct packages. Some were served in unmarked wrappers and the rest were in McDonald's packaging. Both packages included McDonald's chicken nuggets, hamburgers, and fries, as well as grocery store carrots, milk, and juice. In every test the youngsters concluded that the food in McDonald’s wrappers tasted better than that in the blank packages, regardless of who actually produced them.
Dr. Tom Robinson of Stanford University says that kids’ perception of taste is "physically altered by the branding."
For both kids and adults, great brands transcend the value and quality of the actual product and create an emotional experience that consumers buy into.
McDonald’s marketing has evolved over the decades to respond to cultural changes, but their core brand position has remained constant. As the study shows, that consistency of brand image – logo, colours, imagery – now triggers emotional responses in even the youngest consumers.
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