Chapter 9, Partners Summary and Analysis

McDonald's is ready to move forward. One of their strategies is to open several company-controlled McDonald's in order to produce more competition from their franchisees. Kroc is not in a position to dictate McDonald's policy but he, for familiar reasons, resists this. Instead, they branch out into advertising, which is new at the time. McDonald's is new to marketing as a whole and they need to build strength there.

Today McDonald's is associated with great marketing but this comes slowly in the beginning. The original McDonald's characters develop from crude original models. Kroc eventually hires a Chicago public relations firm to obtain press attention. They experiment with types of newspaper ads and television ads as well. The advertising attracts attention to Kroc's personal life.

McDonald's tries to steer media attention, particularly to how many burgers they sell. The public...