The latest in McDonald's marketing

McDonald's is always cooking up something new to market. It's just redone its McCafe brand look, as shown above, for a more upmarket, posher image. In fact, the fast-food chain will switch to all-sustainable coffee beans by 2020.

McCafe is challenging Costa and Starbucks and all the others selling gourmet and special coffees in the UK. Also, to be an integral part of local UK communities, the McDonald's site has a special section on grassroots football. Did you see McDonald's holiday advert, featuring Juliette the vintage wooden doll? Fun.

In addition, McDonald's just opened a fast-food outlet a few steps from the Vatican--touching off a controversy. In response to negative comments, the company announced: 'As is the case whenever McDonald’s operates near historic sites anywhere in Italy, this restaurant has been fully adapted with respect to the historical environment'.

BTW, McDonald's UK is highly social: 68m Facebook likes, hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers and lots of videos on YouTube. Working hard to engage customers!