A Lesson in Brand from McDonald’s

Go into your local McDonald’s. Take a look around.

(If you’re like a lot of freelance writers, you’re already there taking advantage of the newly-free wireless provided by AT&T and McDonald’s. If not, well, you’ll have to take a look around next time you’re there.)

I want you to take a look at the walls, look at the signage, look at the menu. Look at the brochures, and at the product packaging.

How many times did you see the word “McDonald’s?”

You didn’t. You might see the occasional “mcdonalds.com” label on a drink cup, and you see a lot of big yellow m’s. But you don’t see “McDonald’s.”

Why is that, do you think?

I’m not positive, but I have a theory. Want to hear it? Of course you do, or you’d have stopped reading a while ago. Here it is:

McDonald’s product defines their brand, not the other way around.

If you see a McDonald’s chicken nugget, you know where it’s from. Same holds true for a Big Mac. If they have their way, it’ll soon be the same for the Mocha Frappe’, but they’re not quite there yet.

A freelance writing business can take a lesson from McDonald’s. Your product should be something that’s distinctly your own. It should be a quality product, something that your clients recognize. It doesn’t matter what name is on the shingle (I’ve operated under a few different brands in my freelance writing career). What matters is what’s inside the wrapper.