Maddie Binning, Chapter 5, Question #6

"We are so luxurious, we are arctic." This particular line struck me because of the peculiarity of it as well as the implications. In their culture, air-conditioning indicates quality in a way, just as ambiance and amenities indicate quality for us here. It goes hand in hand with branding. Even for Mcdonalds, the recent trend has been an increase in the quality of the fast-food locations themselves. Mcdonalds does not sell nice booths or modern decorative ambiance. At least not directly. However, the increasing quality of their locations helps to improve the branding of their already reliable company. If you not only know you're going to get a relatively good quality product, it can only improve the brand to make it feel less like a last resort, fast-food option. Seemingly unnecessary costs can often improve branding and in turn, sales.