Thursday, May 24, 2007
The Mornington Blog - Mornington Peninsula Victoria Australia Community news views and Business promotions
Well the name may change but they will still be the best burgers in Town, the golden arches may have won the legal battle but in my books they are the losers. This consumer will make a point of ad-voiding a certain corporate bully, in favor of the The Flash Duck and have a UNO HOOZ Special.
Understand your logic Ian, here's hoping more locals give the arches the thumbs down and the Flash Duck the thumbs up.
The Herald Sun reports that even though he is differentiated by an 'a' in his Mac, Ian MacDonald has nevertheless succumbed to the inevitable and renamed his Rosebud eatery.
It's now called the 'Flash Duck Cafe and Grill - apparently because Mr MacDonald always called his daughter "Duck".
And the most popular burger, formerly known as a 'Macca's special' will henceforth go by the title the 'Uno Hooz' burger.
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Did Goliath Really Win The Fast Food War?
GOLIATH has won a fast food war.
Rosebud trader Ian ``Macca'' Macdonald will change the name of his restaurant Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers after takeaway giant the McDonald's Corporation threatened Federal Court action.
In January Mr Macdonald, who has operated the Pt Nepean Rd business for more than a year, said he would rather be thrown in jail than bow to what he called ``bully tactics''.
In its statement of claim McDonald's said Mr Macdonald's trading name and top-selling burger - the Macca's Special -were ``substantially identical or deceptively similar'' to the `McDonald's or Macca's' trademarks.
But the case never made it to court as the strain on Mr Macdonald's pocket began to bite.
``I know I'm right but I haven't got the money to prove it,'' he told the Leader.
``Even if I'd won I'd have a huge debt and if I happened to lose I'd be destitute for the rest of my life,'' he said.
He will soon rename the business The Flash Duck.
Asked if the two parties had reached a financial settlement, Mr Macdonald said: ``I can't comment''.
But Mr Macdonald may yet have the last laugh.
His Macca's Special will now be known as the UNOHOOZ Special.
McDonald's Australian Public Affairs manager, Sarah Gibbons, said McDonald's was unable to comment.www.TheFlashDuck.com
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Local Support For Our Gourmet Burgers is Heartwarming
This is a community blog - a personal diary or viewpoint on the web - AND we would love to hear your views too! Blogs have become really important as they let millions of people easily publish their ideas, and millions more comment on them, as the Web is often described. By blogging we are using the Internet actively not passively to help create a sustainable local community.
Check out our local community blog for some recent postings about our Gourmet Burger business here in Rosebud and our fight with McDonalds:
http://www.morningtononline.com/blog/comments.php?id=136_0_1_0_C
It seems its going to take more than community support, for Rosebud trader Ian Macca Macdonald to avoid being stomped on by corporate bullies. Maybe a community boycott of a certain fast food may help persuade them from their course.After all guys its about consumer choice, and I know what I would rather have scotch fillet burger.
MORE...
Mr Macdonald was inundated with support and media interest after the Leaders exclusive front page story last week about his battle with the US-based McDonalds Corporation.Mr Macdonald, who runs Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers in Pt Nepean Rd, Rosebud, has received court orders over claims he is in breach of the Trade Marks Act.
Personally I think too many small business have been victims of big business moving into the community. How many have noticed the demise of the local hardware store over the last 10 years, as an example that comes to mind.
Anyway check out Maccas menu and make up your own mind.
I dont think we need some corporate bull dog deciding what we can or cant have.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Thursday, March 01, 2007
US Threat To Aussie Hobby Site
Sandy Sherger of Ararat, all I can say is if you bring over a quiz for me to do, I'll shout you to a Macca's special.
Good luck Sandy and great work!!
Here is her story:
Holly Ife, consumer reporter
February 02, 2007 12:00am
A PENSIONER running an online movie club as a hobby is the latest to be threatened with legal action by a US law firm.
Sandy Scherger, of Ararat, has been told her website, www.namethatmovie.net breaches intellectual property laws and must close.
This week she received a letter from a New York lawyer who claimed to be acting on behalf of the owner of US and Australia-registered trademarks Name That Tune and namethattune.com.
It stated the client had also registered Name That Video in the US.
"My client has developed a family of Name That . . . marks," the letter said. "Please take notice that your uses of the mark Name That Movie and the domain name . . . constitute infringements on my client's intellectual property rights."
The lawyer claimed Ms Scherger's use of the words Name That Movie would cause his client irreparable damage and demanded she stop using it immediately.
Ms Scherger, a pensioner and stay-at-home mum, said she got no money from her site, which she started eight years ago and ran as a hobby.
"I get nothing from it except the pleasure of running it," she said.
The 1500-1600 subscribers to Ms Scherger's website receive a free Name That Movie quiz twice a week. Correct answers earn them points rather than prizes.
Ms Scherger said she could not afford to change the domain name, which she'd owned since January 1999. "I didn't steal it from anybody."
This week the Herald Sun reported that Ian Macdonald, owner of a Rosebud restaurant called Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers, was being threatened with legal action by McDonald's.
END OF ARTICLE
Friday, February 16, 2007
Mornington Peninsula Leader "Macs The Taste Test"
Tina McGuffie
12 February 2007
IS IT really possible to mistake a burger from Rosebud eatery Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers for one from global fast food giant McDonald's?
Those in charge at McDonald's evidently think so, which is why they've launched a Federal Court challenge in an effort to stop cafe owner Ian Macdonald from selling burgers under his own name.
In a statement of claim lodged by the corporations lawyer's recently, McDonald's alleges Mr Macdonald's trading name and his top selling burger, the Maccas Special, are "substantially identical or deceptively similar'' to theirs.
While McDonald's claims it has suffered "substantial loss and damage'' at the hands of Mr Macdonald, he in turn has vowed to go to jail rather than sacrifice the business into which he has sunk every last cent.
With the phrase "the proof of the pudding is in the eating'' in mind, Leader headed down to Rosebud to judge for itself whether there was any substance to what is shaping up as the Battle of the Burgers.
An absence of golden arches, a children's playroom and drive-through facilities are the first thing that strikes the eager-eyed observer upon entering Mr Macdonald's eating establishment.
A glance at the menu provides a further point of difference: a 160 gram prime scotch fillet burger smothered in triple cream brie cheese and finished with a generous dab of quince paste is not your typical Happy Meal fare.
A single bite out of one of Mr Macdonald's burgers would be enough to persuade even the most unobservant diner that they were not at a McDonald's restaurant.
At an average of $13 each (compared with a Big Mac at $3.45), Ian Macdonald's burgers are in a league of their own.
END OF ARTICLE
We continue to be mesmerised with the extraordinary support that we are receiving during this battle of a worthwhile Australian principle.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.comTuesday, February 13, 2007
Ian Macdonald Gets Back on the TV
Friday, February 09, 2007
Burger Man in Pickle
February 01, 2007
ROSEBUD burger baron Ian Macdonald almost bit off more than he could chew when he went public about his bunfight with fast food giant McDonald's.
Yesterday his business, Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers, had the busiest day in its short history as it was flooded with supportive customers.
"I am on my way to buy another 150kg of beef now because we have completely sold out," Mr Macdonald said yesterday afternoon, before reopening for the dinner rush.
"It has been absolutely crazy. I really have to apologise to everyone for the delays, but it was just so unexpected."
Yesterday, the Herald Sun reported that US burger chain McDonald's was threatening Federal Court action over the use of the company name.
McDonald's Australia spokeswoman Sarah Gibbons said "McDonald's" and "Macca's" were registered trademarks of McDonald's Corporation.
"McDonald's, like any company with intellectual property, wants to protect its investment in its image and brand," Ms Gibbons said.
Mr Macdonald said after investing up to $300,000 in his burger joint, he could not afford to change the business name or go to court.
"The only thing I can do is sit here and keep trading. I am stuck in a corner and I have no other options."
Mr Macdonald said he had no wish to hurt the local McDonald's restaurant, which is less than 2km from his business.
"I'm not competition for them. They have their own customers, and I have mine. It's a very different product."
Mr Macdonald said his business name was also his surname and it had been his dream.
"It is all my work. I thought of it, I brought it to life, and I am passionate about it.
"I like to say, with the 'A' (in Macdonald's) you get gourmet," he said.
END OF ARTICLE
Stay tuned!! There is more to come.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Gourmet Burgers Pack Bigger Punch Than Arch Rival
Gourmet Packs Bigger Munch Than Arch Rival
31 January 2007
By Simon Plant
LET'S not mince words. The Big Mac, at McDonald's, is a benchmark burger. A fast food icon.But that does not mean it reigns supreme.
At Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers in Rosebud, Ian Macdonald is pounding out a "Macca's Special" triple the size of a Big Mac, at nearly quadruple the price ($13.50 versus $3.45).Is it worth the investment?
We visited Macdonald's Point Nepean Rd business and the Golden Arches down the road.
Visually, there was no contest. The Macca's Special is a tower of power and packs plenty of flavour under its toasted Baker's Delight bun. There's beetroot, tomato and a runny egg (free range), rindless bacon, caramelised onion and iceberg lettuce.
The Big Mac was paltry by comparison.
The lettuce far from "crisp", the onion anything but "tasty", and the pickle? Almost missing in action.Buns are a matter of taste. The Big Mac takes the soft option.
McDonald's also prides itself on 100 per cent beef. But the patty I sampled was no match for Ian Macdonald's generous slab of quality scotch fillet steak.
It's partnered with a piquant homemade tomato sauce that puts the "world famous Big Mac sauce" to shame.
Macdonald reckons big competitors "will never make the sort of burger I do" because the raw ingredients are costly.
But McDonald's need never worry about feeding customers faster.
Yesterday afternoon, we had a Big Mac in our hands in just under a minute. The Macca's Special took 22 minutes.
Is it worth the money?
Macdonald's burger certainly outshines its competitor in flavour and freshness.
It's a gourmet treat but not everyone wants a meal when they order fast food.Just a bite.
END OF ARTICLE
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
It's a David and Goliath Battle of the Burger
Ian Macdonald of Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers, appeared last week on Channel 7 in Australia.
Reporter: Jonathan Creek
Broadcast Date: January 30, 2007
Ian Macdonald is in a "David and Goliath" fight with hamburger giant McDonalds over his cafe name. And he refuses to back down.
It is not often Ian 'Macca' Macdonald is the small fry in a fight, but in this case the humble burger flipper is taking on the Big Mac of fast food chains.
"I've been known as Macca since I was three years old, which is a hell of a lot longer than they've been in business, I'm sure," Mr Macdonald said.
"I've also been known as Big Macca, Little Macca and lots of other Maccas."
Last year, Ian opened up a gourmet burger restaurant in Rosebud on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, bearing his Macdonald family name.
He knew he might cop more than just heat off the grill from lawyers representing the other Macdonalds, so went to painstaking lengths to make his upmarket menu and single-fronted shop look a lot different.
"You'll see I have gone to great lengths to have nothing that resembles their product, there's no golden arches, the colours are totally different," Mr Macdonald said.
"We are licensed, we have wine and beer and BYO as well, there's no licensed McDonalds in Australia I'm aware of."
Lawyers representing McDonalds family restaurants are now ordering Ian to change the name of his gourmet burger outlet or close down.
Documents filed with the Federal Court claim Ian is in breach of the McDonalds trademark.The worldwide chain fears customers might confuse Ian's shop and his gourmet burgers with their world famous brand.
"They are saying they have trademarked my name," he said. "They say they have trademarked Macca and how they have done that has got me beat because there is no 'a'."
"They can trademark Mucca or Micca but you can't trademark Macca," Mr Macdonald said. thats my name and anyone else who is called macdonald, macguiness or macguila cutty. They are all known as maccas.
Also in the lawyers' sights is Ian's number one burger: the Macca special. Standing an impressive 22cm tall, it dwarfs its opposition.
But to be fair, the two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun, has one ingredient Ian's does not: the pickles.
"Maybe I should call mine the Big Macca," he said.
It seemed there was no confusion among the customers.
"If they are out to bankrupt me, good luck to them, but I've got nothing to lose," Mr Macdonald said.
"I'll go to jail rather than be pushed out and obliterated and bullied into shutting the business.
"I am going to stay open, sell my burgers, protect my family name and they can go to blazes."
Good on ya Macca. You're fighting for every honest hardworking business owner in Australia.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Macdonald's Gourmet Burger Battle With The Lot
Well we have been causing quite a stir all over the country!
Above is the front page of the local paper, The Mornington Peninsula Leader, that started the landslide of sympathy for our client, Ian Macdonald, of Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers.
THE ARTICLE READS:
THE humble hamburger is at the centre of a fast food war that looks set to be battled out in the Federal Court of Australia.
Rosebud trader Ian "Macca'' Macdonald, who since early last year has run Macdonald's Gourmet Burgers in Pt Nepean Rd, Rosebud, has vowed he would rather be thrown in jail than agree to what he calls "bully tactics'' by the US-based arm of the McDonald's Corporation.
Mr Macdonald, who says he has been known only as "Macca'' for more than 50 years, this month received court orders over claims he is in breach of the Trade Marks Act.
In the statement of claim, lodged by legal firm Spruson and Ferguson Lawyers, it is alleged Mr Macdonald's trading name, and his top-selling burger called the Macca's Special, are "substantially identical or deceptively similar'' to the 'McDonald's' and 'Macca's' trademarks.
But Mr Macdonald said he had invested every cent he had into the business and vowed to fight the battle all the way.
"I can't see what the problem is. My shop colours are completely different and my burgers are made with 160 gram scotch fillets; people come from all over Melbourne for them,'' he said.
"I could have called my burger the Big Macca because I am Macca and it's obvious I'm pretty big.''
Mr Macdonald said he was puzzled why the legal challenge had come after he had already spent $100,000 fitting out and advertising his shop.
"I don't have the money to fight them in court so they'll have to send me to jail.''Melbourne University trademark expert Jason Bosland said the case would be decided on a number of key factors, including whether the similar names were likely to mislead customers.
"There is also a defence if the trademark is someone's personal name, but it must be proved that it was used in good faith and not to try and trade off the good will of the well-known McDonald's brand.''
Friday, November 10, 2006
Secret Ingredient in Hamburger Gets Fast Food Restaurant Workers Arrested
Anyway...here's the article about the restaurant in New Mexico USA as reported on CNN wires on 10 October, 2006....
LOS LUNAS, NM - Three employees at a New Mexico fast food restaurant are facing felony charges for allegedly putting pot inside two police officer's hamburgers over the weekend. Police say officers Henry Gabaldon and Mark Landauazo decided to stop for a snack at the Los Lunas Burger King just before 11 Sunday night. The officers conducted a field test on the burgers when they noticed something was wrong. The results came back positive for marijuana.
Los Lunas Police arrested 19-year old Jason Armijo, 21-year old Robert Knuckols, and 33-year old Joseph Ledesma on a variety of felony charges. Police say they don’t know why the put the marijuana inside the burgers. But, both officers became sick and were taken to the hospital.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
We Want To Be A Great Resource For Our Customers Wellbeing too!!
Now it does not just happen you know. In our case it starts with our passion to provide great nutritious food as well as wanting to care for our community. But it is combined with having the good fortune to the guidance of an extraordinary website marketer at www.DarrellBerg-Smith.com, who has the uncanny ability to also understand how to make a website successful. That is why The Flash Duck Gourmet Burger Cafe and Grill website is sooooo successful. Our customers love it, as do our suppliers and all of our community.
Did you know that less than 2% of all websites are anywhere near successful??? If you are in business, or have a website for any reason and are wondering why it just is not producing the results...then checkout the Darrell Berg Smith blog: www.lowcostmarketing.blogspot.com and you will soon find out why. You can get lots of great FREE resources there too.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Healthy Trend Causes Snack-Food Producers to Shift Focus
This current article reprinted below, shows what happens all around the world when manufacturers have to disclose the actual rubbish that they are putting into their foods. As soon as they have to do that they are immediately changing their ingredients.
They are virtually saying to themselves..."oh now we can't tell them what they are eating...it will stop selling immediately and we will be exposed. ... we better change theingredients to something less poisonous".
Anyway have a read and see what you think... You will better understand where we are coming from with what we are achieving at The Flash Duck Gourmet Burger Cafe and Grill.
Bangkok Post Wednesday 1st November 2006
By PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP of The Bangkok Post
Moves by the Food and Drug Administration to demand better disclosure by the 13-billion-baht snack-food industry have led producers to shift their focus to healthier products.
Health authorities recently announced that producers of around 7,000 snack brands would be forced to provide more detailed health warnings about the sugar and salt content of their products.
Friendship Co, the producer of the Hanami, Corn Puff and Snack Jack brands, plans to invest 100 million baht to introduce a new rice-based snack.
Suradej Napapruekchart, the company's managing director for marketing and business development, said the Kendo snack would involve a 50-million-baht investment at the company's Bang Chan plant, and an additional 50 to 80 million baht would be spent on marketing activities.
Kendo is the eighth brand from Friendship, which produces prawn crackers, crispy pea and bean snacks, cookies and chocolate confectionery.
Mr Suradej said the shift to healthier snacks was in line with the global trend.
''We have been developing our new products over the past two years. Healthy snacks are a global trend, and we want to clear up any misconceptions that snacks are unhealthy,'' he said.
Kendo will be launched later this month and targeted at teenagers. Friendship is projecting first-year sales of 300 million baht for the product, rising to one billion within three years and eventually
accounting for a third of its total sales.
He said the firm would introduce more health-conscious snacks in the future and that it expected sales of 1.5 billion baht this year, up from 1.4 billion baht in 2005.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Friday, November 03, 2006
Wanted to share something with you ...
schools, clubs, a group of friends or any group. You can check out (or even get involved in) our project on our website.
Charity Work as a Marketing Tool
By Darrell Berg-Smith
Did you ever ask yourself "Why should someone buy from me and not from my competitors?" If not you should consider how your offering is different from those of the many competitors who are vying for the same customers as you are. One of the ways to make your business stand out from the crowd is to link your business with charity work and non-profit public service. Everybody is chasing after the all-mighty buck, but only a few firms really do more than pay lip service to social service. Let’s take a look at how charity work can help your firm as well as the wider society around it.
1. It will give your business an extra edge
As mentioned above, when you become involved in social work in a significant way, then you begin to stand out from the crowd. It gives you that something special, which may be the difference when your potential customer makes up her mind and decides which firm to go with. I have had customers confide to me that one of the reasons that they chose to do business with my firm is that they know that some of their money will be allocated to charity.
2. It increases your credibility
Credibility and trust are vital if you are going to sell anything. If someone is going to part with their scare resources they want to be sure that they are doing business with the right people. When you show that your firm is doing something meaningful for society in addition to the normal work of making money, then you and your whole team are viewed in another light.
3. Charity work is inexpensive
It doesn’t take any money to set aside part of your website to explain your company’s participation in charitable activities. Similarly, it doesn’t cost you anything to mention your charitable activities along with your primary information in other media. Messages in your firm’s internal bulletins and media are likewise easy and inexpensive to implement.
4. It helps you to convince people whom you would otherwise not reach
Charity work appeals to the nobler side of human nature, and, believe it or not, deep down inside of every one of us is the desire to do something that is good. When you get involved in charitable work you will reach civic minded individuals who are oftentimes community leaders and prominent in social, economic and political sectors of society. It might take you years of normal business activity to make contact with people like that and in fact, you might, like most people, never connect with
them.
5. It lifts the morale of your staff and your clients
High morale is one of the intangible factors that can be the difference between great success and mediocrity and even complete failure. Your team will in fact become a team when it works not only for financial gain but also for civic betterment. Your customers will also feel good about the
charitable aspect of your company and will be more likely to refer you to others.
6. It builds your legacy to society
A successful financier told me recently, "In a hundred years who will remember the hotels that I built? But, they will still be attending and benefiting from the university that I am now helping." We have to take care of our core business, no doubt, but we should also have an eye on leaving a lasting mark on the world around us.
So, take a look at your marketing tools and do whatever you can to incorporate charitable activity into your overall plan of action. You, your company and society will be the winners.
The foolish work for money,
Not other values, so they get only money.
The clever work for improvement,
They gain success and money.
The wise work for goodness and charity,
They receive friends, success, money,
And happiness.
This article is part of the "Don’t Go Broke While You're Getting Rich"™ business series, presented by Darrell Berg-Smith… a speaker, author, consultant and entrepreneur who specializes in teaching low cost, high impact marketing and business building resources to businesses worldwide. For lots of free resources visit www.darrellberg-smith.com
Till next time ...
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Can Fast Food Really Be Restaurant Food?
Ian Macdonald wants to be socially responsible and help make sure that others are not unnecessarily affected by poor food choices.
No more fat laden meat, sugar filled buns, no more salted, preserved, artificially flavoured whatevers ...
We are all about super nutritious, low fat healthy food that can be anything from take away, (we would prefer your company), to relaxed stays to enjoy a premium restaurant meal with some mighty fine beers and premium wine.
Virtually all of us love a great hamburger. It’d the worlds most consumed food these days. Not that that is necessarily a great thing. It's mainly because of the fact that they are mass produced and cheap due to their disregard for our health and wellbeing. They are simply a convenience food in many places that have nothing to do with nutritious, tasty and healthy food.
So anyway that is what we have wanted to change and so far so good…. We have lots of regulars already. (No I’m not talking about just our kids!).
It seems lots of people also share our passion about becoming aware of the oncoming obesity problem amongst our population and especially our kids.
So come and join us and get the word out to the kids especially, that they need to be aware of what they eat and the effect it has on their body and their future.
Ian Macdonald
www.TheFlashDuck.com
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
It takes a lot of energy ...
Well it takes a lot of energy (and money) to organise any new business, and a Gourmet Burger restaurant is no different!! Then there is the teething problems, ….then there is the website to do (after 2 years of writing, and design, and preparation),…then making sure all the documentation is correct, and all the regulations are adhered to…. And so on ……
The only thing that keeps you going sometimes is the thoughts of being with our local community and speaking to, and making friends with our new customers. The opportunity to contribute and help people that maybe do not have this same opportunity is a great incentive too! And in that regard,
we have already made special arrangements to help with life saving surgery, for a very special person who you are going to learn all about very soon. And we know that our customers will want to get involved too.
We are going to regularly add to this Blog, so stay in touch and come back regularly to find out how we are going, and what we are doing. There will be competitions, special offers, updates on our charity work, and lots and lots of fun to be had. And drop us a line any time and give us your
comments and your feedback, especially if you have some news about what is going on that you think we might be interested in.
Or at the very least ….. call in and just say hi!
Ian Macdonald
www.The FlashDuck.com