Strong Brand: As mentioned in Leong and Lwin (2006) brands are valuable symbols that magnify the image of the company. In the case of McDonald's, strong brands may be considered one of the greatest strengths of the company. As a proof, McDonald's was included in the list of the "best global brands" in the annual ranking of the Business Week magazine for 2009 (Holbrook, 2009). In relation, McDonald's brand equity for 2009 was valued at around $32,000 million (Holbrook, 2009). As a strong global brand, McDonald's is very well known in the informal-eating out market in almost all countries where it operates.