McDonald's had social media influencers celebrate menu-specific hacks, generating awareness for new limited-time offerings, and getting people in-store to purchase.
Objective:
Building on the momentum created with Saweetie's personal menu hacks, McDonald's leaned into a fan truth: "Everyone had a favorite hack to make a meal uniquely their own" to make fans famous by creating a campaign based on a twist on their famous orders. Influencers were charged with celebrating McDonald's menu-specific hacks, generating awareness for the new limited-time offerings, and getting people in-store to purchase.
The campaign leveraged influencers to generate awareness for the Menu Hack campaign and educate fans about how the program was inspired by real-world fan behaviors. They provided relatable and easy-to-understand content that illustrated:
This TikTok national campaign was measured against platform engagement metrics for #mcdonaldshacks and branded effect while ultimately driving foot traffic to McDonald's. Results were measured through TikTok's API and a third-party foot traffic vendor.
Target Audience:
McDonald's consistently sought to reach and connect with generation Z and millennials, a multicultural audience that encompassed:
Creative Strategy:
Uncovering cultural insights and purchase behaviors, McDonald's partnered with influencers who aligned with menu hacks that over-indexed in their respective markets. They also developed creative messaging that resonated with their diverse audiences.
For the Asian American market, McDonald's collaborated with family-friendly influencers admired by generation Z to feature the Surf + Turf item. In the Latino youth segment, comedic influencers who frequently showcased their families were chosen, and their content was paired with the Hash Brown McMuffin.
Building on these cultural insights and creative casting, paid media was employed by McDonald's to effectively reach the target demographic, ensuring alignment with the creative execution.
TikTok was selected as the platform of choice for McDonald's, providing access to groundbreaking products offered by the platform. McDonald's capitalized on the ability to interact and engage with the community through the Hashtag and Branded Effects challenge, surpassing the opportunities presented by other social platforms.
The campaign was executed in two phases, each with a different messaging approach. The first phase focused on educating audiences about various menu hacks and amplifying content through the hashtag challenge. In the second phase, the emphasis shifted to driving engagement and encouraging users to interact with the Branded Effects challenge.
Context:
McDonald's introduced Menu Hacks as a brand first, drawing inspiration from a TikTok trend and tapping into an audience truth. Utilizing TikTok's exclusive products for Menu Hacks, such as the in-feed video, McDonald's strategically employed the reach and frequency planning tool to create awareness among millions of TikTok users. This successful approach not only drove users to McDonald's locations for meal purchases but also encouraged engagement with the brand on the platform.
During the "educate pulse" phase, the campaign achieved a click-through rate (CTR) of 0.22 percent, while the engage pulse phase achieved a CTR of 0.19 percent. Both of these rates exceeded TikTok's benchmark range of 0.07 percent to 0.10 percent.
Additionally, McDonald's accomplished a cost per visit ranging from $0.03 to $0.09, significantly outperforming the quick service restaurant (QSR) benchmark of $0.31.
Overall Campaign Execution:
McDonald's capitalized on TikTok's innovative and creative products, specifically the Branded Hashtag Challenge and the Branded Effects.
The Branded Hashtag Challenge is TikTok's distinctive offering that enables brands to actively engage the TikTok community through amplified messaging while keeping their brand prominently featured in users' minds.
With Branded Effects, marketers can tap into the community's passion for creativity and self-expression.
The dedicated Hashtag Challenge page (#mcdonaldshacks) generated an impressive 2.66 billion video views within a span of three days, meeting TikTok's benchmark range of 2.19 billion to 2.75 billion views.
Similarly, the Branded Effects garnered 3.38 million video views within three days, aligning with TikTok's benchmark range of two million to 13 million views during that time frame.
McDonald's successfully generated excitement and garnered significant attention through a strategic approach of incorporating "new menu" items without the need to introduce entirely new dishes. This approach helped minimize expenses associated with employee training and product costs that would typically be involved in launching new menu items. By adopting this strategy, McDonald's actively participated in the prevailing social trend of customization and effectively entered the social conversation alongside renowned restaurants such as Chipotle and Starbucks, vying for a significant share of voice in the realm of menu hacking.
McDonald's Menu Hacks campaign surpassed expectations and achieved outstanding results across all key performance indicators on TikTok. The campaign successfully targeted and engaged multicultural youth, effectively guiding them through the customer journey from initial brand awareness to active sales participation.
The Menu Hacks Hashtag Challenge page generated an impressive 7.8 billion video views within a span of 30 days, showcasing the immense reach of the campaign. Furthermore, over 1.82 million videos were created using the #mcdonaldshacks hashtag or branded effects, accumulating a remarkable 361 million likes, 12 million comments, and 20 million shares.
In terms of return on investment, the campaign demonstrated excellent performance, delivering a highly effective cost per visit ranging from $0.03 to $0.09. This cost per visit far exceeded the QSR benchmark of $0.31, highlighting the exceptional value achieved by McDonald's through this TikTok campaign.
McDonald's introduced Menu Hacks as a seamless continuation of its Famous Orders concept, showcasing the brand's commitment to celebrating the unique and personalized ways their fans enjoy their meals. With Menu Hacks, McDonald's aimed to highlight the creativity and innovation of their customers, granting them the freedom to customize their orders without the need for additional menu items.
This campaign perfectly encapsulated the fan-driven phenomenon of menu hacking at McDonald's, resonating with the audience's desire to create their own one-of-a-kind dining experiences. The campaign gained significant traction, attracting over 1.82 million enthusiastic fans who eagerly participated in the viral hashtag challenge.
