mcdonald's nocturnivore pr campaign case study
TRANSCRIPT
History • McDonald’s Bar-‐B-‐Q opened in 1940 in San Bernardino, CA by Richard & Maurice McDonald
• Acquired a few years later by Ray Kroc, who began the franchise
• Grew into world’s leading fast food corpora?on
Timeline • 1940 – McDonald’s Bar-‐B-‐Q opens • 1948 – McDonald’s reopens as a self-‐service drive-‐in featuring
15 cent hamburgers • 1955 – Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald’s • 1959 – 100th restaurant opens • 1963 – 500th restaurant opens; Fish-‐Fillet is introduced • 1967 – the first interna?onal restaurants open • 1968 – 1,000th restaurant opens, Big Mac is introduced • 1975 – first drive-‐thru opens; Egg McMuffin is introduced • 1983 – Chicken McNuggets are introduced • 1987 – salads are introduced • 1998 – the McFlurry is introduced • 2006 – snack wraps are introduced • 2009 – McCafe is introduced
Campaign Background
• McDonald’s found that they were not focusing enough on the “fourth day part”
• Research highlighted 18-‐34 year olds, mostly millennials
• They are frequent late night consumers, but don’t have a strong rela?onship with McDonald’s
“‘Nocturnivore’ – a person who not only is out ea?ng in the night, but who is out ea?ng up the night. The hip, proud, late-‐night concert-‐goer, gamer or run-‐of-‐the-‐mill night owl. A person who “savors the night” and lives by the light of the moon. Or, as is ojen the case, the drive through.”
Nocturnivores
• “Breakfast Ajer Midnight” menu • Certain breakfast items offered from 12 am – 5 am
• Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo (OH) selected as test markets
• Ran from June – Sept 2012
Objec?ves
• Increase sales and increase guest count between 12 am – 5 am
• Create brand equity with McDonald’s in Ohio • Generate media coverage na?onally with at least 5 million media impressions
• Increase franchisee par?cipa?on for 24 hour restaurants
• Get at least a 0.11 click-‐through rate for digital ads
Strategies • Focus on the idea of “late night” as a general culture, not in any one area
• Encourage franchisees to keep their restaurants open for 24 hours
• Generate media coverage on a na?onal level
Execu?ons • Feature stories in several local papers • Partnership with PromoWest Produc?ons – Handed out over 100,000 wristbands to concert-‐goers
– Photobooth wrap – Signage at concert venues
• Signs on pedicabs
Execu?ons • Gave out coupons for free items when people tweeted using #Nocturnivore
• Local radio & TV ads • Online ads placed on specific millennial-‐frequented sites (ex. Spo?fy, Pandora, Hulu)
Evalua?on
• Deemed “very successful” • 6% increase in franchisee par?cipa?on in 24 hour program
• 0.282 click through rate for digital ads • Over 99 million media impressions na?onally within 2 weeks
• 18% increase in compara?ve sales • 16% increase in compara?ve guest counts
Media Buzz • Promoted in a diverse range of media • Generated buzz on a na?onal level • Stories in large publica?ons such as TIME Magazine Online, The UK Daily Mail, Chicago Tribune
• Sparked social media conversa?ons and features in blogs such as The Huffington Post
Media Buzz
• Several compared it to Taco Bell’s FourthMeal campaign
• Sugges?ons that it was meant to subtly target stoners
• “…using the breakfast items is a crajy way for the company to en?ce a new demographic without affec?ng the core brand percep?on.” -‐-‐ Denise Lee Yohn, a brand strategy consultant
Media Buzz
• Many agreed ‘late night’ was an area with a lot of poten?al
• "You have to look for sales where you can get them, and we felt that it was an untapped market.” -‐-‐ franchise owner in Florida as quoted by Tampa Bay Times
• Some cri?cized McDonald’s for pushing late night ea?ng, a par?cularly unhealthy habit
Conclusion • Overall, it was pre@y successful – it received posi?ve reac?ons and clearly exceeded all of their goals
• It could definitely be used on a regular basis and around the country
• Showed the importance of iden?fying your target market and speaking to their interests