When it comes to marketing, McDonald's reigns supreme. From its catchy jingle to its famous golden arches to iconic characters and mascots, the burger chain contains many branded elements that stand the test of time.
But what‘s the secret ingredient to McDonald’s continued marketing success? Director of Brand, Content, and Culture Marketing Anna Engel and Brand Marketing Manager Nathaniel Gaynor both say the secret sauce lies in its fan-driven strategy.
Here‘s what marketers should take from McDonald’s unique strategy.
4 Reasons McDonald's Marketing is Iconic
1. It sees the importance of Gen Z.
It's no secret that Gen Z has a lot of buying power. In fact, Zoomers have a buying power of $860 billion and will likely reach $12 trillion by 2030. But Gen Z‘s ability to spend isn’t the only reason McDonald's has an entire team dedicated to tapping into the iGeneration.
“McDonald's, as a brand, knows the importance of building long-term relationships with our fans,” Engel says. “If we build the foundational relationships with Gen Z early, we can continue to build upon that relationship so they'll become fans for life.”
Engel also says McDonald's wants to be besties with Gen Z because Zoomers drive the culture.
She explains, “Our ambition is to continue to be this cultural icon out there. Since Gen Z is driving that culture, they set the tone for what brands people should consider, so it's really important that we are part of that consideration set for them.”
In other words, McDonald‘s sees that Gen Z’s power isn‘t just in their ability to spend but their ability to influence. Think of Gen Z as the popular kid in high school who can boost a classmate’s status just by sitting with them in the cafeteria.
2. The company uses fan-centered insights to drive campaigns.
McDonald‘s prides itself on knowing its audience inside and out, from habits to rituals to subcultures.
Sure, that should be standard for any brand, but my jaw dropped when I discovered McDonald’s unique and personal way of getting into the minds of its fans.
Have you ever heard of Fan Truth Road Trips? Neither did I before Gaynor gave an explanation.
“We go out and uncover new fan truths about our brand to really understand who our fans are and why they connect with our brand,” he says. “We look through the eyes of our fans, and we see them pulling our brand into so many different parts of culture, such as anime, fashion, art, or gaming.”
According to Engel and Gaynor, teams will visit college campuses, rural areas, shopping malls, parks, and more to connect with McDonald's lovers and to understand them beyond their favorite menu items.
“It's important for us to understand the universe they live in and their interests to see and understand our fans better,” Engel says. “We break outside the four walls of McDonald's to connect with our fans in the wild.”
The insights gathered from these Fan Truth Road Trips drive the direction of their strategies and have spawned unique campaigns.
For example, McDonald's anime-themed marketing campaign “WcDonald's” was inspired by the connection McDonald's saw fans make between anime and the company.
McDonald‘s leveraged these fan connections by creating the fictional "WcDonald’s" restaurant, which included a special sauce, anime packaging, and a series of anime shorts.
“We tapped into a true Gen Z insight around anime and found it relevant to both anime fans and McDonald's fans,” Gaynor says. “We know that anime fans put our brand in anime every single day.”
And as a proud anime nerd, I can confirm that McDonald‘s is a staple in many anime series. For example, the main characters in one of my favorite anime, "Devil is a Part-Timer," work at a place called "MgRonald’s," a parody of the fast-food chain.
A popular anime film called “Weathering with You” also features McDonald's in one of its most well-known, wholesome scenes,
And, like Gaynor said, it‘s pretty common for anime fans to connect McDonald’s to their favorite series. In the examples below, a fan of the series “Spy X Family” drew the main characters eating McDonald's.
By the way, if you were to tell me 10 years ago I‘d get to mention anime in a professional blog post about marketing, I’d have called you a liar.
3. McDonald's balances art and science in its marketing.
“WcDonald's” was a campaign that melded fan- and data-driven insights (science) with creative instinct (art), a formula both Gaynor and Engel say makes for successful campaigns.
“We say it's a balance of art and science, so we use consumer insights to ensure the subcultures we're going after have a big enough following to drive the business,” Engel says. “At the end of the day, we need people to come in and visit McDonald's and make a purchase.”
Engel says the company has to be intentional and selective about what niche it decides to tap into; however, once the niche is agreed upon, it's time for art to take over.
“We created a full anime playbook for the WcDonald's campaign,” she explains. “Our agencies leveraged data to understand the right ways and places to connect to keep people coming back.”
4. The burger giant creates shareable “ingredients” for fans to make their own.
McDonald‘s lets fans in on the creative fun by dropping unique elements (or "ingredients) that fans can repurpose and make their own. By enabling fans to actively participate and create with the brand, McDonald’s deepens its engagement and amplifies its branding.
“We drop ingredients out in the world through our campaigns,” Engel says, “whether that's through the food offering, a digital extension as part of the campaign, or social content.”
Engel says fans convert the ingredients into fashion statements or new anime-inspired characters, posters, and more.
“The pace that fans are taking brand ingredients and creating something with them excites us and empowers us,” she says. “And we always ask before a campaign launches, 'Do we have enough ingredients out there that fans can take and hopefully make their own?'”
