Building Community Connections
McDonald's has partnered with SHIFT to drive local brand affinity and forge community connections since 2012.
MILLIONS
of engagements served
LOCAL
brand love
Client
McDonalds
Industry
Consumer
Insights
McDonald’s needed stronger local relevance and to position itself as a community-oriented business to earn preference with audiences.
Idea
Feel-good brand and product campaigns, plus reputation management, that immersed McDonald's in local culture across five regions.
Cooking Up Brand Love
Through authentic storytelling across traditional and social media, influencer marketing, experiential, brand partnerships, crisis support and more, SHIFT supports McDonald's local brand across five unique regions, promoting product launches, positioning the company as a choice employer and engaging with each restaurant’s local community.
Here are some of our top campaigns that continue to generate engagement across each region.
Winning Over "Bills Mafia"
To beat growing competition and economic headwinds, we embarked on an oversized vision of a sports partnership with the Buffalo Bills. As part of an integrated agency team, we unleashed a full-season lineup of Bills-inspired menu and offer strategy, content, digital engagement and cross-channel promotion.
By making McDonald's a genuine expression of fan pride and culture, we netted a 16.9% lift in new app customers, 24% lift in frozen beverage sales and outpaced sales targets by 179%.
"Crew Member for a Day"
When McDonald’s New England faced a labor shortage during a critical time, we created new ways to showcase its work culture, boosting applications 34% YOY.
The Big Mac ATM
Our "McATM" activation, distributing free samples and integrating paid, owned, social and earned media promotion, had customers wrapped around the block, creating buzz for the brand and new menu items, plus a steady stream of orders.
Happy Meal's 40th Anniversary
To evoke nostalgia and create sharable moments, we sent media and influencers limited-edition mailers with Happy Meal toys from the past. Amplified with media relations, too, we created visibility that turned into engagement and sales.
IMPACT
Through our countless campaigns and community activations, including giving back, we've helped boost McDonald's local reputation, guest visits and orders, and ongoing brand loyalty.
