THE BIG MAC 50 QUEST

TitleTHE BIG MAC 50 QUEST
BrandMCDONALD'S ITALIA
Product/ServiceRESTAURANTS
Category B05. Use of Print / Outdoor
Entrant LEO BURNETT ITALY Milan, ITALY
Idea Creation LEO BURNETT ITALY Milan, ITALY
Media Placement OMD Milan, ITALY
Production MOVIE MAGIC INTERNATIONAL Milan, ITALY
Credits
Name Company Position
Selmi Bali Barissever Leo Burnett Executive Creative Director
Lorenzo Crespi Leo Burnett Executive Creative Director
Alessandro Antonini Leo Burnett Executive Creative Director
Mattia Montanari Leo Burnett Head of Art&Innovation
Vanessa Miccoli Leo Burnett Senior Copywriter
Claudia Greco Leo Burnett Assistant Art Director
Alessandra Tondi Leo Burnett Assistant Copywriter
Neta Ben Tovim Leo Burnett Creative Director - Head of Design
Silvana Ferraris Leo Burnett Designer
Acsinia Messina Leo Burnett Brand Leader
Marika Mazzoni Leo Burnett Account Director
Elisabetta Iulita Leo Burnett Account Executive
Francesco Daleno Leo Burnett Project Manager
Alberto Della Torre Leo Burnett Junior Project Manager
Laura Rosari Leo Burnett Account Director
Paolo Rolla Leo Burnett Account Executive
Federica Doria Leo Burnett Community Manager
Cristian Di Pietrantonio Leo Burnett Community Manager
Mattia Orso Mangano Leo Burnett Planning Director
Maria Luisa Crisponi Leo Burnett Agency TV producer
Chicco Mazzini Movie Magic Production House Producer
Ago Panini - Director
Paolo Caimi - DoP
Ferdinando Arnò - Music
Claudio Furlan UsUp Event Production House
Pietro Meschini Adattivo Technical Agency
Michela Marni OMD Media Agency responsible

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

For 50 years of the Big Mac, we haven’t simply created a celebration to remind all Italians about the special event, but engaged them in an activation, a huge operation that has brought them together making McDonald’s achieve 1.2 million euros of incremental sales.

Background

2018 is the year of the Big Mac’s 50th anniversary. In Italy, McDonald’s is very popular and appreciated and the Big Mac, even though it’s an icon, it’s no longer the most loved burger on the Menu. McDonald’s asked us to create an integrated campaign that could be institutional, to remind people that Big Mac over all these years has created a link with them, and also to engage and capture people’s attention. So, we needed to bring the Big Mac back as a best seller among the products, and create a new fanbase of McLovers - people that usually go to McDonald’s – these became the objectives of the campaign.

Describe the creative idea

To create engaging content, we made a Big Mac quest, giving all McLovers the chance to get what they want: a Big Mac for just 50 cents. We divided the image of the Big Mac into 50 parts and placed them all over Italy. On billboards, guerrilla and pop up events. Then invited all Italians to join the quest. People simply needed to download the McDonald’s app, follow the hints, find the parts and share the photos on Instagram to complete the Big Mac, so they could have it for just 50 cents. Italians got involved, even through a TVC, and all together started hunting. Once the Big Mac was re-united, McDonald’s announced a Big Mac Party. Hundreds of thousands of people joined in and finally celebrated with their favourite burger.

Describe the strategy

The target audience was extended to all Italians, especially to those who already know and go to McDonald’s but haven’t downloaded the app yet, and are not aware of all the daily promotions. We put the 50 parts in strategic places in order to enhance the performance of every single part and give a positive result for the brand, creating both a drive to store and a great product exhibition. The approach was to direct the audience to a precise media: Instagram, in order to maximize attention and to minimize the exposure of media costs. Moreover, we made it compulsory to download the McDonald’s app to get the final coupon.

Describe the execution

A TVC spot and videos on Social Media kicked off the campaign. Then, over two weeks, we placed and gradually revealed 50 different locations in Italy where the 50 posters were. From the North to the South - even on a volcano - using billboards, guerrilla and pop-up events. The 31th of August the teaser video launched the Big Mac 50 quest. The 1st of September a video invited all Italian to join. From the 1st September To the 13th – social media contents, billboards and guerrilla kept the campaign active while people were finding the parts. The 14th September the activation closed as the Big Mac was complete. The same day McDonald’s announced the Big Mac Party to celebrate with the Big Mac at just 50 cents.

List the results

In just 4 hours, 258.000 Big Macs were sold. Overall Big Mac event: upr +11,4% versus September 2017. For the duration of the activation, McDonald’s achieved 1.2 millions euros of incremental sales and a 3rd consecutive quarter with double digit growth Q3 = +10,1% On Social Media: + 244% Instagram impressions, +1500 followers per day. The McDonald’s app reached 1st place in the App Store. With 107k app downloads 127k registrations 871k app opens.