2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Media?

This work was developed on an owned media channel, the McDonald’s mobile app. And the entire campaign lived there and brought successful campaign results out of that media channel.

Background

Saudis live on their phones… Saudis also live during the night. It’s a ritual passed down from ancestors who, instead, slept during the day to avoid the desert day sun. Along with that, they passed down another tradition of the night: desert camping and star gazing. McDonald’s KSA decided to be the first Fast food restaurant to get a license to open all night…But since we were the first, no one was used to looking for an open restaurant LATE at night. Our brief was to get people’s attention and announce that McDonald’s was open all night.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

Simple, we put our message where they were already looking. In nature’s biggest outdoor billboard, the night sky. And from there we took them on a star hunt, with the McDonald’s stars: the McFries Belt, The McSundae Nebula and the Big Maccer. Our very own promotion star constellations that only appear during the Saudi night… on the McDonald’s KSA mobile app. On the day of the launch, at nightfall, our 200,000 KSA app users got a notification to update their McDonald’s app. The app was now equipped with augmented reality that powered the star hunt. So if someone found the McSundae Nebula in the night sky, they could catch it and redeem it for a McSundae during the night. They then got coordinates to the nearest McDonald’s outlet and if they were already out in the desert. Yes, we delivered thanks to our integrated GPS system and desert-savvy delivery fleet.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our strategy was simple, we targeted our already existing app users which are 200,000 users.The demographics that use the McDonald’s app are the younger generation (under 35) and they are the ones who are staying up most of the night. So, our entire target audience were already on our owned media channel which is our app. All we had to do was make sure that our idea was not a simple promotion but something they could engage and interact with, hence the augmented reality star hunt.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The McDonald’s star hunt augmented reality mobile promotion took 2 weeks to code and build. It took 30 seconds to update on our 200,000 users phones. And that’s the only media placement we used. That placement on its on got us on opening night 20,000 visitors (10% of the app users).

List the results (30% of vote)

On the 1st night of opening: - 200,000 McDonalds lovers reached - 12% increase in sales - 20,000 people came to McDonald’s - Campaign cost covered in the 1st hour - 1900% return on campaign investment You can say McDonald’s KSA became the star of the Saudi night.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

In Saudi Arabia, staying up all night is custom and a very much a ritual. Most Saudis won't sleep before 3:00 am. This ritual was passed down from ancestors who slept all day instead to avoid the desert day sun and dryness. And although the modern Saudi has a day job, Saudi Arabia stays a warm country and staying up all night stays custom. Along with that, they have developed a lot of night rituals such as car cruising, desert campaign and star gazing. Our campaign simple goes with the flow or their behaviour, complementing it with what they are accustomed to and like: staying up all night and star gazing. And now eating McDonald's.