How two McDonald’s Marketers win Gen Z

90% of the US population has eaten at a McDonald’s in the past year.

Whether a Big Mac is your drunk go-to or you like to bribe your kids with happy meals on long car trips, Points: McDonald’s is one of the most popular and long-lasting brands we’ve got.

We all take it for granted. Apart from maybe we shouldn’t.

There is a reason that McDonald’s ranks among the 10 most magnetic brands to Gen Z – surpassing Sephora, NFL, and Starbucks.

And it’s not the nostalgia factor … at least not quite.

To get to the bottom of this, I sat down with two experts-Anna Engel, director of brand, content and culture at McDonald’s, and Nathaniel Gaynor, Brand Marketing Manager at McDonald’s if full-time job is to make McDonald’s Cool for Gen Zers .

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Lesson 1: Marketing must be symbiotic.

Engel is thinking about campaign elements – whether it is a new food, a digital campaign element or a social media post – as “ingredients.”

Of course she does.

And what she loves about Gen Z is, how they have created a symbiotic relationship with McDonald’s “Ingredients” campaign. Engels team not only creates content for Gen Z. Gen Z also creates content for them.

As angel told me, Gen Zers often takes branding ingredients and “creates something new with them – that’s what excites us and motivates us,” she says. “For example, they can create a tale or anime poster for a campaign … similar things.”

Let’s also address the elephant in the room – why have they created a completely separate Gen Z -Marketing Team?

Because ”Gen Z drives culture“Angel explained to me. “And our ambition is to continue to be a cultural icon.”

Lesson 2: Connect to your customers in nature.

Every year, one of McDonald’s agencies takes a road trip. (Healthy, I know.)

“Fan Truth Road Trip helps us understand who our fans are and why they associate with our brand,” says Gaynor. “We see our fans pulling our brand into many different parts of the culture – Whether it’s anime, fashion, art or games. “

Angel and Gaynor’s team then take these experiences to create authentic experiences for their gene Z fans.

Consider February 2024 “WcDonald’s campaign.” The campaign was a NIKK for McDonald’s Anime and Manga fans and included a menu with limited edition, Japanese manga-themed packaging, a four-episoded anime series and an interactive experience in LA

McDonalds

Together with McDonald’s restaurants, the agency also visits university campuses, malls, cinemas and parks.

As angel puts it, “We break outside the four walls of McDonald’s to connect with our fans in nature.

She adds, “It is important for us to understand the universe they live in what their interests are and who they are outside McDonald’s.”

While you may not be able to orchestrate a “fan truth road trip” to your brand, the lesson will work here for all marketers: To fully understand your customers, you must meet them outside the framework of your marketing efforts. What else do they enjoy and how can your brand also show up there?

Lesson three: Be fan-led.

“Where we haven’t hit the right note in the past is when we haven’t become a fan-led,” Gaynor told me.

“Now, We let our fans guide the way to our next big idea. It is our job to embrace them and live in their creative universe and talk to them. And when we do, we succeed. “

Angel repeats his point and explains that another mistake they have made in the past is not to be data -driven enough in their campaign approach.

“We can build up big fire rental campaigns. But if it does not link to anything tangible in the restaurant for fans to buy, touch, feel, eat, then it will not be a business driver, ”says Angel.

Because in the end, Engel and Gaynor’s main goals are not just seeming cool for 22-year-olds at Fortnite. (Although it is a fun side advantage.) Their goal is to run sales.

And if it just happens to cause anime, fashion or art, be it.

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