DDB New Zealand | McDonald’s

Insight:
Stand at the counter of any McDonald’s restaurant in New Zealand and you’ll hear a chorus of customers saying “aaaaaaaaaand aaa…” as they stare up at the menu board and decide which little treat to add to their favorite order.

This is music to the ears of McDonald’s New Zealand franchises, as customers adding extra items to their “go-to” orders massively bolsters the bottom line. Historically, it’s also proven to be one of their greatest business challenges, and the current economy has made that challenge greater than ever.

The objective set by McDonald’s was to get more customers saying those lucrative “aaaaaand aaa” kind of words, adding extra McNuggets, Apple Pies, McFlurries, and more to their orders. And do it when they’re already on the way to McDonald’s – at a time when they’re a little more predisposed to adding a tasty extra.

Just like we wanted our customers to do, we added a little something to our OOH, joining forces with digital out-of-home provider, LUMO NZ to hack their network of digital billboards. Using McDonald’s sales data, we added all the little favorites Kiwis love to add on at the counter to their big favorites on the billboards, and streamed them back to hungry Kiwis on their way to McDonald’s.

Impact:
While it’s still early to report results, average cheque has already grown for two consecutive weeks since launch, with a 2.4% uplift in stores close to “ad-on” billboards.

That’s already a whole lot of extra Apple Pies, Nuggets, and McFlurries getting added to orders. And proof that our tiny little idea is already shifting the dial for local franchises.