McDonald's Is Mesmerizing Three Generations Across The World With This Proven Marketing Technique

How do old school successful brands stay relevant? Short Answer - They Listen And They Innovate.

In this digital age, listening to what’s working with the audience is both easy and necessary to stay relevant. Listening helps brands understand what’s working. And innovation provides users with a user experience that they didn’t even know they would love.

Stay along for the longer version.

The Big M is the perfect brand to answer this question

McDonald’s’ is one of the successful old-school brands that are relevant today.

McDonald’s was relevant when it made quirky ads with puppet food characters back in the ’70s and it is relevant today with its smart ordering stations and relevant online content.

But these were the campaigns of the west. McDonald’s is one brand that has successfully built its presence across geographies with ease.

Besides making people from all over the world fall in love with their exceptional tasting coke (seriously it tastes so good!) and fries, they have also made their place in the hearts and minds of people regardless of their age.

McDonald’s’ target audience encompasses at least three current generations and connects with older generations with at least nostalgia.

We as modern users want to feel empowered with helpful information, entertaining content, and/or want the brand to share their values.

We are also a sucker for cool behind-the-scenes stuff (No wonder shows like Real Housewives and Big Boss are such hits).

McDonald’s also catered to this craving of ours with videos like “the quarter-pound series” showing how it selects and assembles each ingredient of this beloved American burger.

And for their Indian audience, the brand gave an assurance about its hygiene and Covid safety regulation with their feel-good “everything has changed, your favourites haven’t” campaign.

McDonald’s has always been innovative in creating different content considering its wide audience spread across multiple countries.

But can you think of just one way that speaks to people of all ages across the world? Well, McDonald’s did?

How McD Made It Happen

Understanding the fact that our communication has evolved, “the Big M” made its place in people’s conversations with Conversation Media Marketing. Conversation Media Marketing is marketing with visual content (our beloved emojis, gif, stickers) that we love sharing in our online conversation.

It is also the past, present, and future of digital advertising/branding. This is a big claim, but in today’s world data speaks louder than well anything.

Holler’s 2021 Message Report tells us the increased pertinence of messaging during Covid -

88% of people either message more than or the same as they did pre-COVID

Bobble AI’s 2021 Report shows love for messaging in India over other forms of communications -

Out of 900 respondents aged between 18 to 40 years, 50% preferred chatting over audio calling (37%) and video calling (13%).

And if you thought emojis were just for Millennials and Genz, this survey from One Poll is for you -

Out of 2000 Americans (50% were over 65 years of age) surveyed by “OnePoll”, 50% revealed that they use emojis to bond better with their grandkids. So it will be more than an educated guess to believe that people of all ages love messaging and they use visual forms of communication in messaging. Smart brands are using these insights to connect with their users in fun and exciting ways, becoming a part of their conversations.

McDonald's Conversation Media Marketing Campaigns

In America, McDonald created innovative brand recall with their “Crispy. Juicy. Tender.” campaign by being there when people paid for their food delivery and meals.

In India, McDonald’s collaborated with conversation media platform Bobble AI, creating a similar brand recall but with a hint of Indian sentiment around Romance and Independence day.

The wonderful thing about McDonald’s conversation media marketing is that with almost similar campaigns, it reached the hearts and minds of people across the spectrum of age and culture. More and more brands are turning to conversation media marketing for similar reasons. Be it its unintrusive nature, its engagement across the globe, or the love it receives from people of all ages.