Case Study
Is a Big Mac with bacon #StillABigMac? McDonald's launched on Twitter to find out
Key results
4M
video views
59.15%
view-through rate
95%
positive and neutral sentiment
The opportunity
Marketers face a steep challenge when introducing a new twist to a classic food item. How do you liven up an old favorite without alienating die-hard fans?
When McDonald's UK (@McDonaldsUK) decided to put bacon on the Big Mac — one of the most iconic burgers in the world — it needed to raise awareness around the launch while sparking a conversation about the change.
The strategy
To launch the Big Mac Bacon, McDonald's UK, along with their media agency OMD, turned to Twitter to generate awareness and excitement with high-impact, targeted assets that encourage conversation in a language that resonates with their audience.
The most successful launches on Twitter happen in three stages: tease, reveal, and sustain. For the tease phase, McDonald's UK used a “Retweet to Remind” Tweet to drive excitement about an upcoming new version of the Big Mac. It also used a six-second video ad that encouraged people to Retweet to be notified when the burger launched.
When launch day arrived, McDonald’s UK revealed the Big Mac Bacon by promoting a Conversation Card with First View. A First View takeover gets you mass awareness through 24-hour priority access to a person’s first video ad impression of the day in a targeted market. The Conversation Card, boosted by First View, introduced the Big Mac Bacon with a short video and got people debating if the Big Mac Bacon was #StillABigMac or #NotABigMac. The day after launch, McDonald’s helped drive debate by aligning with Premier League’s Transfer Deadline Day - the final day where UK football teams can swap football clubs - and partnered with Harry and Jamie Redknapp to join the conversation.
For the post-launch sustain phase, McDonald’s used Promoted Tweets to retarget people who engaged with its previous posts to drive a higher level of awareness and keep the conversation going.
01
Tease your launch to generate interest and excitement.
It’s all about building anticipation. Drive awareness, create buzz, and activate influential early engagers by teeing up your launch with a sneak peek of your product.
02
Pull out all the stops to reveal your launch.
Using a Conversation Card in tandem with First View gains mass awareness for your launch while encouraging a conversation around your product.
03
Sustain the conversation.
After the reveal, use Promoted Tweets to keep your audience engaged and ensure your launch stays top of mind.
The success
When all the votes were tallied, McDonald’s found that people didn’t want to change a classic. If you add bacon to a Big Mac, it’s #NotABigMac anymore. But the lively debate around the Big Mac Bacon spread McDonald’s message far and wide, and the fast-food chain succeeded in engaging with its target audience.
During the tease phase, consumers showed interest in McDonald’s new news with the “Retweet to Remind” unit garnering over 5K retweets.
The First View conversation Tweet received 4M video views with a 59.15% view-through rate and a 3.36% engagement rate, both higher than UK average benchmarks.
On launch day, the campaign drove a 95% positive and neutral sentiment - 14% higher than the usual sentiment score - and almost 10,000 mentions using the hashtags.
Only Twitter’s unique ad products and engaged audience could allow McDonald’s UK to launch a new twist on an old favorite while simultaneously asking its customers for real-time feedback.
Solutions used
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