ABOUT

McDonald’s has been running a promotion entitled ‘National Breakfast Day’ across Asia, Middle East and Africa. The aim is to promote the restaurant’s (slightly less popular) breakfast menu. Each time 1,000 Egg McMuffins are given away for free to the first 1,000 people to turn up during breakfast hours. However free giveaways have not proven to be particularly effective in changing consumer behaviour, i.e. driving sales of breakfasts.

For most of us our (smart) phone is literally the most personal item in our daily lives. Several studies have found that a large number of people keep our devices under the pillow. Most people find getting up in the morning tough. And McDonald’s is certainly not the first thing on our minds when turning off that alarm clock…

BACKGROUND

BREAKFAST AT MCDONALD’S

McDonald’s might be a popular choice for lunch and satisfying midnight hunger pangs but McDonald’s felt that not enough Asians were heading to their restaurants at breakfast time. They wanted to promote their variety range of breakfast offers, which thus far haven’t been very popular as people are simply not aware of them. ‘National Breakfast Day’ is an attempt to turn this around.

SAMPLING AS PROMOTION

Essentially ‘National Breakfast Day’ is a good old-fashioned sampling event. Sure, giving a free McMuffin might result in a temporary spike in sales, but is this sustainable in the long run? Therefore, McDonald’s still faced the challenge of making its brand relevant to mornings.

SLEEPING WITH YOUR MOBILE

People are constantly interacting with their smartphones. Even before going to bed, most of us have one last quick look at our emails and social media feeds. It is estimated that a staggering 83% of millennials use their phones as an alarm clock, and sleep with their phones within reach! So what if McDonald’s could engage consumers at the very minute they wake up and put McDonald’s breakfast at the top of their agenda?
THE SOLUTION

WAKING UP TO A SURPRISE

DDB Group Singapore didn’t attempt to disrupt normal human behaviour. Instead they incorporated a marketing message for the client McDonald’s in a relevant and useful way by creating the “McDonald’s Surprise Alarm” application: a handy alarm clock with a welcome added-value twist. Every morning brought users nice surprises: a free song, free food, an inspirational quote, vouchers and more.

FREE TRACKS AND MUFFINS

The app was available on iOS and Android. First-time users had to register via Facebook. When setting their alarm, users could choose from a preferred alarm sound or alternatively opt for “Surprise Me”. If the “Surprise Me” option was chosen, ringtones were related to the surprise received. Although multiple alarms could be set, users only got a surprise once each day(!).

Vinod Savio from DDB Group Singapore describes the range of ‘surprises’: “It was a 60:40 split between McDonald’s products and entertaining content. All the vouchers were time stamped, that way we could track the redeeming process.

The entertaining content was built on the pillars of the brand’s personality. For instance we had tips for getting ready in the morning or to be more motivated during the day. We just wanted to put a smile on people’s face. There’s around 700 pieces of content. A smart CMS system distributed this content based on individual usage and redeeming habits. The more you engaged with the app, the smarter it got.“

On some days, users could receive a free music track, thanks to McDonald’s partnership with Sony Music.

AN EARLY HIT

The app was timed to be released alongside the ‘National Breakfast Day’. It was an instant hit and didn’t need much of an additional push. Some short-term methods were used in the early stages: mobile banners, Facebook app download ads, and Google AdWords search extensions.

“This year they (McDonald’s) had a lot of communication and PR going on around National Breakfast Day. The same means were used to notify people about the app. PR and influencers sparked conversations around the initiative. We had some ad spend for app stores, but it was quite organic. We didn’t have to do too much. It was already the #2 app by the time of the launch. We hit our target the following day,“ says Vinod Savio, Creative Director at DDB Group Singapore/Tribal Worldwide.

GOING FORWARD

At the regional level, the client is trying to see if McDonald’s could take this app to other markets beyond Singapore. The app effectively became a separate media channel for the brand. As the engagement rate was very high, McDonald’s has adjusted the promotional rewards, i.e. scaled down the number of offers.

RESULTS

The handy McDonald’s Surprise Alarm app wasn’t just a branded tool that people could exploit to get free stuff. The Surprise Alarm delivered some serious results, both in terms of awareness and sales:

// Within days, the app climbed to #1 spot on both Google and Apple app stores;

// In 5 weeks, it achieved over 281,000 downloads;

// 93% registered users;

// 68,044 shares on social media;

// Delivered over 2.8 million surprises – of which, 400,000 were converted to footfall to restaurants, as users redeemed their rewards;

// The app surpassed its 6-month download target in 3 weeks;

// Three months after the launch: the promotion achieved an engagement rate of 93%, which means almost all downloaders were using the app daily. The engagement was higher than generated by almost all McDonald’s’ other digital assets put together;

// Total Content Delivered (coupons+content) is 64,260,761.