McDonald's

The Objective

Cracking the Code to Reach Next-Gen Consumers

McDonald’s is a name recognized worldwide—a global leader in fast food for decades, beloved by people of all ages and cultures. However, the iconic brand faces a new challenge: engaging an exclusive, hard-to-reach audience with distinct tastes and digital habits that set them apart from previous generations. In response to this shift, McDonald’s is making a bold move, increasing its ad spend by an impressive 42% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the total spend for all of 2023. This substantial investment underscores their commitment to TikTok as a key platform for growth. The brand is launching dynamic, high-impact campaigns aimed at maximizing Video Views, Engagement, and Reach, leveraging premium ad formats such as TopView to capture attention. Through this strategy, McDonald's is successfully breaking barriers, tapping into the next generation's digital space, and building meaningful relationships. This approach not only reinforces their status as a cultural icon but positions them at the forefront of digital marketing innovation.

The Solution

Marketing Mix Modeling: Measuring TikTok’s Real Impact

To better understand TikTok's influence on McDonald's sales and its role within a broader media ecosystem, TikTok partnered with Annalect to conduct an in-depth Marketing Mix Model study. The primary goal was to distinguish TikTok’s impact from other media channels where McDonald's invests, enabling a precise analysis of return on investment (ROI) and TikTok's contribution to the brand's overall media strategy. By analysing performance across channels, the study provides a comprehensive view of how each element works together to drive business outcomes.

This assessment aims to showcase Tiktok's true value as a marketing force, underlying its ability to not only deliver measureable sales impact but also drive exceptional audience engagement.

The Result

TikTok Proves Its Power in Driving Sales and ROI

The results of the study have been enlightening, providing McDonald's clear and accionable understanding of how marketing efforts directly translate into sales. It revealed the relationship between marketing investments and returns, and highlighted which channels deliver the best efficiency for them.

Some of the crucial insights to highlight from this MMM are:

1. Digital media proves to be significantly more efficient, delivering over 50% higher return on investment compared to offline media. This means that for every dollar spent, digital channels generate 1.5 times more ROAS than traditional offline channels.

2. TikTok emerges as the most efficient paid digital channel, surpassing other digital media by 8% in driving results. This finding underscores TikTok’s powerful influence in amplifying McDonald's sales, reinforcing the enormous value that digital marketing, particularly TikTok, brings to the table.

3. Campaigns featuring the Top View format demonstrate a remarkable +15% greater contribution to results compared to those without it. The use of more premium formats leads to a higher level of incremental contribution, further showcasing the platform’s effectiveness in driving growth and engagement for McDonald's.

TikTok has revolutionized McDonald’s approach to Influencer Marketing, reshaping how the brand engages with its audience through dynamic and authentic content. Backed by the study, we’ve demonstrated that this powerful synergy not only drives exceptional growth but also maximizes investment efficiency without sacrificing Return on Marketing Spend. By forging strategic partnerships with creators who genuinely reflect its brand values, McDonald’s isn’t just adapting to the digital landscape—it’s setting the pace, delivering measurable impact, and expanding its presence in bold, innovative ways.