Background
Consumers now have more choices and an ever-widening array of options. At the same time, the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of life in Singapore means that tastes are constantly evolving, as diners are exposed to a variety of food cultures and ingredients.

McDonald’s felt that it was the right time to launch a premium-tasting sandwich, catering to the demand for more wholesome selections with fresh and quality ingredients. Therefore, a major campaign that adopted the use of social and traditional media was rolled out for the campaign for the new Chicken McGrill sandwich.

Aim
The campaign was to highlight the premium taste and quality of the Chicken McGrill to consumers of how McDonald's is 'Making it better' for Singapore, through the social media.

Execution
Popular social networking sites like Twitter were used to spread the news online, while robust traditional media played a supporting role in this social media campaign.

The campaign also served to demonstrate how traditional and social media could work seamlessly, hand in hand.

Speculation and buzz on Twitter with the #makeitbetter hashtag has raised search interest in Singapore prior to the launch on 1 March. The initial sharp increase in search interest (from 27 February to 5 March) could be attributed to the one-for-one ads on major dailies like The Straits Times.

The McDonald’s team also rolled out teaser ads on major dailies in Singapore on 25 February. The trial one-for-one offer ads help to generate hype and call-to-action.

Digital and mobile banners drove Singaporeans to the microsite, where teaser tweets were shown to consumers on how McDonald's will ‘Make it better come 1 March’. This was designed to sustain trial for the launch of the new product, encouraging downloads and pass on of the trial coupon on McDonald’s portals and via mobile.

To communicate to the public about the launch of the Chicken McGrill, Starhub Cable and McDonald's partnered up to create a first ever premium food programme sponsorship across food channels.

Furthermore, they also roped in popular food channels like the Asia Food Channel (AFC) and Travel Living Channel (TLC), in which McDonld’s co-produced a creative advertorial entitled ‘The making of Chicken McGrill’.

These ads had a wider reach as they were aired on popular and relevant programmes such as ‘Jamie at Home’, ‘Take home Chef’ and ‘License to Grill’ via a special trailer that integrated the product into their food preparation styles.

Other mediums such as TV, press, digital and outdoor media were also used to drive home the ‘Make it better’ notion. TV helped to drive the frequency of purchase, and generated coverage on the press helped to drive nationwide reach.

Outdoor advertisements also helped built high visibility with sky bulletins spread across the island along key high traffic roads. Digital and mobile helped drive traffic to the microsite to encourage downloads of the coupon.

Results
On the launch day of 1 March, there was an overwhelming response from Singaporeans as McDonald’s restaurants all over Singapore were packed with customers looking forward to take advantage of the trial offer.

A branded microsite was set up for consumers to 'tweet' about how they could make it better for themselves and their family and friends. Visitors to the website could also download a coupon for a one-for-one ala carte item deal during the launch date.

The awareness of the McDonald’s brand was raised during the campaign period, reflected by the search interest results. This showed that McDonald’s has effectively increased its brand visibility and persuaded a significant amount of people to start searching for the discount coupon online.

The #makeitbetter hashtag was at the top ten position within Twitter on the day of launch, indicating the high level of engagement and viral spread garnered.

McDonald’s sales exceeded projection by 4 per cent; 10 per cent increase in 'food perception' score; and 40 per cent increase in “favourite informal eat –out” score.

Credits:
 

Project Launch of Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill
Client McDonald's Singapore, Agatha Yap
Product Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill
Creative agency DDB Group Singapore
Media agency OMD Singapore
Creative Director Serene Loong
Account Director Evelyn Loh/Peggy Ng
Web/ social media agency Tribal DDB Singapore