The Professor Super Savings character, billed as a ‘value expert’ who checks, compares and runs tests on McDonald’s value menu proposition, is being rolled out via a new digital campaign developed by McDonald’s China digital AOR, Tribal DDB.
The first phase of the drive includes a series of web-only TVCs that are being broadcast on mainland social networking sites, along with a Professor Super Savings blog and interviews.
A media partnership with QQ.com, meanwhile, asks Chinese consumers to challenge the Professor on where they can find better value for six renminbi (US$0.75) – the price of McDonald’s Value Menu. Consumers are also able to download vouchers.
“It’s really all about having fun with consumers and showing what you can do for six renminbi,” said McDonald’s China chief marketing and corporate affairs officer Gary Rosen.
“We are asking consumers for stories on how they save, and actually our website has already slowed down because of the overwhelming response.”
The next phase of the campaign, meanwhile, will feature the Professor asking consumers to submit their own Value Menu TVCs, which sees McDonald’s tapping into the current craze for user-generated content.
“People like to interact with the McDonald’s brand, and we find it is a good seeding strategy,” said Tribal DDB Asia-Pacific president Adam Good. “If we get something interesting into that online market, it just explodes, and we want to give Professor Super Savings some sort of longevity.”
The campaign targets a slightly younger demographic of university students and young adults. “These are people who don’t always have a lot of money in their wallets,” explained Good. “It’s more like developing a TV programme, but one thing is that consumers are getting the value message.”