How Two McDonald’s Marketers Win Gen Z

90% of the US population He ate at McDonalds over the past year.

Whether Big Mac is your drunk, or you like to bribe your children with happy meals on long car rides, the point holds: McDonald’s is one of the most popular and demanding brands we have.

We all take it for granted. Except we might not.

There are a reason that McDonald’s resti is among Top 10 of most magnetic brands For gene z – surpassing Sephora, nfl, and Starbucks.

And it’s not a nostalgia factor … at least, not completely.

To get to the bottom of this, I sat down with two experts-anna engine, Director of Brand, Content and Culture in McDonald’s, and Nathaniel Gaynor, Marketing Marketing Manager at McDonald’s-family is a full-time job that McDonald’s Cool to McDonald’s Cool to gene Zers.

Lesson 1: Marketing should be symbiotic.

Engel is considering the elements of the campaign – whether it is a new food subject, an element of a digital campaign or on social media – as “ingredients”.

Of course it is.

And what she loves with Gen Z is how they created a symbolic relationship with the McDonalds campaign “Ingredients”. The Engel team not only creates content for Gen Z. Gen Z also creates content for them.

As Engel told me, Gen Zers often takes the ingredients of the brand and “creates something new with them – this is what excites us and motivates us,” she says. “For example, they could create a narrative or anime poster for a campaign … Such things.”

We also deal with an elephant in the room – why have they created a completely separate gene z marketing team?

Because “Gen z is a ride of culture“Engel explained to me.” And our ambition is still a cultural icon. “

Lesson 2: Connect with your customers in the wild.

Each year, one of the McDonald’s agency goes on a trip. (I know, I know.)

“The passenger trip Fan is to the truth to us to understand who our fans are and why they connect with our Mark,” Gaynor says. “We see our fans pull our brand in many different parts of culture – Whether it’s anime, fashion, art or playing. “

Anngel and Gaynor’s team then take these teachings to create authentic experiences for their Gen Z fans.

Consider the “Wcdonald’s Wcdonald’s” campaign. ” The campaign was McDonald’s Anime and Manga fans, and included a limited edition menu, packing of Japanese mango, anname series with four episodes and an interactive experience in LA

Together with McDonald’s restaurants, the Agency visits campuses at colleges, market centers, cinemas and parks.

As Engel says, “We break out of the four walls of McDonald’s to connect with our fans in the wild.“

She adds: “It is important for us to understand the universe in which they live, what their interests are and who are beyond McDonald’s.”

Although you may not be able to orchestrate the “fans of the fans” for your brand, the lesson is working here for all traders: in order to fully understand your customers, you need to get to know them beyond the borders of your marketing efforts. What else do they enjoy and how can your brand appear there?

Lesson three: be guided by fans.

“Where we didn’t hit the right note in the past when we weren’t cheerful,” Gaynor told me.

“Now, We let our fans direct their way to our next great idea. It is our job to accept them and live in their creative universe and talk to them. And when we do that, we succeed. “

Engel echoes his position and explains that another mistake they made in the past is not sufficiently guided by the data in their campaign approach.

“We can build great campaigns for brand relevance. But if it is not connected to something tangible at the restaurant so fans can buy, touch, feel, eat, then it will not be a business driver, “says Engel.

Because ultimately, the main goal of Engel and Gaynor is not just to look cool 22-year-olds at Fortnite. (Although it is a fun side benefit.) Their goal is to encourage sale.

And if that happens that implies anime, fashion or artwork, be so.