Reviving Nostalgia: How Nord DBB ‘Deals Stuck in Time’ Campaign Reclaimed Mc Donald’s Value Perception in Sweden

In the spotlight:

2023 Silver Effie

"Reviving Nostalgia: How Nord DBB 'Deals Stuck in Time' Campaign Reclaimed Mc Donald's Value Perception in Sweden"

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CAMPAIGN NAME

Deals Stuck in Time

CATEGORIES

Silver Best of Europe: Media Strategy & Idea

Bronze Best of Europe: Seasonal and Current Events

CLIENT

Mc Donald's Sweden

LEAD AGENCY

NORD DBB Sweden

CONTRIBUTING AGENCY

OMD Sweden; Prime Weber Shandwick

CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION

The "Deals Stuck in Time" campaign, developed by NORD DDB Sweden for McDonald's, aimed to counteract the increasing competition from MAX, a local fast-food chain in Sweden. MAX had successfully built a perception of offering "value for money" among young Swedes through its app. To reclaim this market, McDonald's launched an innovative campaign allowing customers to redeem old deals by locating past outdoor ads through Google Street View or scanning current outdoor ads with unique QR codes. This approach was designed to increase app engagement and enhance the value perception of McDonald's.

THE CHALLENGE

McDonald's Sweden faced several critical challenges:

  • Fierce Competition from MAX: MAX's app and special deals had gained significant traction, particularly among the younger demographic, establishing a strong value perception.
  • Low App Engagement: McDonald's needed to boost app downloads and usage in a market where MAX had a head start.
  • Crowded Media Landscape: The fast-food industry is highly competitive, with numerous campaigns competing for consumer attention, making it difficult for McDonald's to capture and retain interest.

THE STRATEGY

To overcome these challenges, NORD DDB Sweden employed a comprehensive strategy:

1. Leveraging Nostalgia:

  • Encouraged customers to find old McDonald's ads on Google Street View to redeem historical deals, creating a nostalgic and engaging experience.
  •  This approach tapped into emotional connections and memories associated with past McDonald's advertisements.

2. Interactive and Engaging Media:

  • Deployed a mix of physical and digital media, including outdoor ads featuring unique QR codes that could be scanned to unlock deals.
  • Ensured a seamless user experience that integrated digital interactions with physical advertisements.

3. Comprehensive Media Engagement:

  • Engaged audiences through social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and collaborated with influencers to amplify the campaign's reach.
  • Created buzz and excitement around the campaign to drive app downloads and usage.
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The campaign generated 12,000,000 earned media impressions

RESULTS

The "Deals Stuck in Time" campaign achieved significant results:

1.Engagement and Interaction

  • Swedes 'time-travelled' more than 840,000 times during the campaign in 2023.
  • The campaign engaged people from all over Sweden, generating 12,000,000 in earned media impressions, more than Sweden’s population at 10 million

2. Increased App Downloads and Users

  • App downloads increased by +65%, from having 30,400 app downloads in January 2022 to 50,210 app downloads during the campaign in January 2023.
  • The number of active app users rose by +28%. Rising from 247,246 active app users in 2022 to 317,990 active app users during the campaign in January 2023.

3.  Brand Perception

  • The "good value for money" attribute improved by 30% among the target group (ages 16-24), increasing from 43% in January 2022 to 56% in January 2023, surpassing the objective by 16%.
  • McDonald's achieved an 8 percentage point lead over MAX Burgers for the first time in this attribute.

4.  Visit Intent:

  • Visit intent increased by 29% among 16-24-year-olds, from 41% in January 2022 to 53% in January 2023, 15% above the target.
  • In the total population, visit intent grew from 39% in January 2022 to 42% in January 2023.

5. Sales and Visits:

  • Visits increased by 10.8% in January 2023 compared to January 2022.
  • Sales grew by 17.1% in January 2023 versus January 2022, making it the strongest January in the brand's history.

WHY A DOUBLE WINNING SILVER AND BRONZE EFFIE? Here's what the jurors said.

''A super unique solution that only McDonalds could do. A really smart use of connecting digital and physical - and staying true to the idea. It clearly hit a mark with the intended audience. Fun creative & media solution that delivers real value for the consumer and for the brand.''

''The strongest aspect of this campaign is undoubtedly the innovative use of Google Maps and Street View. Leveraging this platform to rediscover and activate old McDonald's outdoor advertisements was a creative and engaging way to connect with the audience. It not only tapped into nostalgia but also utilized technology to offer unique deals and drive app downloads, ultimately leading to impressive results.''

''An exceptional and innovative use of a traditional medium, typically intended for awareness, where they utilized it for engagement instead.''

 

''The campaign's success in driving app downloads is a testament to its creative approach, innovative use of technology, and the ability to tap into consumers' nostalgia. It highlights the importance of adapting to changing consumer behaviors and leveraging digital platforms to achieve outstanding results in today's competitive marketing landscape.''

''Introduction to the theme perfectly prepared, the strategy gained momentum through an active engagement of customers, keeping the "value for money" as an important brand parameter and also re-using old media displays - for activating users to download application.''