{"id":859,"date":"2025-02-04T14:36:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T14:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/04\/beyond-the-golden-arches-how-two-mcdonalds-marketers-win-gen-z\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T14:36:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T14:36:20","slug":"beyond-the-golden-arches-how-two-mcdonalds-marketers-win-gen-z","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/04\/beyond-the-golden-arches-how-two-mcdonalds-marketers-win-gen-z\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Golden Arches: How Two McDonald\u2019s Marketers Win Gen Z"},"content":{"rendered":"

90% of the U.S. population<\/a> has eaten at a McDonald’s over the past year.<\/p>\n

Whether a Big Mac is your drunk go-to, or you like to bribe your kids with Happy Meals on long car rides, the point holds: McDonald\u2018s is one of the most popular and long-lasting brands we\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n

We all take it for granted. Except maybe we shouldn’t.<\/p>\n

There\u2018s a reason McDonald\u2019s ranks among the top 10 most magnetic brands<\/a> for Gen Z \u2014 surpassing Sephora, NFL, and<\/em> Starbucks.<\/p>\n

And it’s not the nostalgia factor\u2026 At least, not entirely.<\/p>\n

To get to the bottom of this, I sat down with two experts \u2014 Anna Engel, Director of brand, content, and culture at McDonald\u2018s, and Nathaniel Gaynor, Brand marketing manager at McDonald\u2019s \u2014 whose full-time job is to make McDonald\u2019s cool to Gen Zers.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Lesson 1: Marketing should be symbiotic.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Engel thinks of campaign elements \u2014 whether it’s a new food item, a digital campaign element, or a social media post \u2014 as \u201cingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course she does.<\/p>\n

And what she loves about Gen Z is how they\u2018ve created a symbiotic relationship with McDonald\u2019s campaign \u201cingredients\u201d. Engel\u2018s team doesn\u2019t just create content for Gen Z. Gen Z creates content for them, too.<\/p>\n

As Engel told me, Gen Zers often take brand ingredients and \u201ccreate something new with them \u2014 that’s what excites us and motivates us,\u201d she says. \u201cFor instance, they might create a narrative or an anime poster for a campaign\u2026 Things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let’s also address the elephant in the room \u2014 why have they created an entirely separate Gen Z marketing team?<\/p>\n

Because “Gen Z is driving culture<\/strong>,\u201c Engel explained to me. \u201dAnd our ambition is to continue to be a cultural icon.”<\/p>\n

Lesson 2: Connect with your customers in the wild.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Every year, one of McDonald’s agencies takes a road trip. (Wholesome, I know.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fan Truth Road Trip helps us understand who our fans are and why they connect with our brand,\u201d Gaynor says. “We see our fans pulling our brand into many different parts of culture<\/strong> \u2014 whether that’s anime, fashion, art, or gaming.”<\/p>\n

Engel and Gaynor’s team then takes these learnings to create authentic experiences for their Gen Z fans.<\/p>\n

Consider the Feb 2024 \u201cWcDonald’s campaign.\u201d The campaign was a nod to McDonald’s anime and manga fans, and included a limited-edition menu, Japanese manga-themed packaging, a four-episode anime series, and an interactive experience in L.A.<\/p>\n\n

Along with McDonald’s restaurants, the agency visits college campuses, malls, movie theaters, and parks, too.<\/p>\n

As Engel puts it, “We break outside the four walls of McDonald’s to connect with our fans in the wild.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

She adds, \u201cIt’s important for us to understand the universe they live in, what their interests are, and who they are outside of McDonald’s.\u201d<\/p>\n

While you might not be able to orchestrate a \u201cFan Truth Road Trip\u201d for your brand, the lesson here works for all marketers: To fully understand your customers, you need to meet them outside the confines of your marketing efforts. What else do they enjoy, and how can your brand show up there, too?<\/p>\n

Lesson Three: Be fan-led.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWhere we haven’t hit the right note in the past is when we haven’t been fan-led,\u201d Gaynor told me.<\/p>\n

“Now, we let our fans guide the way to our next big idea<\/strong>. It’s our job to embrace them and live in their creative universe and speak to them. And when we do that, we succeed.”<\/p>\n

Engel echoes his point, and explains that another mistake they’ve made in the past is not being data-driven enough in their campaign approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can build great brand relevance campaigns. But if it doesn’t link to something tangible in the restaurant for the fans to purchase, touch, feel, eat, then it’s not going to be a business driver,\u201d Engel says.<\/p>\n

Because ultimately, Engel and Gaynor\u2018s main goal isn\u2019t just to seem cool to the 22-year-olds on Fortnite. (Although it’s a fun side-benefit.) Their goal is to drive sales.<\/p>\n

And if that just so happens to entail anime, fashion, or artwork, so be it.<\/p>\n

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