In a competitive landscape, Director of Marketing at McDonald’s, Luke Rive is challenged to ensure the golden arches remains at the top of the fast-food pyramid.
Digital transformation
How have you integrated digital technology into your marketing campaigns to enhance audience engagement and campaign effectiveness?
The last few years have seen big shifts in how we use digital and data driven marketing. The launch of MyMacca’s rewards and the huge growth in App engagement has opened up a whole new set of tools to enhance campaign effectiveness. With these changes in our marketing approach and media focus, the app is now one of the highest awareness driving channels we have. We use the available data in a number of ways, depending on campaign requirements, and target around product preferences, brand messaging, and bespoke deals. It is a really exciting time to explore the opportunities in the performance marketing space and we are seeing real benefits through things like app integration, use of clean rooms, and leveraging first party data to drive media efficiencies. On top of all this the App itself plays an important role in the customer experience with Macca’s and we work hard to integrate our digital platform into our campaigns. Both ‘Driver Tax’ and ‘Fax for Kiwiburger’ are recent examples of connected campaigns linking back to restaurant through app engagement.
Creative Innovation
Creativity for impact is a big focus for oOh! and we strive to work with brands and clients to maximise their Out of Home campaigns. What are some of the most innovative and creative campaigns you have executed this year, and what are you most proud of?
Choosing campaigns that you are most proud of is a bit like choosing a favourite child (easier on some days than others). In the last year we have really focused on showing real innovation and creativity in the campaigns we have delivered. ‘Summer Kiwiburger’ played on 90’s nostalgia and used billboards in a ‘dial up’ style to give audiences a glimpse of what was to come. We then used a single OOH placement to trigger a social conversation. Can we really send a fax to get a free Kiwiburger? Next question….How? Then we had our summer brand campaign that demonstrated the fan truth of the ‘Driver Tax’. You could use the MyMacca’s Driver Tax calculator to do your calculation and OOH was used to close the loop for customers on their summer road trip bringing them into restaurants. The other innovative campaign of note was ‘Add Ons’ which won bronze at Cannes this year. It used OOH to play on the moment where customers say….“aaaannnnddd aahhhh” as they decide what little extra they want to add on to their order. We used that little extra screen down the bottom where the OOH suppliers show their brand logo to display the add on. Maccas sales data was used to determine which were the right add ons and digital billboards were chosen in proximity to Maccas stores in order to drive action.
Measurement
What metrics and tools do you use to measure the effectiveness and ROI of your marketing initiatives?
In the McDonald’s system we have a real obligation and commitment to our Franchisees to ensure that all marketing budget is invested as effectively as possible. Clear metrics and measurement ensure that we have a strong continuous improvement mindset when it comes to ROI. Kantar is used for our brand tracking as well as in flight monitoring to check against campaign objectives. We have a long-term partnership with Analytic Partners and have built bespoke models with them to make sure we are getting the info we need to help inform our media planning going forward. We also have a number of ongoing ‘test and learns’ in place with key media partners.
The Marketer of the Year award is sponsored by oOh!Media. To read more about Rive’s answers, make sure to get your hands on the September-October NZ Marketing Magazine issue here.
