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Print - Product Campaign

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McDONALD'S Made in Italy.

 

"The taste of McDonald’s speaks Italian."

 

  • CANNES LIONS - Shortlist, PR  

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  • DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AWARDS

Berlin - Winner online strategy, Viral communication

We were asked to help McDonald's overcome its massive trust deficit with the Italian audience. It was our task to change McDonald's image from 'fast food' to 'good food in a country that gave birth to the Slow Food movement a quarter-century ago and prides itself on its varied, delicious and healthy cuisine.

 

Italians consider their food the best in the world. Because it is simple and made with care.

The strategy was to demonstrate to our audience we are passionate and caring about food, just like they are. The company used the campaign to enhance its image among locavores in Italy and beyond.

 

We create a new line of product Italian burgers with DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin, a widely) ingredients. We could not say simply that our products were good. We needed to walk the walk. Hence we created McItaly a series of limited edition sandwiches built around one typical DOC Italian ingredient.

 

Case Study

Following the overwhelming success of the launch of McItaly, to fight the equivalence "junk food = fast food", especially in a country where the quality of food is commonly perceived as an indispensable part of life.

A meeting between high culture and popular culture was the inspirational idea.

This phenomenon, which sociologists call "cultural omnivorousness " concerns, in particular, the consumption of young people able to choose from different "menus", in food as in music and culture.

We decided to involve one of Italy’s most renowned chefs, and the only Italian chef to date to receive three Michelin stars, Gualtiero Marchesi to create the sandwiches. The new sandwiches were named Adagio and Vivace (names that represent an integration of two competing philosophies: slow and fast)

The two sandwiches were a hit. Due to customer demand, they appeared in the stores for nearly two months longer than the initial three-week "limited time offer".

 

The campaign covers the whole communication mix: TV, posters, ads, online, PR, social media.

 

McItaly ads, featuring an image of Italy stamped into ground beef, aired not just in Italy, but in Great Britain, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany.

The McItaly experiment exceeded expectations:

  • Higher sales then leading product 121 units per restaurant per day vs. Big Mac's 117

  • Adopted by the whole European division making Italy lead country on the trust-building strategy

  • More than 3 million "100 percent Italian" hamburgers were sold in the first two months.

  • The menu was offered at the chain's 392 locations around Italy, which serve 600,000 clients a day.

  • 78% of respondents to a survey taken by the company praised the initiative.

  • +20% is a brand I can trust" indicator

  • +15% positive image perception

  • +19% "is a company who inspire liking" indicator

  • +5% penetration

 

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