Publicis and Omnicom have been dueling for the Chicago-based McDonald’s business for years, including in 2017 when the fast feeder led a global media agency review that led to Publicis taking over media in France and in parts of Latin America, with OMD retaining markets such as Canada, China and Germany. But Publicis made more inroads in 2020 when it took over media planning in China (OMD continued to buy). OMD controls a total of 47 global markets for McDonald’s.
Publicis’ take on US media would mark the first major agency shakeup at the Golden Arches since the arrival of Tariq Hassan as US director of marketing and digital customer experience. Hassan arrived from Petco on Sept. 27 amid a cascade of leadership changes, including the rise of Hassan’s predecessor, Morgan Flatley, to global CMO.
The French holding company already has several restaurant brands on its media list, including Chick-fil-A and Inspire Brands, the latter including Arby’s and Dunkin. Its approach has been to create bespoke teams for these brands, such as the Media Engine Group formed in February 2020 for Inspire.
McDonald’s has won accolades for its creative advertising in recent years as it has widened its lead in the fast food wars, thanks in part to a string of celebrity endorsement deals that have garnered public acclaim and have inspired a number of rivals to pursue similar agendas. McDonald’s officials say the secret of the “Famous Orders” campaign run by Wieden + Kennedy New York is how it reminds consumers they have a favorite order.
McDonald’s also made significant progress on a newly launched loyalty app, amassing 21 million members in its first few months. The MyMcDonald’s Rewards app is considered a crucial communication channel with consumers, who can receive personalized offers that improve the frequency of their visits, while earning rewards and other benefits. McDonald’s top fans have won up to 70 awards this year; the most popular freebie was free fries, with 2.4 million orders.
Going forward, McDonald’s media agencies should help the fast charger navigate spending decisions on new forms of media investments, including its strategy on NFTs and the metaverse. McDonald’s US recently experimented with a promotion that accompanied the limited release of its McRib sandwich this year, offering an NFT depicting the sought-after sandwich.
This victory would give new impetus to Publicis Groupe. According to R3’s new company rankings released in October 2021, Publicis leads the pack of holding companies in U.S. media wins. The consultancy said Publicis earned $155.8 million in US media accounts in the first 10 months of the year, compared to No. 4 Omnicom with $63 million. Globally, however, OMG recently won Chanel’s $500 million media account, but lost Eli Lilly’s US media account to Publicis Groupe’s Zenith in November.
EJ Schultz and Judann Pollack write for Crain’s sister publication, Ad Age. Jon Springer and Brian Bonilla contributed.
