Explore the success of celebrity fast food meals, including collaborations with Travis Scott, Bad Bunny, and BTS- the influence of hip hop culture on brands and the role of Steve Stout in McDonald's advertising campaigns- the impact of social media on branding and the expansion of celebrity meals beyond musicians- building a strong relationship with consumers through McDonald's mobile app.
Understanding fan culture is crucial in creating successful fast food partnerships with celebrities and artists.
The evolution of fast food partnerships has shifted from endorsement-level approaches to co-creation of value.
McDonald's tapped into fan truths and leveraged them to celebrate fandom and create unique menu items.
Deep dives
The Power of Celebrity and Fast Food Partnerships
The podcast episode explores the impact of celebrity and artist partnerships with fast food chains, focusing mainly on McDonald's collaboration with various artists over the years. The success of the Travis Scott meal is highlighted, as it added billions of dollars to McDonald's market cap and led to similar partnerships with artists like J Balvin, BTS, Cardi B, Mariah Carey, and Sweetie. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding fan culture and creating meaningful connections with consumers. It also touches on the role of social media and technology in leveraging these partnerships, as well as the trend of rebranding existing products through cultural framing.
The Evolution of Fast Food Partnerships
The podcast delves into the evolution of fast food partnerships, comparing older campaigns like the McJordan meal with current collaborations. It discusses the cultural significance of early partnerships like McDonald's with Michael Jordan in the 90s and the challenges of creating meaningful partnerships around hip-hop and urban culture in that era. The episode highlights the need for marketers to understand the cultural nuances and fan truths of different artist communities to create impactful collaborations. It also explores the shift from endorsement-level approaches to co-creation of value in modern partnerships.
The Importance of Framing and Fan Understanding
The podcast emphasizes the importance of framing and understanding fan culture in creating successful fast food partnerships. It discusses McDonald's partnership with Whyden+Kennedy and their approach to battle the negative perception of the brand. By studying and understanding their fans through ethnography and leveraging technology, McDonald's was able to create meaningful experiences through their app and cater to their fans' desires. The episode also scrutinizes other fast food partnerships that failed to understand fan culture, copycatting successful executions without grasping the underlying strategy and authenticity that makes collaborations resonate with consumers.
The Power of Fan Truths
The podcast episode explores the fan truths associated with McDonald's and how they solidify a sense of identity and community among fans. These fan truths, such as asking for fries even when claiming not to want them or savoring the cheese stuck to the wrapper, create unspoken rules that transcend demographics and resonate with fans across different backgrounds. McDonald's leveraged these fan truths to celebrate fandom and activate fans based on their specific orders, partnering with famous individuals like Travis Scott and creating unique menu items.
Culture-Driven Marketing Success
The podcast discusses how McDonald's successfully tapped into culture to redefine its brand image and engage younger audiences. By focusing on fans instead of just consumers, McDonald's embraced these fans' love for the brand as an essential part of their identity. Through collaboration with celebrities like Travis Scott, Jay Balvin, and BTS, McDonald's created innovative campaigns and merchandise that resonated with fans, allowing them to co-create the brand's cultural production and express their own identities. This cultural approach, combined with the timing of the pandemic, resulted in significant revenue growth and elevated the brand's perception, making McDonald's one of the most beloved and valuable brands in the country.
It’s been 3.5 years since McDonald’s Travis Scott meal, and we still see new celebrity fast food meals all the time.
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, author of “For the Culture,” as we explore how fast food chains like McDonald's bounced back to its partnerships with influential artists and musicians.
Marcus and I discuss McDonald’s history in celebrity fast food partnerships, how other fast food chains have had their own meals, what works what doesn’t, and where things are headed.
03:20 Why McDonald’s partnered with artists.
07:19 McDonald's and the McJordan.
16:39 The impact of social media on celebrity fast food meals.
27:53 The Travis Scott meal.
44:47 How fast food chains partnered with artists.