McDonald’s was looking to gain cultural relevance through music that was ownable, unique, and would be different from anything else out there to enhance the target consumer’s brand experience in an authentic way. The agency was tasked with creating and executing a breakthrough idea that would be completely ownable to McDonald’s with a look and feel different from anything else out there to enhance the target consumer’s brand experience in an authentic way. The outcome was “McDonald’s Beat of My City.” The goal of the program was to reinforce the brand presence in consumers, engage with the community, inspire the community to see McDonald’s as a “brand for me” and re-engage consumers post-event.

McDonald’s partnered with marquee artists Teyana Taylor and Juice WRLD to pioneer change in their hometowns utilizing McDonald’s iconic and leaderly position to shine a light on causes the artists desired to bring awareness and impact to. McDonald’s brought the artists to their hometowns for live concert experiences dedicated to the communities that raised them and the causes that inspire them. McDonald’s partnered with digital media company Genius to amplify the program through a robust campaign including a content series with their IRL franchise. Through Genius’ “Annotate for Good” program, consumers contributed to the $140k raised benefitting local charities selected by the artists. The design elements of the concert experiences were tailored to each city to drum up hometown pride, and McDonald’s “culture-forward” vibe was woven throughout.

In order to reach the target demographic - expressive, creative multicultural millennials who care about community, authenticity and wokeness - McDonald’s leveraged artists and created experiences catalyzing change in local communities. Utilizing their fame within each community, our two marquee artists engaged our millennial target through a social presence, live concerts, media interviews and Genius’ IRL video series, all to bring the story to life and provide a rich narrative extending beyond the local event for engagement on a national level. McDonald’s Beat of My City was additionally amplified through talent, influencers, earned media, media partnerships, social + digital, and local PR amplification via radio promotions and remotes. Concert attendance totaled over 3,500 combined attendees and the events were driven by earned media amplification, media partners, local influencers and strategic partnerships to give McDonald’s a platform for heightened awareness and fundraising for charities.

Each McDonald’s Beat of My City event provided various touch points and entertainment from DJs, break dancers, photo moments, screen printing, arcade wall as well as sampling McDonald’s food to consumers. Through our partner Genius’ “Annotate for Good” program, McDonald’s was able to rally consumers to raise money to benefit the local charities selected by Teyana Taylor and Juice WRLD. In addition to talent amplification, local influencers were leveraged for strategic social posting to extend community and national reach, while trendsetters posted the IRL series on social channels post-event and street teams helped promote RSVP’s. In addition to BET + Complex exclusive announcement and select media interviews for artists and McDonald’s executives, we partnered with two top-tier local Chicago iHeart radio stations, WGCI-FM and KISS-FM, to increase awareness and give consumers a chance to win tickets.

The local concerts were a hit amongst the over 3,500 combined attendees and the strategic content partnerships allowed McDonald's to reach fans far beyond the event. Through Genius and Annotate For Good, we drove equity KPIs upwards and allowed fans to deepen their connection with their favorite artists.

Every touchpoint provides brand fans with an immersive experience in a new and unexpected way to connect with McDonald’s. Due to the program’s success, expanding efforts into new markets in 2020 is the next step. Below is a list of goals and donations met by the McDonald’s Beat of My City events:

- $140,000 Donated to Charity Partners

- 2,450 Food Samples Passed

- 19 Paid Talent + Influencers with 27.8 Million Social Impressions (286% above goal)

- 46 Earned Media Placements with 481.8 Million Earned Media Impressions (60% above goal)

- 69.4 Million Paid Media Impressions (30.9% above goal)