Generation Z is an important and hard-to-get audience for McDonald’s both as consumers and potential employees. Based on decreased job applications, it was apparent that the youth no longer saw McDonald’s as a cool place to work.To ensure the continued level of brand experience and thereby the position as market leader, new talent is crucial.

McDonald’s Finland has a good and continuously developing online presence on social media supported by frequent influencer collaborations. So the idea was to use that platform to reach Gen Z in a way they would relate to. And that would make a McDonald’s a cool place to work and the McDonald’s uniform cool to wear. The target was to increase the number of received job applications and to improve McDonald’s perception as an employer. While also holding onto the position of #1 QSR employer for 16-24-year-olds.

How do you combine boosting employer image, creating something meaningful & cool and making your brand culturally relevant for Gen Z? While also increasing brand affinity and engagement. In this case, we knew it was vital to break into popular culture, and so we chose fashion, where young Finnish designers were knocking on international arenas.

We collaborated with a local up-and-coming fashion designer who the target group – Generation Z – could relate to. Someone McDonald’s could support on his way up. We didn’t want to ride on the fame of an established talent, we knew we wanted more depth than just another fashion collaboration. The new fashion collection was upcycled from used McDonald’s workwear. And the fashion collection was only available to McDonald’s employees highlighted with the main message activation: Want the drop? Get the job! People applied in record-breaking numbers after seeing that the McDonald’s uniform could be

There was a discrepancy between Gen Z and McDonald’s Finland. Outside of the scheduled employer branding campaigns, there was space to try something new. Since Gen Z has been proven not to appreciate traditional, interruptive advertising and wants something to believe in the brands they consume and work for, we’d enter their lives from a new angle. McDrip was born out of a combination of elements: using fashion as a way to become popular culture, upcycled workwear bringing a responsible twist and a social first approach leveraging organic influencers’ creative freedom and passion for the fashion.

If Gen Z didn’t want to wear the McDonald’s uniform, what if we create cutting-edge fashion from it? Making the McDonald’s uniform cool enough to wear. Key was to partner with a credible designer who is also Gen Z to really make it relatable, and show that McDonald’s wants to support you too.

McDonald’s Finland needed to attract employees. As the fast-food sector predominantly employs youth, the main target group was Gen Z.

The battle for workforce had intensified in the post-COVID years partly as a result of the pandemic itself and additionally impacted by the media furor over the local competitors’ poor working conditions – brought to light after they were caught for false employee testimonials. McDonald’s was in a good position after becoming market leader for the first time ever in Finland during 2020. It was a moment to continue building on the position, and openings of several restaurants were planned to strengthen the position. The local competitor and long-time #1 has some 200 restaurants more than McDonald’s. Getting workforce was imperative in this situation.

Generation Z provides the largest share of the workforce for fast-food restaurants. McDonald’s Finland had been laying a foundation by developing its social media presence and engaging with youth on a more equal level. This was done in a conscious bid to show Gen Z that McDonald’s can have a relevant role in their lives. The recruitment would leverage this. Having established a channel for speaking to Gen Z in their language in the environments they are at home in was considered the best way to reach potential new employees.

How do you combine boosting employer image, creating something meaningful & cool and making your brand culturally relevant for Gen Z? While also increasing brand affinity and engagement.

First of all, you don’t go the traditional route of employer image marketing, talking from top down and focusing on sharing the company line. You relate to the people who are your target group, and focus on what interests them and would make them believe in your brand.

In this case, we knew it was vital to break into popular culture and chose fashion as our arena. We collaborated with a local up-and-coming fashion designer Jimi Vain who the target group – Generation Z – could relate to. Someone McDonald’s could support on his way up. We didn’t want to ride on the fame of an established talent, we knew we wanted more depth than just another fashion collaboration. The new fashion collection was upcycled from used McDonald’s workwear. And the fashion collection was only available to McDonald’s employees highlighted with the main message activation: Want the drop? Get the job!

Collaborating on the process, the designer had creative freedom while making use of the McDonald’s brand. It was a true, fruitful collaboration where the VAIN brand got to express their creativity and sense of style with McDonald’s actively present too. The launch was played to the strengths of different channels e.g. the launch fashion show that took place in November 2022 was streamed live on TikTok. McDrip went viral on social media, first through VAIN and McDonald’s own channels, and soon after organically through various social influencers. It then brought in a record-breaking number of applications: everyone wanted a piece of McDrip.

Applications to McDonald’s grew 63% – a McDonald’s Finland record for received job applications. There is no longer a shortage of employees.

Earned media reach was 228 million – that’s equal to 40 times the Finnish population.

Earned media value was 11MEUR – that’s over 700 times the media spend.

Having Lil Uzi Vert wearing McDrip during a Drake gig and Drake posting a pic of it on Instagram to his 135 million followers truly showed McDrip had broken into global culture.

For the targeted 16-24-year-old demographic:

Employer image +52%

Brand responsibility image +69%

“Is a brand I trust” perception +65%

“Is a brand for someone like me” +30%.

(comparing 12/21 vs 12/22)

The VAIN brand got a boost to their international career with global media, influencer and celebrity attention with the main designer Jimi Vain also being interviewed in e.g. Vogue and the New York Times.