McDonald’s is typically an entry way into the workforce, meaning applicants generally have no prior work experience. The concept of a traditional resume is irrelevant for most young people given all they have to sell themselves on is their personality.

Coupled with the insight that young people are used to doing everything instantly these days, talking, sharing, even finding love; we thought why should applying for a job be any different?

We identified Snapchat as the perfect place to reach young people, they had already moved away from mainstream networks like Facebook in favour of more instant 1:1 communication – and the ability to showcase their personality using a Snapchat Lens tapped into behaviour that was so deeply ingrained within them – it was a natural fit.

We created a Snapchat lens that put young people into a McDonald’s uniform – complete with hat and name badge, giving them a chance to see themselves as a potential crew member. All they had to do was tell us why they wanted to apply.

The initiative was supported with a national Snapchat buy, giving the entire country access to an exclusive crew lens. Supporting snap ads, digital out of home and restaurant collateral also allowed them to instantly trigger a Snaplication by simply scanning the Snapcode with the Snapchat app.

Recruitment messaging showcased a variety of reasons why young people should join the crew – from flexible work hours, a fun work environment, to progression and training opportunities, before encouraging them to join the crew in a Snap.

The results were astonishing, in both recruiting young people to work for McDonald’s and creating massive amounts of earned media for McDonald’s Australia – helping to shift perceptions of the brand and positioning them as an innovative employer.

- In the first 24 hours we received nearly 3,000 snaplications – 4x higher than traditional methods gathered in a whole week.

- Within days we had already hired real young people into positions at McDonald’s

- Snaplications received global media coverage across Australia, USA, UK, Germany, France, Canada, Spain and many more

- An estimated reach of 312M+ people in 3 days

- Our lens exceeded Snapchat’s benchmarks by more than double

- 1.5 years worth of playtime with the Snapchat lens