Our 2022 goal was to increase app downloads and in-app McNugget sales with a social media-led, limited-time program. Since its original release in 1998, Szechuan Sauce has been the most sought-after condiment in the McDonald's pantheon, with fans willing to visit multiple stores and wait in long lines to try to get their hands on a packet. And once they do, it's likely to turn up on resale sites like eBay and StockX, going for thousands of dollars – the ultimate McDonald's status symbol.

To create a rush of excitement for the return of Szechuan Sauce, we leaned into the unique collectibility by mimicking the visual and communication style of another type of popular product re-release: sneakers.

To feed into the hype-beast mentality even further, instead of a single look, we designed a collectible suite of five limited-edition sauce packets that would have people returning to the McDonald's app day after day to collect them all.

This was a digitally driven campaign with the main KPIs being app downloads, transactions, and social engagement. We chose to lean into drop culture because we knew it would resonate with our target demographic being multicultural youth. We brought this to life through a three-phased approach that would excite both die hard Szechuan sauce fans as well as everyday McDonald’s customers.

We started with cryptic posts on Twitter and TikTok hinting that something BIG was dropping soon. And since every sneakerhead/saucehead needs a reliable plug, we posted the Community Manager's phone number on our social accounts, encouraging fans to text them for all the inside info they'd need to prepare, a heads-up on the release date, and a reminder to download the app prior to launch day to get your hands on the goods. Once the sauce was available, we continued to spark engagement on Twitter by asking fans to comment on our post and we would reply with which of the five collectible sauces they were.

The campaign was McDonald’s most cost efficient app download campaign ever. Half the locations sold out in two days and McDonald’s saw a 9% lift in overall McNugget sales during the sauce window. The results on social were equally successful, with 186.3K engagements, 464 million reach, and a 27.8% positive brand perception which exceeded benchmark.