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Case Study: McDonald's Germany
The Ultimate Happy Meal: McDonald's Germany's Linear TV and Connected TV Advertising Mix
Deterministic cross-media measurement uncovers that 31% of Connected TV-exclusive users were younger than 30.
125%
Increasing In-App Registrations
2 vs 5
CTV vs. Total TV Frequency Comparison per HH
20%
Of Incremental Viewers exclusive to CTV
About the brand
McDonald’s is an iconic QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) known for its burgers, fries, and signature golden arches. Founded in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, the company has since expanded globally to over 100 countries, serving millions of customers daily. The company’s global headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald’s is one of the largest TV and digital advertisers globally, investing heavily in marketing and advertising campaigns to reach its broad customer base. McDonald’s is known for its franchise model, which allows for consistent quality and experience across locations. The company offers a variety of menu items, including burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, breakfast items, and desserts. In addition to its traditional dine-in and drive-thru locations, McDonald’s also offers delivery and mobile ordering options. The company is committed to sustainability and has made efforts to reduce waste and source ingredients ethically.
Main objectives
To encourage loyalty across Germany, OMD Germany, and the world-renowned fast-food giant reached out to promote the new loyalty program integrated into the McDonald’s Germany app. Despite the broad audience range of 18 to 49, younger viewers’ shift from Linear TV led the company to focus on digital investments. Collaborating with OMD Germany, TTD recommended leveraging Connected TV’s premium inventory as the optimal channel to reach a broad net audience for the loyalty program. Through this approach, McDonald’s Germany and OMD Germany conducted an in-depth analysis, comparing performance across defined gender and age segments within the campaign, something that traditional linear methods alone cannot achieve.
Methodology
Beatgrid’s cross-media audience measurement solution was set up for deterministic R&F validation for TV and CTV.
Ad exposure results were based on Beatgrid’s mobile ACR measuring cross-media content exposure.
How it works:
- The audio of the AV ads is turned into audio fingerprints.
- The Beatgrid panel community has the mobile ACR meter app installed on their phone, which converts ambient sound into “audio fingerprints”.
- These audio fingerprints are then matched with the ones from individual ad creatives.
- Enabling accurate person-level cross-media campaign ad audience verification.
Panel approach
Beatgrid has a GDPR-compliant opt-in mobile panel in Germany, who are invited to Beatgrid’s proprietary metering app, Media Rewards.
For this campaign with McDonald’s Germany:
- R&F data was calculated based on our mobile panel between 18-69 years.
- Data weighting was applied based on national statistics data, to normalize Beatgrid data for national representativeness.
- Beatgrid then calculated the data based on our mobile panel between 18-69 years, allowing for accurate person-based cross-platform campaign audience verification.
Results and key takeaways
McDonald’s Germany innovated its existing strategy across Connected TV and yet maintained the familiar human connection by reaching audiences in the comfort of their own homes.
Actionable insights were facilitated to McDonald’s and OMD, thanks to Beatgrid’s passive mobile ACR panel, which enabled the brand to measure ad interactions and the number of times viewers saw the ad by identifying audio through the device’s microphone. McDonald’s Germany could then discern whether the ad aired on Linear TV or Connected TV and evaluate its performance through a collaborative engagement model with OMD Germany and TTD.
- McDonald’s Germany noticed that older demographics were more concentrated on linear TV, while younger audiences preferred Connected TV.
- 31% of Connected TV-exclusive users were younger than 30.
- McDonald’s utilized Beatgrid’s data to make real-time campaign adjustments and demonstrated the efficacy of Connected TV as a complementary marketing channel.
- By leveraging the insights that Beatgrid uncovered, McDonald’s Germany showcased industry best practices and made informed decisions when implementing their Connected TV strategy.
Beatgrid’s deterministic single-source cross-media solution enabled McDonald’s Germany to understand its reach and frequency per media, at a person level, to further expand its campaign reach and regulate the number of viewers within a specific household, allowing them to carve out its unique path as a top global advertiser in the future of television.
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