2020 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Challenges and Goals
McDonald’s wanted to leverage its sponsorship of the Toronto Raptors with something much more powerful and ownable than “proud sponsor of the Toronto Raptors.”

In 2018, McDonald’s Canada entered into a multi-year, multifaceted partnership with the Toronto Raptors to grow market share and brand love with young adults. This critical audience ranks highest in visits and average cheque across QSRs and is the foundation of the Raptors fan-base.

The goal was to find unique ways of leveraging the sponsorship across the entire McDonald’s business – to drive actual sales and operational objectives as well as overall brand metrics. It also aimed to drive overall brand love, drive engagement (downloads and usage) on the MyMcD’s app and drive core product sales.

Insights and Strategy
Most people are aware of McDonald’s, but most aren’t quite aware of why the brand should matter to them specifically. McDonald’s does not have an awareness issue, so the primary benefit of the sponsorship wasn’t signage at events and on TV. The true benefit was the opportunity to engage the Raptors’ younger, enthusiastic fanbase in multiple ways that felt right and fun for both McDonald’s and the Raptors.

The Raptors openness to co-creating programs, promotions and experiences to activate the sponsorship in unique ways was a critically important element of the sponsorship agreement.

Execution
One sponsorship played out six different ways. The first was a new logo. McDonald’s changed its logo, extending the Golden Arches to graphically mimic the effect of following a bouncing basketball – in this case the Raptors logo.

It launched Beyond the Arch, a season-long promotion that rewarded fans with free medium fries every time the Raptors scored 12 three-pointers. The fries were redeemable through the MyMcD’s app, driving app downloads and engagement.

It also built a fun eight-bit game within the app that challenged fans to drain their own baskets, unlocking prizes if they could hit 12.

To drive core sales, McDonald’s launched the #Nuggetiquette campaign, which was extended using Raptors Danny Green and OG Anunoby who revealed their nugget ritual in TV, print and radio.

There was also a complete packaging overhaul including a limited-run 20-pack of McNuggets featuring a sauce dunking net, also known as the Raptors “Nuggnet.”

Finally, the brand created the Goldenless Arches. To support the Raptors as they faced off against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals, McDonald’s removed the “golden state” from McDonald’s iconic Golden Arches logo.

Results:
McDonalds’ Raptors sponsorship drove long-term brand health metrics and increased immediate sales. Brand love reached a record high 96% positive sentiment across more than 1.25 million video views and 10,000 social conversations. McDonald’s Canada was recognized as NBA Partner of the Year at the 2018 NBA awards in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Beyond the Arch led to more than two million redemptions on fries (54% were incremental business). There were more than 31,100 new app downloads, and the contest represented 36% of all MyMcD app transactions in Ontario during the season. Nugget sales were lifted 20% year-over-year in Ontario, while 20-packs saw a lift of 31% year-over-year.

Credits

Title: McDonald’s x Raptors Sponsorship

Agency: Cossette
Global Chief Creative Officer(s): Carlos Moreno, Peter Ignazi
Group Creative Director: Jon Freir
Creative Director(s): Jordan Cohen, Kevin Filliter
Copywriter(s): Jordan Cohen, Darby Clarke, Ryan Kukec, Mike Decandido
Art Director: Kevin Filliter, Anton Mwewa, Jake Bundock
Designer(s): Eric Wood, David Tang
Design Creative Director: Jenna Anderson
Studio Director/Print Producer: Raquel Mullen
Senior Production Artist(s): Shireen Kok, Graham Washer
Senior Retoucher: Trevor Gauthier
Strategy: Laura Kim
Motion Graphics Designer: Gwen Ng
Account Supervisor: Valerie Mascarin, Mike Burke
Account Executive: Ali Cook, Natasha Robinson
Integrated Project Manager: Jess Crighton
Director of Content: Youri Hollier
Group Business Director: Tina Haessler
VP Business Lead: Geoff Wilton
SVP, Managing Director: Kathy McGuire

Media Agency: OMD Canada
Associate Director of Strategy: Logan Linsday
Senior Strategist: Leah Burke

Client: McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited
Chief Marketing Officer: Antoinette Benoit
Marketing Officer: Hope Bagozzi
Senior Marketing Manager, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada: Chuck Coolen
Regional Marketing Supervisor, Ontario and Atlantic Canada: Andrew Mumford
Marketing Supervisor, Ontario: Cathy Begley
Senior Manager: Media, CRM & Partnerships: Solange Bernard
Social Media Consultant: Logan Kazman

Client: MLSE
Senior Director of Global Partnerships: Galen Davis
Manager Global Partnerships: Mike Annecchini

Client: NBA
Senior Director, Marketing Partnerships: Leah MacNab
Director, Business Development: Dave Keeley