Driving a +58% visit uplift for McDonald's

Italy is known for its rich culinary traditions, and Italian consumers place a strong emphasis on fresh, local ingredients. To appeal to these tastes, McDonald’s partnered with GialloZafferano, one of Italy’s leading recipe platforms, to develop the McChicken Variation: a new range featuring chicken and flavorful ingredients that are 100% Italian.

The Brief

McDonald’s partnered with media agency OMD and drive-to-store platform Locala to raise awareness among potential customers and drive visits to its 580 restaurants across Italy.

The Strategy

Together, we delivered a highly targeted mobile campaign aimed at users aged 18 to 54 across three audience segments: frequent McDonald’s visitors, fast-food enthusiasts, and users of Italian food and recipe apps, including GialloZafferano.

To maximize campaign effectiveness, we used Locala’s Dynamic Catchment Area geolocation technology to target users within an optimal travel time of a McDonald’s restaurant: 10 minutes on foot or 20 minutes by car.

We developed a mix of simple, engaging ad formats designed to create a seamless user experience. The creative showcased the new product range and directed users to a store locator, helping them find their nearest restaurant. We also included a banner within the store locator inviting users to learn more about the products on the McDonald’s website.

The Results

In less than 20 days, the campaign drove 2,969 new visits to McDonald’s restaurants and delivered an impressive 58% uplift in visits.These results were achieved just one month after the end of Italy’s pandemic lockdown, demonstrating how a tailored drive-to-store strategy can help retailers generate meaningful business results even in challenging conditions.