McDonald's boosts billboard

The Offer: For two Saturdays in May, McDonald's
 and Tribal DDB Stockholm gave pedestrians in Stockholm's Stureplan, a busy intersection in the city center, the opportunity to interact with a digital billboard using their mobile phones. Users who lasted 30 seconds in the Pick n' Play game received a coupon and directions to the nearest McDonald's location. 


The Data: The technology allowed users to interact with the billboard without signing up with an email 
address or contact information, and no such data 
was collected after the game ended. 


The Channel: The two-day digital engagement
used digital out-of-home and mobile technology to 
engage users and drive foot traffic at restaurant locations. McDonald's staff, including Ronald McDonald, was also on hand to distribute flyers and in-store 
communications at the events. 


The Creative: The game and mobile experience were branded in McDonald's red and gold brand colors, but technology drove the creative experience. Rather than download an app, users visited picknplay.se and had their locations verified by geo-location technology. They were then inserted into a digital queue and automatically received the coupon if they lasted 30 seconds in the Pong-esque game, which grew challenging as time passed.


Verdict:

David Brown is EVP and general manager of Meredith Integrated Marketing. He oversees the company's Content and CRM business, including database analytics agency Directive Analytics. Prior to joining Meredith in 2005, he held senior-level positions at Dentsu and OgilvyOne Worldwide.

This is a fun, contemporary promotional idea that connects outdoor advertising and smartphone technology with a digital coupon. Is it direct marketing? Does it build loyalty? Probably not. It's a one-off idea to test a technology, but should now become part of a bigger plan to develop visit frequency and value of visits.