McDonald`s goes local!How we took the secret behind our quality to the marketplace.Consumers only get an insight into foodstuff production in Germany when a scandal is shocking. That needs to be changed. Customers have a right to know where the raw ingredients for their food come from. McDonald’s doesn’t have its own farm, but we only buy raw ingredients from suppliers we trust – just like everyone else. McDonald’s has emphasised its quality for years; however, the major goal for 2011 was to make McDonald’s quality visible, touchable and a real experience. How? By appearing at locations and in ways people would not expect from McDonald’s. We amaze people and provoke a 'wow' effect they’ll never forget.To touch, to smell, to see first-hand: this is how to reinforce the trust of customers. We follow the slogan, 'I would never have guessed': At the “McDonald‘s market stall” we present the very same fresh vegetables McDonald’s also uses to prepare its products. At the stall, consumers are provided with information on all ingredients; they can try and also buy them. The McDonald’s market stall was called into action at weekly markets as well as at various agricultural fairs. But how could we show where our beef comes from? McDonald’s provides the living proof: We broadcast live from the cowshed at the Müller farm on the Ku’damm in Berlin. The Müller farm is one of around 90,000 small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in Germany that supply beef to McDonald’s.

Get the experience – instead of talking about it.McDonald’s convinces with quality that people can see, touch, taste and smell. The highlight of the crossmedia McDonald’s quality campaign 2011: McDonald’s surprised people at unusual locations. A McDonald’s market stall with fresh raw ingredients was on tour throughout Germany and attracted masses of curious consumers. Information was given by employees, suppliers and the farmers themselves. In Berlin passers-by hardly believed their eyes: From September 16 to 22 McDonald’s broadcast live 24-hours-a-day from the Müller’s farm directly to a 104 m2 video screen right on the busy Ku'damm. Customers also obtained more information on the exact origin of the raw ingredients and the Müller farm at the microsites. Guests at the McDonald’s restaurants also read about the campaign on the tray layer as well as in brochures and flyers.

See, understand, trust.Nearly 20,000 people were surprised by the McDonald’s market stall in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Mainz and Cologne, and bought raw ingredients and learned where potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes for McDonald's come from. The extension of the campaign in selected restaurants reached just under 280,000 guests. Media reporting on the market stall speaks for itself: Coverage in print was 1.4m, online 14.2m and radio 1.2m. And at the Ku’damm in Berlin? According to estimates, McDonald’s amazed 1.15m people with its live broadcast from the cowshed (according to weighted daily potential contacts). Additionally, the 2 microsites on quality additionally had some 14m page impressions.