Within just under 12 months, the McVIP marketable universe in Germany jumped from 850,000 to 2.1 million members – that's about 2.7% of the German population (compared to only 0.5% in the USA).

Based on our proven test criteria – we selected test restaurants (approximately 600 locations) and control restaurants (approximately 80 locations) based on their previous years' sales performance, to which test and control customers (McVIPs) were assigned. The learning agenda included performing analytics on the impact of personalised communication on location guest counts, sales growth, margin and customer engagement.

The response rates to the 1:1 data-driven communication almost doubled, achieving an open-rate average of just under 40% as well as a 15% click-though rate. Several hundred thousand customers could be re-connected to the McDonald's brand.

The data-driven offer strategy led to a coupon redemption rate that was almost twice as high as the customary mass promotions. Analytically derived product bundles – i.e. Chicken McNuggets with a McFlurry – performed better when used for targeted communication.

Millions of euros in incremental revenue were generated, and single campaigns achieved up to 1,900% ROI – providing approximately 300% ROI from all related programme costs including infrastructure development and analytics.

Data-driven insights were crucial to every step in the McDonald's Germany eCRM evolution. We had to manage the data differently to get a profile of our diners and find out more about their dining behaviour.

In order to shift to a fully individualised brand and restaurant experience around the launch of McDonald's 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ campaign, a promotional mechanism was developed that centered around our data strategy and learning agenda.

McDonald's 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ promotional mechanism:

McDonald's McVIPs had the opportunity to collect promotional codes for a chance to win a trip to Brazil. This was not something new. But for the first time in McDonald's Germany history, promotional codes on product packages referenced the actual product. And not only that – customers were asked to collect a minimum of six codes to get one ticket to enter the sweepstakes. They had to scan multiple codes during one restaurant visit. So not only did we find out about single product purchases, we were able to combine codes and analytically calculate individual purchase baskets.

Offer communication strategy: combining the insights derived from anonymous product bundle analysis and customer-purchase behaviour helped us predict what would make McVIPs return to McDonald's and increase their purchase baskets – without eroding product margin. Offer bundles like Chicken McNuggets with a McFlurry or Cheeseburgers with Apple Pies as such had never been actively communicated.

But we didn't want to stop there. Individualised geofencing: we wanted to be one of the first brands to launch individualised geofencing. So we assigned each McVIP to their ten closest (individually calculated) McDonald's restaurants. Whenever McVIPs were within 100 meters of their closest McDonald's, they received a message informing them of a very special offer awaiting them.