Every 42 seconds, someone posts a comment or question on social media about McDonald’s food. In recent years, the reviews were not good.

As questions turned to rumors, the brand’s reputation suffered. By August 2014, less than a third of U.S. millennials felt good about eating McDonald’s food.

To change its image, McDonald’s needed to change, for good.

Starting with a deep social listening audit – to find out what customers wanted to know – McDonald’s identified more than 2,000 questions the brand wasn’t answering each day.

That’s when McDonald’s launched the biggest, bravest campaign in its 60-year history: “Our Food. Your Questions.” With a bold call-to-action, McDonald’s invited anyone on social media to ask anything about its food.

Working with more than 200 McDonald’s experts, including supply chain and food science, a “rapid response” team engaged with people one-on-one, providing real answers to real questions on social media.

Meanwhile, the brand invited curious skeptics to join former “Mythbusters” TV star Grant Imahara for a behind-the-scenes road trip to explore the biggest McDonald’s myths out there.

In just five months, McDonald’s responded to more than 41,000 questions – sparking more social conversations and positivity about the brand than ever before.

With the “Our Food. Your Questions.” campaign, McDonald’s changed the conversation and changed the way people think about its food. Today, half of all millennials feel good about eating at McDonald’s – a 17% increase since the start of the campaign.

In October 2014, McDonald’s invited anyone on social media to ask anything about its food through a campaign called “Our Food. Your Questions."

Never in its 60-year history had McDonald’s U.S. offered such unrestricted access to its food, suppliers and practices.

In just five months, McDonald’s responded to more than 41,000 questions on social media. The brand’s “rapid response” team relied on social listening to craft personalized responses that humanized the brand and changed the conversation about McDonald’s food.

To address the biggest myths on social media, McDonald’s enlisted former “MythBusters” TV star Grant Imahara. Over four months, Imahara and several millennial skeptics visited 13 McDonald’s U.S. suppliers and restaurants. An in-depth, behind-the-scenes YouTube series followed their journey and discoveries, drawing in 17 million viewers.

“Our Food. Your Questions.” spanned paid, earned and owned channels and changed the way McDonald’s U.S. communicates, for good.

McDonald’s brave new approach to transparency got a lot of people talking. “Our Food. Your Questions.” sparked a 47% increase in social media chatter about McDonald’s food, with a 21% increase in positive/neutral sentiment.

Most importantly, among millennials exposed to the campaign, there was a 53% increase in “feeling good about eating McDonald’s food.”

And by converting millennial skeptics, a more positive perception of McDonald’s spread throughout the U.S., resulting in:

- A 42% increase in the belief “McDonald’s is taking steps to be more transparent about its food”

- A 32% increase in the belief “McDonald’s serves real food”

- A 28% increase in the belief “McDonald’s uses fresh ingredients”