How McDonald's Embraced Humor to Build Trust in Food Quality

Trust is key for any brand, but it is particularly important for a food brand like McDonald’s. Building that trust is an ongoing task.

To ensure consumers trust McDonald's, the company focuses on sharing information and being transparent. McDonald's discovered that combining humor with facts is an effective way to build trust. Francesca Springhall, McDonald's consumer insights manager, emphasized the importance of trust in increasing customer loyalty and spending during a recent conference.

One key pillar of the brand is the quality of its food. According to Springhall, it is crucial for the brand to consistently emphasize this aspect. She mentioned that when there is a lack of focus on food quality, there is a noticeable decline in customer trust towards McDonald's.

In the last 15 years, McDonald's has successfully changed public perception from being mostly distrusted to now being mostly trusted.

According to McDonald's brand trackers, about 60% of the UK public now trust the brand. However, there is still around 25% of the public categorized as "trust neutrals" who neither trust nor distrust the brand.

The brand discovered that older consumers, known as "neutrals," may still have outdated perceptions of the brand from the 1990s and early 2000s.

McDonald's and its agency partners worked together to identify and address the biases and preconceptions held by these "trust neutrals." This helped to dispel any negative notions and shift these individuals towards developing a positive trust in the brand.

At the event, Dinisha Cherodian, strategy director at insights agency BAMM, spoke alongside Springhall. She pointed out that a major challenge in reaching neutral consumers with preconceived notions is that McDonald's efforts over the past few decades have not connected with them.

Cherodian explained that BAMM conducted thorough focus groups to uncover biases and develop strategies to address them.

Developing a User-Friendly Collaboration Framework

After gathering data and insights, McDonald's collaborated with their creative agency Leo Burnett to simplify and effectively communicate the information to consumers.

Cherodian shared with Our Website that their goal is to simplify and streamline the abundance of information and data they have, making it easy for the team to use effectively.

She highlighted the power of the rule of three in research communication, noting that focusing on three key areas - the messenger, driving certainty, and humour - can effectively build trust within the team.

A lot of trust communication in the past has been quite rational and fact-based.

Joe Beveridge, Leo Burnett

The head of planning at Leo Burnett, Joe Beveridge, mentioned that the framework received from BAMM had "clear creative implications." According to Beveridge, previous trust communication has been rational and fact-based, but they discovered that making the messages entertaining is essential for people to be receptive to them.

Humour played a crucial role in the campaign, along with the realization that consumers trust their peers. This led to a change in the campaign message.

In the past, McDonald's campaigns focused on food quality had farmers delivering the message. However, the latest campaign, 'Keep Up With The Times', had consumers as the ones delivering the message about food quality.

This also helps to create a sense of trust by showing that McDonald’s food quality has been well-known for a long time.

Beveridge explained that the main goal of the campaign is to change the perception of those who are unsure about McDonald’s food by humorously pointing out that negative opinions are outdated and having some fun with it.

The creative shows people reacting negatively to others getting McDonald's. The ones with negative reactions are dressed in retro outfits with outdated items like pagers, symbolizing being stuck in the past. However, their misconceptions are corrected by others about the fast-food chain's consistent quality efforts.

According to Beveridge, the work marked a significant change in McDonald's trust-building approach.

Consistent buy-in from the top

According to BAMM’s Cherodian, making a shift in strategy may seem risky to some, but he emphasized that the data consistently supported the idea that this change would ultimately lead to success.

Springhall explains that the main objective of Keep Up With The Times was to build trust among hard-to-reach neutral customers. Additionally, the campaign reinforced McDonald's consistent message of food quality.

The campaign not only boosted the overall public perception of McDonald's as a purveyor of high-quality food but also resonated strongly with the over-55 demographic, where many neutral trust consumers are typically found.

Springhall mentioned that the campaign's success was achieved through strong collaboration between the brand and its creative and research agency partners. She highlighted that McDonald's has a collaborative nature, which contributed to the positive outcome.

McDonald’s follows a "three-legged stool" model that values suppliers and franchisees as much as the company itself to maintain stability and success.

Staying connected and engaging openly throughout the process is key to fostering a strong partnership with its collaborators, according to Springhall.

When it comes to buy-in on projects from the rest of the organisation, Springhall stated her team “takes stakeholders on the journey, right to exec level” and gets buy-in from the start.

Editor's P/S:

Paragraph 1:

Building trust is paramount for any brand, and McDonald's has demonstrated remarkable success in this regard. By prioritizing transparency and humor in their communication, the company has effectively dispelled negative perceptions and fostered a sense of authenticity among consumers. The focus on food quality, supported by credible sources such as consumers themselves, has been instrumental in driving trust.

Paragraph 2:

The collaboration between McDonald's and its agency partners has been a key factor in the brand's success. Leo Burnett's "rule of three" approach, emphasizing messenger credibility, certainty, and humor, has resonated with audiences. The "three-legged stool" model, which values suppliers and franchisees equally, has also contributed to stability and a cohesive brand experience. McDonald's commitment to open communication and stakeholder engagement has facilitated effective buy-in and alignment throughout the organization, ensuring the seamless execution of trust-building initiatives. created a cohesive and supportive environment that facilitated successful trust-building initiatives.