The Campaign

McDonald’s was re-launching Twister Fries for a limited time. It was going to be available for only SIX WEEKS. The product already has a following, as it is normally launched as a limited time offer every few years. We wanted to create excitement over its comeback. And we wanted an increase in sales compared to previous launches. Latching on the insight that “everything is sweeter on borrowed time”, we announced that Twister Fries was only going to be available for THREE WEEKS. We wanted the public to know this fast. So we harnessed the power of social media. We got celebrities to tweet about the comeback. Amplifying the preciousness of time, we created the “Twister Time” app where users had to recite a Twister Fries tongue twister within 10 seconds. Within the first week, fans were spontaneously demanding for a Twister Fries extension. So after three weeks, we announced an extension for another three weeks. The campaign has an online reach of more than 3 million and McDonald’s achieved its target by more than 150%!

The Brief

We were targeting young working adults. We wanted to excite them once more, given their predisposition for the product in past periods. More importantly, we wanted to increase sales of Twister Fries versus previous launches.

Results

Twister Time received more than 12,000 entries, and people were clamoring for a Twister Fries extension within the first week. International media like Bloomberg and Huffington Post picked up the buzz and reported the limited time offer. So, by the end of the three-week run, we announced that we were extending Twister Fries sale for three more weeks. The hashtag Twister Fries became the fifth global trending hashtag. There were 10,400 user-generated photos with #twisterfries shared on instagram and twitter. McDonald’s Philippines gained 11,000 new followers on Twitter, and got more than 50,000 “likes”, and 7,000 “shares”on all Twister Fries-related posts on Facebook. Best of all, McDonald’s achieved its target by more than 150%!

Execution

Announcement posts and photos about the limited time offer were released on Facebook and Twitter, and fans shared these on their own walls, using the hashtag #TwisterFries. Celebrities tweeted about the return of the Twister Fries, and posted photos of their Twister Fries meals on Twitter and Instagram. We also created Twister Time, an app that asked participants to recite a Twister Fries tongue twister within ten seconds. On the third week, when there was already a massive clamor for an extension, we announced another three weeks of sales to the delight of the public.

The Situation

McDonald’s was once again launching Twister Fries, a twisty, limited-time offer—it was only going to be available for six weeks. This was to be done all via digital efforts, given limited monies. But we saw a silver lining in the digital limitation. The Philippines is said to be “The Social Networking Capital of the World”. Social network penetration is incredibly high at 95%. Facebook is the country’s most popular website with a penetration rate of 93.9%. The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for Twitter use. The popularity of photo sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook. Furthermore, 9 out of 10 Filipinos own mobile phones.

The Strategy

Since it was a limited time offer, we worked on the insight that “everything is sweeter on borrowed time.” So, the public was told that Twister Fries was only going to be available for THREE weeks. We envisioned that this would encourage early purchase and a clamor for longer time.