M SAFE

TitleM SAFE
BrandMCDONALD'S PHILIPPINES
Product / ServiceMCDONALD'S PHILIPPINES
CategoryC02. PR Effectiveness
EntrantTBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES
Idea Creation TBWA\SANTIAGO MANGADA PUNO Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES

Credits

Name Company Position
Melvin Mangada TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Chief Creative Officer
John Ed De Vera TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Creative Director
Cj De Silva - Ong TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Creative Director
Chino Jayme TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Creative Director
John Ed De Vera TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Art Director
Patrick Gañas TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Art Director
Julian Vinzon TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Art Director
Deeney De Jesus TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Art Director
Greg Hernandez TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Copywriter
Portia Catuira TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Managing Director
Paolo Broma TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Client Service Director
John Paul De Luna TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Account Director
Nikola Lacson TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Account Manager
Jimmy Santiago TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Planner
RJ Paculan TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Planner
Josef Montinola TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Planner
Luigi Danao TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Art Director
Inez Jayme TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Copywriter
Freddie Bernal TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Copywriter
Chino Jayme TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Copywriter

Why is this work relevant for PR?

In a time when uncertainty is the predominant sentiment among Filipinos, brand trust and assurance of safety have become the key drivers of imagery and preference for players in the fast-food industry. In this campaign, we also featured no less than the President & CEO himself to assure the public that their safety is of utmost priority.

Background

As the Philippines eased COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the fast-food industry has slowly opened its doors to customers, communicating “new normal” safety protocols. With so many brands having communications that are almost identical to one another, McDonald’s aims to reassure its customers of the safety of its food, its stores, and its people—across all of their channels—through a safety messaging that is clear and unique to the brand.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

With virtually every restaurant claiming to put the safety of their customers first, a unique yet simple messaging approach was needed to stand out. “Safety does not start with the customers. It starts with the safety of people that handle, serve, and deliver food daily.” McDonald’s Philippines launched M SAFE, a branding campaign about employee safety, to ensure customer safety. “M” represents the brand’s commitment to its employees. “SAFE” represents the assurance of quality, safety, and cleanliness to its customers.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

To show to the public how serious the brand was in employee safety, none other than President and CEO, Mr. Kenneth S. Yang was chosen to become the face of the campaign. The reputable yet relatable leader personally visited a McDonald’s branch to demonstrate all their necessary protocols that prioritized the safety of its food, stores, and people as their way to keep customers safe. The film of this demonstration became the launch material of the campaign.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Noting that every other brand adopted a tactical approach that simply enumerated safety procedures, McDonald’s elevated to a more substantial approach by calling upon its President and CEO to visit a McDonald’s store and demonstrate all its enhanced safety protocols. From employee safety to customer omnichannel, safety procedures were thorough, leveraging on the brand’s global safety and cleanliness standards. The campaign first engaged employees through Mr. Yang’s film on safety protocols, followed by initiatives that safely welcomed them back to the stores upon the resumption of dine-in operations. Employee testimonials were also published on social media. Mr. Yang then prompted the public to send safety-related concerns and queries via e-mail, so he could personally attend to them – something that only McDonald’s was bold enough to do, proof of its commitment to consistently deliver its promise on safety and improve if necessary.

List the results (30% of vote)

The M Safe campaign was acknowledged as ‘best practice’ by the Department of Trade and Industry and commended by the Department of Health. Mr. Yang also become the face of the brand’s safety campaign, being invited in several interviews, features, and media events. Earned media amounted to PhP 34,200,604.96 (691,314 USD). Current and former employees also rallied behind the brand, with former crew members attesting to the truthfulness of the claims and even posting anecdotes on social media to bolster the credibility of M Safe. The campaign has effectively put the brand on top of the category, winning in brand imagery scores for safety, cleanliness and company trust. Key competitor, on the other hand, has experienced attribute score declines despite a noticeably higher amount of content. The brand has also seen an improvement in revenue and market share growth, with a bigger market share increase post campaign, especially among parents.

Describe the effectiveness of the PR campaign

Media Earned - PhP 34,200,604.96 (691,314 USD) The campaign has achieved its targets, putting the McDonald’s on top of the brand imagery category: • “is a clean fast food restaurant to order from” (+7 from closest competitor) • “is a fast food restaurant I trust to buy from” (+2 from closest competitor) • “is a safe fast food restaurant to order from” (+2 from closest competitor)

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