EATQUAL

Short List
TitleEATQUAL
BrandMCDONALD'S
Product / ServiceMCDONALD'S
CategoryE01. Corporate Image, Communication & Reputation Management
EntrantDDB MUDRA Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation DDB MUDRA Mumbai, INDIA
PR DDB MUDRA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Rahul Mathew Ddb Mudra Group Creative
Aditya Kanthy DDB Mudra Group Planning
Ashish Phatak DDB Mudra Group Creative
Shagun Seda DDB Mudra Group Creative
Siddhesh Khatavkar DDB Mudra Group Creative
Harshada Menon DDB Mudra Group Creative
Vilsen Gonsalves DDB Mudra Group Creative
Roy Sebastian DDB Mudra Group Creative
Vivek Bhatia DDB Mudra Group Creative Team
Shruti Parulekar DDB Mudra Group Creative Team
Asha Deora DDB Mudra Group Creative Team
Urja Patel DDB Mudra Group Creative Team
Aishwarya Likhite DDB Mudra Group Creative
Rahul Sharma DDB Mudra Group Creative
Anurag Tandon DDB Mudra Group Business Management
Murli Krishnan DDB Mudra Group Business Management
Debjani Roychoudhury DDB Mudra Group Business Management
Anchal Bhojwani DDB Mudra Group Business Management
Gaurav Magotra Ddb Mudra Business Management
Sonali Savla DDB Mudra Group Business Management
Bunsi Issar DDB Mudra Group Business Management
Mehak Jaini DDB Mudra Group Planning
Jaiprakash Tekwani DDB Mudra Group Planning
Somdatta Roychowdhuri DDB Mudra Group Planning
jay Gaikwad DDB Mudra Group Agency Production
Hrushikesh Inamdar DDB Mudra Group Agency Production
Avadhut Hembade QENCH STUDIOZ Photographer
Sunil Naik Sunil Naik Photographer
Vishal Sane Vishal Sane Photographer
Harshik Suraiya Vanilla Films Director
Kashif Memon Mothership Production Producer

Why is this work relevant for PR?

India has over 27 million persons with disability, that is more than the entire population of Australia. And as an inclusive, democratic brand, McDonald’s wanted to not only be accessible, but make the burger eating experience equal for all. And so, McDonald’s launched EatQual packaging, which allows people with limited upper limb mobility, to truly enjoy their burger eating experience despite their physical limitations. Garnering over 13 million impressions, McDonald’s is now attracting a whole new set of customers – persons with disabilities who for long had stopped eating out because of the embarrassment and loss of dignity they faced.

Background

2% of India’s population is disabled, that’s nearly 27 million people - more than the entire population of Australia. 27 million individuals who are routinely left out of marketing efforts, national initiatives and even the most basic experiences, because of our deep-set apathy towards the disabled. Disability is an invisible problem in India, with the government and most companies doing the bare minimum. As McDonald’s, our mission was to ‘Make Delicious Feel-Good Moments Easy For Everyone’. But when we discussed disability, we somehow only fixated on the easy i.e., access and not feel-good experience. We realised that for many people with limited upper limb mobility the feel-good burger experience probably rated zero. Our objective was to right this wrong in a way that drove true inclusivity at McDonald’s – capturing the country’s attention, improving people’s perception of our brand and inviting audiences that had long been ignored by Food Retail.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

A small step in designing experience for the disabled, A giant leap for access and inclusivity in food retail. We worked with NASEOH (National Society For Equal Opportunities For the Handicapped) India to understand the challenges and requirements of the target group. Prototyping and running trials until we found the perfect solution. We were a team on a mission, looking to prove that the joy of eating a burger isn’t reliant on whether a person has both their hands. And thus, a unique packaging design solution was born that reimagined the McDonald’s experience for millions of people struggling with limited upper limb mobility. A hexagonal packaging system which locks the burger and its contents into the package so that our disabled customers can enjoy it.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

For most, eating a burger has been a very familiar experience. In pop culture and even in everyday life, the two-hand hold became an iconic code for burger eating. But for people with limited upper limb mobility, eating their favorite burger often meant loss of dignity and independence, and a whole lot of embarrassment. Our research revealed that instead of being able to focus on the taste, they worried about making a mess or looking clumsy in a restaurant. Many even confessed to not having eaten out in public in years due to the stares and looks of pity they usually get in restaurants. We launched our Eatqual Packaging on International day of Persons with Disabilities via facebook groups and NGOs dedicated to the disabled. We collaborated with influencers from the differently abled community – from athletes to artists, to get the word out to one and all.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

We announced EatQual initiative and packaging on 3rd December 2020, International day of Persons with Disabilities, as a promise to make the experience of eating a burger equal for everyone, via press release and social media. In-store events were organized in three cities: Mumbai, Pune & Chennai; where children with disabilities were invited to enjoy our burgers with the new packaging. A video showcasing the experience of a differently-abled girl, who had lost her hand in an electrocution, enjoying the burger in the EatQual packaging was captured & was communicated via traditional media outlets, content publishers and picked up organically. On social media, we collaborated with influencers from the differently abled community like Deepa Malik - a Paralympic winner , Suyash Jadhav - Indian Para Swimmer and Dhaval Khatri - a differently abled painter. And today, we have EatQual packs available across our stores, for anyone who might need them.

List the results (30% of vote)

EatQual Captured the Country’s attention • Impressions: 13.4 Million • Reach: 11.1 Million • Earned PR worth ₹7.2mn with just a meagre ₹200k spent on marketing • Garnered 300k+ organic views in just 10 days • Overall giving us a 35x return on investment Improving McDonald’s Brand Scores • 33% Increase in Brand Trust • 67% Increase in Brand Interest Inviting new audiences that had been long ignored by Food Retail • Usage of our EatQual packs grew 7x in last 3 months – That’s Nearly 1000 Disabled guests enjoying burgers equally Eatqual received unprecedented love and praise from our fans and from the disabled community, successfully changing the narrative of inclusivity in an apathetic country who sat up and took notice of a problem that we had long overlooked.