McDonald's and Content Marketing

In 2016, McDonald's is serving up a lot of marketing content worldwide--at least 5,000 items of content, as estimated by the company. It's active in all the usual media (broadcast, print, etc.) and across the range of social media (FB, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc).

McD's chief marketing officer observes: "Defining marketing by these channel-based labels is actually absurd in today's world." Having a consistent voice and message is challenging but critical in this marketing environment.

So is speed, which is why McDonald's has cut the number of meetings with its agencies and streamlined the process to, well, bring content to market faster. In the words of another McD's exec, "it’s no longer the big that eat the small, it is the fast that eat the slow."

Above, an example of how McDonald's Canada is using online content to support the launch of a new McWrap product. If you want to watch the video, be prepared for four hours of food preparation, a bit like watching a McWrap food channel. Actually, the video includes images captured for other content (such as commercials) and it became newsworthy because of its unusual length.

LEGO Movie Fan? Save the Date: May 26, 2017

The animated LEGO Movie has been a tremendous box office success, out-grossing competitors for three consecutive weeks. Of course, having instant brand recognition among movie-goers of all ages doesn't hurt. But first-hand reports from family and friends indicate that the movie is actually laugh-out-loud fun for young and old.

Over the weekend, Warner Bros announced the sequel will be released on May 26, 2017. Mark your calendar! Speculation was that the sequel would be in movie theaters during 2016, but that was cutting it too close for development and production. In addition, a Ninjago LEGO movie is in the works, based on the success of the Cartoon Network animated series. In other words, LEGO is making excellent use of its brand franchises.

Some critics say that the LEGO Movie is, in fact, a full-length commercial--very entertaining, but advertising nonetheless. Still, the youngsters I know have insisted on seeing it twice (and they definitely want to own it when it comes out on DVD). 

Year by year, brick by brick, LEGO is identifying new opportunities to make the most of the mini-figure characters and themes in its product portfolio. Video games are in the works, and new building sets based on multimedia projects starring LEGOs.

Integrated marketing and careful, deliberate brand management is giving LEGO an even brighter future in the second decade of the 21st century.