McDonald’s Isn’t Grimacing at Its Social Media Sales Boost

McDonald’s is leveraging social media to bring younger consumers into the fold, following on the success of its “Grimace’s Birthday” push with more digital events.

The quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant shared on a call with analysts Thursday (July 27), discussing its second-quarter 2023 earnings results, how it is leveraging social media to reach more consumers and remain top-of-mind.

“This quarter the theme is, well, if I’m being honest, the theme was Grimace,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said. “I mean, Grimace has been everywhere the past few months — all over the news, and more than 3 billion views on TikTok.”

Last month, the brand released its “Grimace Birthday Meal,” with playful marketing that led to a viral social media trend. This kind of digital attention can be key for restaurant brands looking to reach young consumers.

Research from the June edition of PYMNTS’ exclusive Connected Dining report, “Connected Dining: Word of Mouth in the Digital Age,” which drew from a May survey of more than 2,200 U.S. consumers, revealed that 37% of consumers search for restaurant information by accessing content from the brand’s social media page. That share jumps to 42% for Generation Z and 46% for millennials.

Plus, TikTok specifically can be a powerful tool for reaching Gen Z consumers, with the study revealing that a whopping 63% of these diners use the platform to search for restaurant information, as do 47% of millennials.

McDonald’s Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden added that the Grimace campaign was one of the brand’s “most socially engaging campaigns of all times,” garnering “millions of reactions” on the restaurant’s posts. He added that this boost helped the brand reach its “strong double-digit comparable sales growth” in the United States.

It seems that social media is increasingly becoming part of how McDonald’s is driving sales. Borden noted that, in China, a viral social media campaign brought widespread attention to the brand’s 20-piece nuggets launch, and right now, the company is leveraging its social channels to seize on sports fans’ enthusiasm for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“This campaign will be brought to life in 28 markets through fully-integrated social, digital, streaming and content strategies that tap into local fan excitement,” Borden said.

It seems that the brand’s efforts to generate social media buzz around this sporting event are already underway. Take, for instance, the brand’s 15-foot-tall fries-only pop-up restaurant in Sydney, Australia, designed to look like a giant carton of fries.

Overall, the brand’s digital investments seem to be paying off, with McDonald’s touting a 40% digital mix in its top six markets as well as a combined loyalty program 90-day-active membership base of more than 52 million across these regions. This base translates directly into traffic growth.

“We do typically see about a 15% increase in frequency when we get members into loyalty, and we’re still seeing high single-digit growth rates in our loyalty programs in terms of signups,” Borden said.

Research from PYMNTS’ March study, “Connected Dining: Consumers Like the Taste of Discount Meals,” based on a February survey of more than 1,800 U.S. consumers, found that 51% reported using a restaurant loyalty program., and 49% do so at QSRs.