McDonald’s Canada & Montreal Canadiens NHL Stars ‘McPlayer’ Battle Of The Burgers

November sees McDonald’s Canada roll out the follow-up phase to the burger-based rivalry ‘McPlayer’ campaign which it first launched in September.

Fronted by Montreal Canadiens stars Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, the initiative sees the two NHL players create their own personalised Angus burgers and then invites Quebecers to choose their favourite via new in-store self-order kiosks and across the social space.

Put simply, McDonald’s Canada started a burger-based rivalry between Canadeins teammates and then turns to the public to settle the debate.

The initiative first launched in September, to leverage excitement around the start of the 2016/17 NHL season, when McDonald’s Canada released a TV spot showing Montreal Canadiens players Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk competing with each other by using the restaurant chain’s new self-order kiosks to create the best burger.

Both of the burgers were available for order at participating restaurant.

The campaign was also promoted by web videos, including spots featuring other members of the Canadiens’ team choosing their favourite burger,

and by the two players themselves on their own personal social channels.

My burger looks almost as good as I do. Almost. #teamGalchenyuk @McD_CanadaFR pic.twitter.com/n43tFtNj4W

— Alex galchenyuk (@AGally94) September 23, 2016

To follow up this phase, in November the initiative then asked Quebec residents and McDonald’s customers in a Quebec McDonald’s location to use self-serve kiosks to settle a rivalry between the teammates to see whose burger creation is best by choosing either Gallagher’s and Galchyenyuk’s burgers.

After the customer makes his or her screen selection, both players showed up on the LED consoles via live camera feed with the winner congratulating the customer for their choice and taunting his teammate.

The resulting dual language video of the stunt air on TV and was pushed through digital channels.

Fans were also invited to participate via social media by use a hashtags #teamgallagher or #teamgalchenyukpick to pick their favourite burger.

This follow-up campaign phase runs until 5 December and is extended with live and static print ads (in the Métro newspaper), digital out-of-home signage (including Montreal bus shelters and on highway billboards) showing the real-time popularity of each burger.

One of the tactics behind this integrated campaign was to leverage interest around the American elections.

‘The morning after the U.S. elections is when the real debate will get underway here in Quebec. Which is better, The Galchenyuk or The Gallagher? That’s the real question,’ explains Antoine Bécotte, Chief Creative Officer at Cossette.

‘The McPlayer campaign stirs up strong emotions related to our national identity and sense of pride,’ adds Carl Pichette, Eastern Marketing Manager for McDonald’s Canada.

‘Since they first appeared, the McPlayer campaigns have allowed McDonald’s to get closer to Quebecers. Just think back to the campaigns starring Max Pacioretty, Jeff Petry or Zdeno Chara.’

The campaign, developed by creative agency Cossette and with media handled by OMD, and the two burgers run until 31 December.

(Other burgers named after fellow NHL stars and McDonald’s brand endorsers Max Pacioretty and Jeff Petry – who have previously appeared in McDonald’s Canada campaigns such as

– were also made available for order to restaurant visitors.)

‘McPlayer” campaigns featuring NHL stars have been an effective way for the chain to get closer to Quebecers by tapping into their sense of pride around hockey,’ continues Pichette.

‘Those campaigns have included Canadiens players endorsing a new offering or going undercover to hand out a burger named after themselves. And it hasn’t just been Habs players: earlier this year, [in March 2016] fans were given a free Big Mac if they gave a hug to Zdeno Chara, captain of hated rivals the Boston Bruins.’

Comment

With combined campaign video views pushing towards the million mark, the initiative has certainly generate dso,me solid engagement.

While the self-serve kiosks themesleves, which were first announced in 2015 and are currently rolling out nationally as part of an effort to modernize the customer experience in-restaurant, have been a focal point of change for the restaurant chain.

Indeed, a campaign earlier in 2016 saw McDonald’s and Cossette produce a personalized commercial every time a customer created a customized burger using the kiosks, doing so in the 10 minutes it takes staff to make the burger.

McDonald’s has been a Canadian sponsor of the NHL since 1993 and in 2008 signed a league partnership with the NHL for USA rights in the quick-service restaurant category.

McDonald’s Canada uses sports sponsorships to ‘stay closely tied to our customers and what’s important to them’ and focuses ‘on sports Canadians enjoy, and reflect our values and team spirit’.
McDonald’s ‘believes in sport as a way to encourage our children to incorporate activity into their daily lives’.

This sees the company partner with Canadian sports organisations ranging from international elite events like the Olympic Games to local minor hockey.

McDonald’s Canada has been a partner of Hockey Canada for more than 40 years and sponsors hockey programs that help support more than 50,000 Atom and Bantam level players.

Links

McDonald’s Canada ‘Create Your Taste’ Web:

mcdonalds.ca/createyourtaste

McDonald’s Canada Web:

http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en.html

McDonald’s Canada YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/McDonaldsCanada

McDonald’s Canada Twitter:

https://twitter.com/mcd_canada

McDonald’s Canada Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/McDonaldsCanada

McDonald’s Canada Instagram: