As a 40 year-old brand, McDonald’s faces the challenge of every parent; how do you find common ground and build a meaningful relationship with young adults? A generation potentially more expressive, creative and demanding than any before them.
OMD UK and Drum were challenged with the task of helping the brand play a greater role in young people’s lives, beyond providing the functional pit stop.
Our solution? Channel Us.
A first-of-its-kind content strategy powered by McDonald’s, established to equally empower and entertain 16-24s. With co-creation at its heart, Channel Us is truly created “by us, for us”, shifting the brand from the biggest employer to the biggest supporter of young people.
‘You 72’ was our first series on Channel Us, based around daunting challenges. Each week a new contestant had just 72 hours to complete a passion-fuelled project, helped by the suggestions, ideas and comments of the Channel Us YouTube community. Whether putting on a collaborative fashion show, shooting a short film, or appearing on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the community had to pull together to make it all happen.
Hosted by Oli White and Hazel Hayes, Channel Us isn’t just about empowering young people, it’s about entertaining too. By working with big name vloggers we were able to tap into their audiences, building the all-important credibility and authenticity we needed to connect to the audience.
Here are the best bits so far:
Visit the Channel Us YouTube channel here.