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Excellence Award

“OmniPork Luncheon Campaign (新餐肉系列)”
McDonald’s Hong Kong

As the number 1 Quick Service Restaurant brand, McDonald’s is widely recognized in the industry. However, when it comes to
vegetarian options, McDonald’s is seldom on top of customers’ mind.
In Hong Kong, 34% of the population are flexitarians and they go meatless at least once a week. At McDonald’s, innovative menu
options that foster the community is at the heart of its strategy. For the first time in history, McDonald’s launched a plant-based
OmniPork menu across 245 McDonald’s restaurants and 120 McCafé outlets in late 2020 by partnering with Green Monday.

By democratizing plant-based food and make it more accessible for everyone in Hong Kong, McDonald’s has made this a movement
in the city.

So far, McDonald’s has sold more than 3 million OmniPork products. That means on average, almost half of the Hong Kong
population have tried OmniPork. This number can roughly be translated to the reduction of more than 3,000 tonnes of CO2
emissions.
McDonald’s understands that changing people’s mindset isn’t easy. Hence, McDonald’s has adopted a two-prong influencer
strategy, both top-down & bottom-up, by working with celebrity Karena Lam who is a well-known vegetarian that drew mass
awareness, as well as other influencers who helped McDonald’s build organic buzz and digital considerations. With their reach and
expertise, they were able to advocate for McDonald’s new green line, making it a lifestyle trend.
The campaign results were remarkable. Not only did the breakfast sales and McCafe sales overshoot targets, McDonald’s also
achieved excellent marketing results of $19.4M PR value and 1.5M social video views. More importantly, 74% of this new menu’s
customers had never tried plant-based products before. Despite that making change is challenging, McDonald’s has proved that
it can make a difference backed by its innovation and scale.

Comments from the Judges:
It was commended as a bold and revolutionary move for McDonald’s to try a Going Green initiative, breaking through from its
stereotype offerings. With excellent customer insights into Vegetarian market and product innovation, McDonald’s has identified
the emerging market need and new avenues of business growth while promoting environmental friendliness.

It was a well thought-out and highly integrated marketing campaign from defining the business need, to product ideation, choice
of influencers and use of media. Catering for the change in customers’ diet, the launch of plant-based luncheon meat clearly met
Hong Kong people’s demand for an affordable and accessible green product. It was a good call to partner with OmniPork and
leverage on its credibility to attract the new customer segment. The choice of spokesperson was highly relevant to the product
and the viral effects on social media effectively spread the message of healthier lifestyle.

The campaign was a perfect showcase of how creative marketing could entice customers’ change of behavior and brought in
promising business results. Being a global leader in the fast-food industry, the adoption of plant-base meat has established a
healthy image for McDonald’s and set a great example for other restaurants to keep up with sustainability trends.

Parties to be Recognized for Contributing to the Success of the Programme:
1. DDB Group Hong Kong
2. OMD Hong Kong

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HKMA/VIUTV & NOW TV AWARDS FOR MARKETING EXCELLENCE 2021

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