2010 McCafe Smooth Fusion Tour
Best Multicultural/Ethnic Campaign
Agency: Ventures Unlimited Inc.
Campaign: 2010 McCafe Smooth Fusion Tour
Client: McDonald’s USA
McDonald’s new McCafé Real Fruit Smoothie beverages launched nationally in July 2010 and the brand was looking for a way to create awareness and trial within the African American community.
The Real Moments, Real Fruit: McCafé Smooth Fusion Tour was developed. The 34-city tour, which ran from August 6th to October 6th, encouraged African American consumers to take “Real Moments” with McCafé Real Fruit Smoothies.
The tour visited nine primary and 25 secondary markets that had high concentrations of African American consumers in the Midwest, East and South, including appearances at nine renowned African American national events, including the Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago, the Indianapolis’ Circle City Classic and Atlanta’s Football Classic Parades.
Y’Anna Crawley, season two winner of BET’s Sunday’s Best” gospel talent show, participated in events, while former Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty stopped by an event at Howard University. Students at historically black colleges served as ambassadors and handed out samples on their campuses.
In secondary markets, visits included local McDonald’s, major churches, malls, health clubs and other high traffic consumer locations. Sampling tactics were used to authentically connect with the target audience.
At tour stop locations, consumers were greeted by brand ambassadors who gave out samples, provided product information and distributed McCafé Arch Cards, while inviting consumers to take a Real Fruit Smoothie Moment. They were also invited to video record their feedback, share a positive “Real Moment,” or take a moment to shine by showcasing their talents. Local radio stations were on site for many of the events, with on-air talent driving consumers to the McCafé tour locations.
A 36-foot customized McCafé branded motor coach was used to make a big splash. The interior featured the “McCafé Smooth Fusion Lounge,” which incorporated Real Fruit Smoothie décor accents aligned with the brand’s color palette and product look and feel. The Lounge also served as a media hub for conducting interviews. Targeted ads were shown on flat screen monitors to further connect consumers with the product’s messaging.
The website, 365Black.com, was created to give consumers an additional platform for their voice to be heard, as well as a place where they could win prizes.
During the three-month tour, consumers sampled 84,882 McCafé Real Fruit Smoothies and more than 500 consumers recorded McCafé “real moment” testimonials. The tour garnered nearly 125 million consumer impressions with nearly 2.3 million people attending participating national African American events.
