McDonald’s Canada is targeting students in its latest ad campaign, with an aim to resonate with students as they face increasing financial pressures.
The “Burger Bursary” campaign is a national, direct-to-student marketing campaign to promote the QSR chain’s McDelivery service, with the brand offering thousands of dollars in prize money to support students with education costs.
The creative strategy was developed by Cossette, which looked to find a way to position the delivery service as a partner in students’ lives, as well as a comfort to make their lives easier.
“We started to look at the state of affairs for students, and the truth is students are more worried about money now than they ever have been,” says Cossette group business director Kelly Hanley. “The right way to talk to students is not to dismiss that they’re struggling. Students are dealing with a lot of financial insecurities, especially newcomers in Canada.”
The campaign includes an online survey and contest hosted by 55 Rush, a community hub for students and the parent company for Student Life Network, which offers scholarships and other financial prizes. The survey asks a few questions to tell users which menu item they are, before entering the contest.
“Students are used to coming to our platform to engage with brands for opportunities to win something or to be a part of something or to get some sort of an offer,” says 55 Rush SVP of sales Justin Vandenberg.
“I don’t think we’ve ever done something like this before, or at least of late with McDelivery specifically, where it goes beyond just the value of the experience of enjoying McDonald’s food,” Hanley adds.
The look of the campaign is also designed to resonate with students. The Burger Bursary website, and the ads promoting it, resemble the type of stickers a student might put on their laptop. The goal, Hanley says, is to infuse the work with “tongue-in-cheek relatability,” which the brand often uses in its marketing.
The campaign and contest runs until April 12. It includes digital and social elements, with programmatic banners and influencer content via TikTok. 55 Rush is also promoting the contest through its own community and OMD is overseeing the media buy.
