Digital marketing
McDonald’s Switzerland: app mini-games driving 10,500 daily visits and 39% restaurant return
As part of its loyalty program, McDonald’s Switzerland launched a mini game exclusively available on its mobile app. The goal was to boost user engagement, encourage restaurant visits, and increase average basket size.
As part of its loyalty program, McDonald's Switzerland launched a mini game exclusively available on its mobile app. The goal was to boost user engagement, encourage restaurant visits, and increase average basket size. The highlight of this activation was gamification: users were invited to play every day to unlock exclusive offers, providing a fun and engaging experience.
Another strategic feature was the ability to share the offer. Users could choose to keep the offers for themselves or give them to a friend or family member who did not yet have the McDonald's app, with the aim of boosting app downloads. This referral system was designed to maximize the campaign's virality, not only encouraging engagement among existing users, but also and above all expanding the active user base by recruiting new users.
These new recruits could then be targeted through personalized campaigns tailored to their needs, maximizing the impact of promotional.
The mini game was only accessible from the McDonald's mobile app. A banner redirects users directly to the game, which is available on both iOS and Android. The game is connected directly to McDonald's CRM via an API, enabling seamless, real-time exchanges between the app and the user management system.
Each offer is associated with the user ID and can appear directly in the offers section of their MyMcDonald's app. The user can then activate this offer according to established rules such as recurrence or activation times.
Comprehensive tracking is in place to monitor every step of the user journey, from opening the app to redeeming the offer in the restaurant. This enabled us to conduct a detailed analysis of engagement and offer usage rates.
Gamification was at the heart of this activation. By encouraging users to play every day to unlock exclusive offers, McDonald's transformed a promotional activation into an engaging and fun experience.
This not only increased engagement among existing users, with an offer adoption rate of nearly 55%, but also had a direct impact on their frequency of restaurant visits and average basket size.
It was observed that those who activated an offer had an average basket size approximately three times higher than the initial offer amount. There was also an increase in the frequency of restaurant visits over a 30-day period. A detailed analysis of this customer journey also makes it possible to identify friction points and drop-off rates at each stage in order to implement the necessary UX/UI optimizations for future activations.
The campaign was widely supported by boosted posts on social media (Instagram, TikTok), newsletters, push notifications, and banners on the app. This multi-channel approach made it possible to reach a wide audience and maximize the visibility of the activation.
The first activation of the Mini Game in the McDonald's app was a major success, with very promising results in terms of engagement, offer activation rates, and increased average basket size. Gamification played a key role in the activation, creating an interactive experience that motivated users to participate and return to the restaurant.
In addition, the offer sharing feature not only helped retain existing users, but also boosted app downloads and expanded the user base. The technical integration of tracking and the dashboard made it possible to collect valuable data and monitor performance in real time, providing valuable insights for future initiatives.
Launch periods and push offers are determined in collaboration with franchisees to ensure a balance between the attractiveness of offers for users and profitability for restaurants. This approach is part of our support for the big yellow arch in its ongoing quest to win over younger consumers.
Results
10500
Unique visits per day on average on the smart webview
30%
Of users activated an offer at least once during the game
27%
Of offers won were shared by users, contributing to the virality of the campaign and the recruitment of new users
39%
Of users who activated an offer via the game returned to the restaurant within 30 days
