McDonald’s Figured Out a Brilliant Way to Attract Customers, and It’s Pure Emotional Intelligence
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Original story and image on INC
McDonald’s Figured Out a Brilliant Way to Attract Customers, and It’s Pure Emotional Intelligence Aww. Wouldn’t your grandma like that?
McDonald’s has a secret weapon—nostalgia—and other restaurant chains are now learning the trick. Maybe it can work for your business, too.
Let’s tell the McDonald’s story first. Once you see how effectively McDonald’s leverages nostalgia in its marketing — and how emotionally intelligent that strategy is — it’s almost impossible to unsee it.
Cases in point:
- Last year, McDonald’s ran a 30-market campaign where it flipped the “M” in its name upside down to become a “W,” thus bringing to life the “WcDonald’s” restaurant that is an ongoing feature in anime films and TV shows. (If you don’t know it, you’re probably not part of the Millennial and Gen Z audience McDonald’s was going for here.)
- Remember adult Happy Meals? If you went back and looked at the very first lines of the announcement of that promotion in 2024, McDonald’s wasted no time in zeroing right in on the emotional reactions they tried to spark with that marketing strategy. (“Happy Meal toys … unlock core memories around some of our favorite McDonald’s moments.”)
- And, there’s my favorite example of them all: the McDonald’s Grandma McFlurry.
McDonald’s Figured Out a Brilliant Way to Attract Customers, and It’s Pure Emotional Intelligence
Original story and image on Uber
The rise of Gen Uber
Gen Uber: the on-demand generation
The on-demand economy has rewired consumer habits—ushering in Gen Uber, a new wave of hyper-connected, convenience-first consumers. While most prevalent in Gen Z and Millennials, consumer mindsets overall have shifted. People want to move at the speed of now, weaving apps like Uber and Uber Eats into the fabric of daily life.
For brands, cracking the code on Gen Uber means staying relevant in a world that never slows down. This white paper dives into what makes them tick, how they shop, and how Uber Advertising puts your brand in the driver’s seat—right at the moment of intent.
Understanding Gen Uber: a generation built on convenience, value, and connection
Gen Uber isn’t simply a demographic—it's a mindset. Shaped by a world of instant access and constant connectivity, this group makes decisions digitally, swiftly, and socially. But they don’t live for the screen—they use it to live more in the moment.
Original story and image on QSR Magazine
Stop Chasing the Broke: How Gen X Can Save the Franchise Restaurant Industry
The restaurants that get it right aren’t just throwing back to the past and leaning in to nostalgia.
There’s a strange, almost cult-like behavior that continues to grip modern marketing: the nonstop chase after Gen Z. Agencies pitch TikTok-first strategies like gospel. Brand decks are littered with emojis, slang, and the latest viral challenge. All of it aimed at capturing the elusive attention of the youngest cohort with the lowest disposable income.
Let’s be blunt: it’s absurd.
Agencies spend decades in boardrooms convincing brands to think strategically, not reactively. And yet here we are, as an industry, gleefully throwing billions in ad dollars at an audience still figuring out how to split rent with four roommates. Meanwhile, Gen X and Boomers (the ones who actually have the money) are sitting on the sidelines, barely acknowledged by the brands they’ve supported for decades.
This isn’t just a missed opportunity. It’s marketing malpractice.
Stop Chasing the Broke: How Gen X Can Save the Franchise Restaurant Industry
Original story and image on Yelp
5 steps to sizzling summer restaurant marketing
Summer, for many people, means getting outside, getting social, and getting into good grub. For restaurants, this means a major opportunity to make a splash with new customers and regulars alike—and options abound when it comes to attracting eyeballs. Summer restaurant marketing capitalizes on the increased flow of foot traffic and tourists to build buzz and increase market share.
Tying in with local events, dolling up your outdoor area, and revamping your menu for the summer are all vital ways to draw that summer crowd. Keeping up with trends and boosting your visibility with tech tools are next-level steps that keep a restaurant ahead of the curve. So, let’s take a look at actionable strategies for summer restaurant marketing that’ll keep customers coming back.
- Tie in with local events
The summer months buzz with all kinds of events: festivals, county fairs, markets, and more. Keeping track of local events and tying your restaurant to them boosts your visibility and will help draw in new customers and tourists while giving your regular customers ample reason to continue to visit. So, how to make the most of the busy summer season?
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