McDonald's Golden Nuggets September 10, 2008 McDonald's cheers the home team at Beijing Olympics
By Maggie Rauch
Most Chinese citizens couldn't see any Olympic events first-hand, but that definitely did not dampen their interest in how Team China performed in this summer's Beijing games. To feed into that interest, McDonald's China rolled out a promo called "China Wins, We Win," where prize payout was determined by China's Olympic performance.
Tabs on containers for sandwiches, drinks and french fries listed the name of an Olympic event, and a prize. If China won a medal in that event, customers could collect prizes, ranging from a free drink or sandwich to sports apparel to 2,008 RMB. All 302 Olympic events were included, and 58 million game pieces were printed. McDonald's positioned a redemption desk in each store, along with a running medal tally.
The promotion leveraged relationships with other Olympic sponsors. Coke contributed collector’s edition glasses embossed with the Olympic logo. Adidas offered up Olympic gear, including the specially designed jackets that China’s medalists wore on the podium for their medal ceremonies.
"Research showed…that Chinese consumers were looking for a way to feel involved in the games," says Lisa Howard, general manager of corporate communications for McDonald's China. "This was a way to have all of China participate in the games in our restaurants."
McDonald's also worked out a deal with state television, China Central Television (CCTV), the official broadcaster of the games in China, to air games in McDonald’s stores, which it did on large screens in 630 of its 950 China locations.
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