McDonalds is King of Advertising in My Book

I know that a while back I kinda blasted McDonalds for their crappy food (I do stand behind that), but I’ve decided that when it comes to advertising, McDonalds is doing it right. Why the change of heart? I was on a panel of bloggers who were invited to speak with Mary Dillon, Global CMO of McDonalds, after her presentation at M.planet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSZ6k3QIsAk[/youtube]

Here’s why I’ve switched sides:

• The brand clearly has brand ambassadors. These are people who love the brand and promote it out of love, not payment. See the McNuggets rap above (this went from being just a fun video some kids made to getting picked up by McDonalds for a commercial. I dig that they’re using the grassroots efforts others have done to sell.
• McDonalds clearly has a brand promise: Simple easy enjoyment. Now, I might not agree with that, but 58 million people per day visit their restaurants, so it’s got to be true.
• The company listens to employees and consumers. They have created a Global Moms Advisory Panel that takes the input from mothers worldwide, and they have a social media platform for McDonalds employees who give their insight.
• McDonalds is slowly (but faster than other large corporations) understanding the power of interactive marketing, social media, and blogs. They held a global game, The Lost Ring, during the Beijing Olympics. They invited top bloggers to participate, and the results were impressive. Also, the fact that Mary Dillon was the only speaker who considered speaking to bloggers (why bother, right?) spoke volumes to me about McD’s willingness to move forward into Marketing 2.0.
• The Big Mac Chant Contest proves that they care about their fans and customers, and did so by inviting them to participate in the contest to revamp the “2 all beef patties” chant.

Way to go McDonalds. I look forward to writing more about you.