Running head: CASE STUDY 10.

McDonalds Global 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Sponsorship Bringing People

Together Like Never Before
Alison Wootten, Kiara Lewis, Taylor Cernetich, Shikha Alsanea
Missouri State University

McDonalds Global 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Sponsorship Bringing People

Together Like Never Before
Introduction

Running head: CASE STUDY 10.3

Logos are signs that people see while walking through the mall or driving down
the road and eventually associate that logo with a company or idea. It can become very
challenging for a company to develop a logo that will stick with consumers. In 2013, the
number one restaurant logo that people recognized most was McDonalds, as those
golden arches can be spotted anywhere and everywhere. The official McDonalds website
states, we're proud to have become one of the world's leading food service retailers in
more than 100 countries, with more than 35,000 restaurants serving nearly 70 million
people every day (Our Story, 2014). With this many locations and that many customers
each day, McDonalds made a smart move in gaining sponsorship for the Olympics.
The move to sponsor the Olympics was indeed a good move on McDonalds as
they have reached out to many people, however, it was also very bold. Imagine the first
impression when a fast food restaurant states they would like to sponsor an event that
promotes healthy athletes and a lifestyle filled with exercise. McDonalds faced the
challenges of it all but needed to keep a few key features in mind. One feature being the
international public relations which is not only about translation to the other cultures, but
also the values and meanings with specific audiences, the text also states Conveying
messages and stories that would engage and resonate with diverse audiences in more than
100 countries (Hendrix, Hayes, & Kumar, 1988). This is an incredibly important aspect
for any type of sponsor, making sure that all audiences are being matched.
McDonald's became an official sponsor of the Olympic Games in 1976 and has a
longstanding commitment to the Olympic Movement (Olympic, 2014) with almost 40
years of sponsorship, McDonalds main focus and challenge is dealing with international
public relations. It is best in this type of situation to use the ROPE method. Using that

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method, this paper will discuss in further detail the challenges McDonalds ran into while
sponsoring the Olympics and how they became the best media coverage of the 2008
Olympic Games.
Research
Although there is the saying, Bringing People Together Like Never Before that
was brought upon those from McDonalds in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, McDonalds did
extensive research before any of that could ever happen. As stated above, there were
multiple challenges throughout this process of becoming the biggest and best sponsor.
According to Public Relations Cases, Olympic coverage focused primarily on Chinas
issues and then on athletes/competitions, not sponsors and their activities (Hendrix,
Hayes, & Kumar, 1988). With this McDonalds had big plans to come out on top with at
least 300 million media impressions and be among the top three most covered sponsors
(Hendrix, Hayes, & Kumar, 1988). The goal was high but to gain the involvement within
the local countries was the number one thing on the sponsors mind. Though McDonalds
could not do this without an outsiders help, according to PRSA McDonalds turned to
Golin Harris for the impossible earn unprecedented coverage during the most
politicized, sponsor-laden Olympic Games in history (PRSA, 2009), therefore Golin
Harris, an integrated public relations and marketing communications firm, joined their
team.
Golin Harris was there to help out McDonalds in the process of coming up with
ways to increase the levels of participation in countries worldwide. This begins to really
look at how both the firm and the sponsor are going to connect internationally. In the PR
Newswire Mary Dillon, McDonald's Global Chief Marketing Officer, detailed the

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company's plans to bring the Olympic Games to life for customers around the world
McDonald's has created unique programs for Beijing, ranging from a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for kids to a cutting-edge web-based Alternate Reality Game (PR Newswire,
2014). The research and the planning was conducted in hopes of a successful outcome
during the Beijing Olympic Games. However, the companies did a fine job of figuring
out how to connect to their audience in the different countries, to add on, Golin Harris
and McDonalds could have done a few more things in preparing for this big take off.
One recommendation would be to research the issues and challenges happening in those
countries and incorporating them into the actual sponsorship if possible. If that was one
of the main focuses during the Olympic Games then incorporate that into their own
media.
With almost 40 years of sponsorship on McDonalds side, it was easy to see that
no matter what they would try their hardest and their best to reach the media gold. In
2008, they had people talking about the bringing of people together because of their
research planning and ultimately their goal of reaching out to that many different
cultures.
Objectives
After doing much research, McDonalds planned to execute something that had
never been attempted in media relations. We certainly are planning to make this our
most innovative and probably our biggest activation ever for the Olympics (Mary
Dillion, 2008). In order for McDonalds to achieve this goal they had two main
objectives being; (1) secure significant positive news coverage worldwide with at least
300 million media impressions and be among the top three covered sponsors. (2) Increase

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McDonalds involvement on a local level in countries worldwide in the Global PR
activation by 25 percent from past years (Hendrix, Hayes, & Kumar, 1988). These
objectives, if achieved, would be an accomplished goal for McDonalds giving it the title
of the most innovative ever (PR Newswire, 2014).
To best achieve these objectives, McDonalds needed to define their key audience.
The Olympics is worldwide and having an international audience gains a lot of pressure.
International media was one of the main audiences, getting from national down to local in
any given area that were mainly uninterested in Olympic sponsors. They chose this
audience in order to refocus from the issues that arise during the Olympics to McDonalds
positive sponsorship activism. Their second audience was International consumers,
essentially anybody who is interested in the Olympics with different perceptions of
McDonalds and the Olympic games. The third audience McDonalds was geared towards
are the countries in which a McDonalds was located, where using strong communication
and breakthrough programs in order to engage consumers and have positive media
exposure.
Execution
In respects to the McDonalds Beijing Olympic Games Sponsorship, McDonalds
knew that they would have to have a very strategic, well thought out plan to implement
their campaign like they wanted to and to have it be as successful as possible. Once
McDonalds fully understood the objectives they needed to meet and the challenges that
may arise, they created a specialized media strategy to execute a two-year public relations
plan. In the beginning of the plan they first started with a first ever kids initiative in order
to demonstrate McDonalds continuous commitment to the lives of children around the

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world, the McDonalds Champion Kids program gave children all around the world
opportunities to see the Olympic Games firsthand "These kids will reach out to thousands
more, connecting with their worldwide peers to communicate the sights and sounds of the
Olympic Games and the fascinating culture of China. It's another example of our
commitment to the enrichment of children" (McDonalds 2007). The program showcased
a young journalists piece where the kids were given the opportunity to share their
experience at the Games with their hometown media outlets and the community.
McDonalds plan also included an alternate reality game through the partnerships of the
International Olympic Committee called The Lost Ring, along with hiring legendary
Olympians Michael Phelps and Carl Lewis as ambassadors for the program (Hayes,
Hendrix, & Kumar, 2013).
McDonalds Golin Harris planned to develop a brand new campaign strategy that
would boost them to the top; the message used was Bringing People Together Like
Never Before. In order to do this they used five different time sectors to launch their
campaign, the first of which was one year before the Games there was a Global Media
Event in China to announce McDonalds new Champion Kids program and their overall
Olympic plans (Hayes, Hendrix, & Kumar, 2013). Out of the 40 years, McDonalds held
the sponsorship with the Olympic games the announcement generated hundreds of media
stories across the nation as well as CNN International. At the 1968 Olympic Winter
Games, McDonald's airlifted hamburgers to U.S. athletes competing in Grenoble, France,
after they reported being homesick for McDonald's food. Thus, starting in 1976
McDonalds became an official sponsor and has been serving their commitment to the
games ever since (McDonalds 2007).

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The next exposure time was four months before the Games where they
McDonalds had an Internal Rally of the McDonalds System talking and previewing
their plans at the McDonalds Worldwide Convention and encouraging communicators
around the country to gather and communicate in the Olympic sponsorship PR key
activation. Following was the one-month pre-Games announcement through a Global
Virtual Press Conference; this was another first for McDonalds which jumpstarted a
huge media shift from problem-centered individuals to the companys role as TOP
Sponsor. This further summarized the Olympic activation plan giving international media
exclusive access via a global Webcast through live satellites from three continents.
McDonalds developed an effective strategy for redirecting media interest and
showcasing the different programs. The fourth time frame was one day before the
Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games where a Global Media Event was
held, it was the only media event Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games
(BOCOG) allowed on the Olympic Green. Over 200 international media sources attended
the event that also featured Olympic champion Carl Lewis. A huge aspect of this sector of
the time period is that it was important that the whole focus was one the people, pride and
the fun of the Games as a whole. It was also important that that was how it was portrayed
worldwide.

The final time period that was looked at was the three-week span during the Olympic
games. McDonalds successfully developed and executed multiple high-energy and newsgenerating activities that time after time kept the media coming back for more
information. This included a prime strategically timed restaurant appearance with

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Michael Phelps the day after he made Olympic history and then went on to break the
Olympic gold medal record, which also result in a widespread global coverage frenzy.
Beyond the initial PR plan, the great execution of the strategy allowed
McDonalds to be able to start, continue and lead the conversations that were taking place
throughout the media. Furthermore, there were three main programs that assisted in the
McDonalds campaigns success. First was the McDonalds Olympic Champion Crew,
this was a trendsetting program that lead to a first time high participation of 1.400
participants as McDonalds crew from over 36 countries (Rein 2008). These individuals
staffed four brand new Olympic venue restaurants and game them the opportunity to
experience China and the Games firsthand for the first time. The next key program was
McDonalds Champion Kids, this brand new program gave children from a across the
globe the chance to experience and explain the Olympic Games through their own eyes
(Hayes, Hendrix, & Kumar, 2013). 216 children participated from over 40 countries were
given unprecedented access to the Olympic Village that housed the athletes during the
games, and the opportunity to report back to their hometown media outlets what they
were experiencing first hand. "McDonald's unique Champion Kids program mirrors the
passion we have for bringing together youth from around the world, connecting cultures
and communities as only the Olympic Movement can," said IOC President Jacques
Rogge (McDonalds 2007) A huge addition to the campaign was having Olympic gold
medalist Michael Phelps as a Global Ambassador. The final of the three programs was
The Lost Ring, this was a first ever, alternate reality game co-created with the
International Olympic Committee that connected a community of nearly 2.7 million
participants, covering 100 countries and 16 languages online (Hayes, Hendrix, & Kumar,

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2013). These individuals all worked together to solve Olympic sport mysteries provided
to them by McDonalds former Olympian Edwin Moses who served as a surprise gamer
in the program.
Recommendations
A recommendation for McDonalds and the International Olympic Committee
would be that connecting better with the wants of the Beijing community as a whole
would have increased the success of this sponsorship. By making them feel that being the
hosting country was an honor, not a burden could have raised the morale of Beijing. If
McDonalds and the International Olympic Committee would have given more attention
to Beijing community and made them feel more cared about, then this sponsorship could
have been much more of a success. Nearly 80% of the Chinese consumers polled said
they did not care who the official sponsors were and the vast majority did not consider
official Olympic sponsorship (Rein 2008) when buying a product. If the audience were
better reached the sponsoring companies would have been more profitable in the long run
and would have had a better appeal factor. With anything, many can go a long way, and
with a bigger budget McDonalds would have been able to reach a bigger audience more
in depth.
Evaluation
While the inclusion of certain measures is critical for future research, the
evaluation of sponsorship must determine its effectiveness in achieving sponsors
objectives and its relative effectiveness when compared to other promotional options
(OReilly et al,2007). McDonalds achieved their goal, gaining a record amount of
media impressions and they reached all of their target audiences. Secure media coverage

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worldwide with a minimum of 300 million media impressions and ensure McDonalds is
the top three sponsors covered positively in the media, this was the first objective
McDonalds had in order to achieve their ultimate goal. According to Public Relations
Cases McDonalds achieved more than double the media impressions they originally set
out to achieve. McDonalds reached nearly one billion viewers globally; over 350 million
were gained with overall sponsorship. With the McDonalds Olympic Champion Crew
they gained over 250 million impressions, McDonalds Champion Kids gained over 200
million impressions, and lastly The Lost Ring led to 25 million more impressions. After
the success of the Olympic sponsorship more than 700 media stories were published,
either prints, online or broadcast. McDonalds garnered the highest unaided recognition
recall above all Olympic sponsors and advertisers in a post-Olympic Games-Survey by
Torontos Solutions Research Group (Hayes, Hendrix, & Kumar, 2013).
The second objective of McDonalds goal was Increase McDonalds local
country participation worldwide in the Global PR activation by 25 percent from past
years (Hayes, Hendrix, & Kumar, 2013). McDonalds goal was 25 percent, and they
achieved 85 percent in PR involvement on a local level worldwide. They engaged more
than 90 McDonalds countries with breakthrough programs. Thus McDonalds achieved
their highest goal through achieving their objectives and executing their plan well. Their
were many challenges McDonalds was to overcome with the Olympic games being
hosted in Beijing, China, but with extensive research they were able to overcome those
challenges and present one of the greatest Olympic sponsorships in history.

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together-like-never-before-for-beijing-2008-olympic-games-153783815.html
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