This year, we supported McDonald’s franchisees and corporate partners in four markets, representing over 800 restaurants.
Davis Elen brought the McDonald’s Pride mantra to life through Pride activations in Washington, D.C., Portland, OR., and Seattle., WA for our franchisees. We also represented the Chicago-headquartered McDonald’s Corporate for its Pride parade in Chicago.
Our partners at McDonald’s are striving not just to ‘talk the talk’ but ‘walk the walk.’ McDonald’s established a new mantra for Pride. One that is predicated on inclusive and equitable practices and engagement.
The mantra states that McDonald’s supports, encourages, and amplifies inclusivity & representation, and that all people associated with the brand should be their authentic selves. Simply stated: To be lovin’ their life, living their truth, real and out loud.
Our strategy is to share original, relatable content that reflects inclusivity and representation for our influencers.
Our credo: Do good because doing good is the right thing to do, not because you want credit for it. We know from experience that doing good builds equity for the brand, which will yield immeasurable dividends in the future while concurrently creating a more inclusive space for all.
This year, our plan was to shine light on local LGBTQ+ voices and Drag talent who inspire their community to live their most authentic pride, all supported by their local McDonald’s.
While brands were being “cancelled” for their attachment to Drag talent, McDonald’s stood proudly to continue to showcase their support and proudly share the message to be “lovin’ their life, living their truth, real and out loud.”
Our activations included our influential talent being featured in their local Pride parades on a double-decker bus for Washington, DC, floats in Seattle and Chicago, and a boots on the ground approach in our Portland, Oregon market.
The execution included celebrating our LGBTQ franchise workers, our Influential talent and the community throughout, by handing out swag to the crowds that included livin’ my truth flags, meal vouchers and capturing their most authentic Pride experiences to share with social audiences.
Talent Featured
D.C Pride: RuPaul’s Drag Race’s, Tatianna (@Tatianna)
Seattle Pride: Internet Stars, Matthew and Paul (@matthewandpaul) and from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Irene The Ailen (@irenethealien
Chicago Pride: RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Vixen (@theviexensworld)
***Chicago nearly rained out with a treacherous storm carrying an enormous downpour of rain, just moments before we disembarked. With swift action to save our DJ equipment and costumes... with, of course, A LOT of ponchos, we were able to still activate and take to the streets. 20 minutes later the sun came beaming in and it was quite a sight for the remainder of the event.
Portland Pride: Drag entertainer and former Miss Gay Oregon, Flawless Shade (@flawless.shade) and Michael Schneider (@blcksmith)
***Portland worked in a unique boots-on-the-ground environment. Although denied a float in the Portland Parade, Davis Elen was determined to provide a presence for our local franchisee partners and the McDonald’s brand. The local McDonald’s owner operators are employing over 12k people locally, many of whom are a part of the LGBTQ+ community and/or are allies. We wanted to showcase their commitment to inclusivity and to give those employees and local community members an opportunity to feel seen. So, Flawless was out and about in Portland handing out arch cards and sharing the love to those in their community who were living their truth. While Michael (@blksmith) created a unique art installation with his famous ballon word art pieces that highlighted his own spin on the rally cry of McDonald’s pride.
The results we received from this campaign yielded above our engagement rate benchmark and delivered over our estimated reach. Our engagement rates netted out between a 1x-5x engagement baseline of 3%, one hitting as high as 18% ER.
But the real indicator of a successful and impactful campaign came from the positive brand sentiment and conversations we saw in the comment section of the Influencers posts and on the ground reactions when crowds saw some of their favorite LGBTQ talent and Drag Queens being supported by an iconic brand like McDonald’s.
Not only were our clients, stakeholders and participants moved by our activations, our local community partners who threw these events were, too.
***Our number one deal-breaker was to participate in a capacity that did not give back to the local LGBTQ+ community. Each city we activated in included both financial and volunteer support of each local LGBTQ+ non-profit partner.
