January 17, 2013
Holy Cow! McD’s Becomes Macca’s Down Under
Imagine if for one month, the golden arches at McDonald’s no longer used the company’s name, but instead shortened it to the popular Mickey D’s. That’s what the chain has done in Australia to celebrate its 40 years of serving up burgers there.
A total of 13 McDonald’s in the country have gotten new signage designating them as Macca’s, Australians’ nickname for the chain. According to an Australian Times report, McDonald’s consumer research found that 55 percent of Aussies regularly refer to the chain as Macca’s.
"We’re incredibly proud to embrace our ‘Australian-only’ nickname," said Mark Lollback, the company’s chief marketing officer in Australia, in a statement.
"What better way to show Aussies how proud we are to be a part of the Australian community than change our store signs to the name the community has given us?"
"I think it’s great recognition of what Australians think about McDonald’s," Glenmore Park licensee Ian Garton told the Penrith Press. "We give nicknames to everything and we came up with Macca’s."
McDonald’s is known for fiercely protecting its brand image so the Macca’s derivation is an anomaly. The nickname signs will stay up until Feb. 4.
"I wouldn’t mind leaving them up for a bit longer," Mr. Garton said.
- McDonald’s Changes Name to ‘Macca’s’ in Australia – Advertising Age (Tiered sub. model)
- Macca’s Or McDonald’s? Australia Branch Of Fast Food Chain To Temporarily Change Its Name – Reuters/The Huffington Post
- Aussie McDonald’s ‘Macca’s’ rebrand for Australia Day – Australian Times
- West Gosford McDonald’s is now officially Maccas – Express Advocate
Discussion Questions
What do you think of McDonald’s Macca’s promotion in Australia? Do you think something similar would work here?
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The customers seem to like it. It makes a statement. It is positive. And it get’s good press. What more could one ask for in a marketing program?
Brilliant idea! Makes their customers feel important, and gets them lots of press along the way!
To say that the Aussie’s take a “lighter hearted approach to business” would be stating the obvious to anyone who has ever lived or worked there.
During my own tenure, one of the top ad agencies in Sydney was the Ball Agency. (Nope, no relation. I checked.) They were quite proud of their creative product and advertised that fact through multiple means—including a billboard at the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Their slogan? “Don’t you wish your advertising stood out like Ball’s?”
Could there possibly be anything else to say?
A promotion is a promotion and what works in the US may not in Australia and vice versa. Understanding and adopting to some aspect of the cultures in which they operate is a McDonald’s specialty. There are parts of Canada in which they offer McLobster sandwiches, in India there is the potato-patty McAloo Tikki Burger!
McDonald’s does a good job of rationalizing its offers both nationally and internationally and may find some markets here in the US where just such a promotion would be appropriate.
Clever promotional idea but what will happened after Feb. 4 to those 13 stores? Will it be “MACCAS BY THE SACK” or will they will go back to being McDonald’s?
Either way this adds a desirable albeit a temporary Australian flavor to the Big Mac.
This promotion shows that McD has flexibility but its corporate focus remains on enhancing the McDonald’s name internationally. Too much proliferation of nicknames here or overseas could conflict with that corporate objective … yet some fun, it’s still good.
I like the idea of creating excitement and passion for your brand. It creates a sense of brand intimacy and makes it feel as though your brand is also the customer’s brand.
Besides Mickey D’s, we have DD (Dunkin’ Donuts), Wally World (Walmart) and the Wa (Wawa). The only potential shortcoming is the legal denigration of the official brand name. But that gives attorneys a way to make a living.
It worked for KFC but I think it would be a waste of resources to try to change the name, even if only for a short time.
As long as this is merely a temporary promotional play, it works effectively. In no way should McDonald’s shift an iconic brand name on a permanent basis.
Shows the light side of McDonald’s and their ability to say, “This is the warm, friendly place that you know and trust.”
This is an excellent example of listening to your customers! What a great concept and likely a new serge of business. Kudos Maaca! Maybe JCPenney could learn something from this?
It seems like a lot of work for just a few weeks of exposure. Then again, if it got someone in Oakland to read the (Central Coast) “Express Advocate” I guess you could say the attendant publicity was worth it.
But these type of things don’t usually end well. It would only be a matter of time before a promo in Whereveristan abbreviated the name into what was a profanity in the local dialect (and just as Ball’s signage no doubt inspired school lads to sneak up and obliterate the apostrophe).
Guys, it is all about the customer—the customer currently recognises Macca’s as the name, abbreviation or not—don’t be surprised if it became permanent as it does not really represent a change to us Aussies.
Also, don’t disregard Aussies’ ability to understand this market. We have had more than our fair share of leaders in Maccas Internationally and have tested and created many of the successful ideas. What themes and concepts have helped revitalise Maccas internationally and where did they come from? Your perspective of a casual and laid back culture hides one of the longest and hardest working weeks in the Western World (management, anyway)….