Opportunity
We had the chance to reinvigorate classic menu items through launching McDonald’s first Artist Residency program and driving cultural relevancy for one of the world’s most loved brands.
Elevating Cumulus’ cold coffee experience
Opportunity
To support the launch of their groundbreaking Cold Coffee Machine, Cumulus tapped tms to design and develop custom drinkware that could enhance the experience of enjoying a cold brew at home.
Approach
To develop drinkware that’s complementary in both function and form, we dove deep into the Cumulus brand, gaining a true understanding of their product vision, design language, and drinkware needs. We kept the user experience top-of-mind and designed bespoke glass tumblers that match the Cumulus machine.
Outcome
tms designed and developed two double wall glasses that match the elegance of Cumulus’ Machine and showcase the beauty of different coffee varieties through transparent glass. Their double wall construction eliminates condensation and keeps your beverage perfectly chilled.
We contributed to a full-use experience across this novel cold coffee platform, enhancing the brand’s social media posts and advertising through beautiful, functional vessels that encourage consumers to embrace the Cumulus lifestyle in their own homes.
We were thrilled to partner with Cumulus and create a cohesive line of drinkware that aligns with the design of their award-winning machine. Our team prides itself on brand stewardship, thoroughly digging in to understand the customer experience so we can develop products that enhance it.
Discover more
Head to CumulusCoffee.com to learn more or to purchase.
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Fueling young minds with aspirational stories one Happy Meal® at a time
Opportunity
According to the National Literacy Trust, a UK-based charitable organization supported by McDonald’s, nearly 1 in 10 (9.7%) adolescents in 2022 who received free school meals did not have a book of their own at home. With this lack of accessibility to books for young students in mind, McDonald’s and tms set out to create “I Can Dream Big,” the latest iteration of the global Happy Meal® Readers program which builds off its original principles originating in 2001. The series consists of aspirational children’s books that encourage children to fall in love with reading with the help of fun and relatable storylines, accompanied by engaging new digital elements, activity sheets, and more.
A seminal partnership was formed between tms, McDonald’s, and the Little People Big, Dreams brand, growing the partnership from a brief book series to strategizing a compelling new global Happy Meal Readers program. McDonald’s and tms strategized the concept of “I Can,” an idea centered around empathy, putting an emphasis on relatable stories with inspirational figures while giving children easy access to read with every Happy Meal. Commencing in August of 2022, the books touch on a variety of interests and lessons, offered as a choice alongside the Happy Meal® toy.
The Happy Meal® Readers x Little People, Big Dreams partnership was thoughtfully designed with families in mind. Using the scale of the McDonald’s system, all partners came together to place books in the hands of children and families to make reading fun through moments of togetherness.
Approach
The Happy Meal Reader initiative is based on three major pillars: entertainment, empowerment, and democratization. These pillars guided us towards creating accessible books that educate, motivate, and empower readers, while also providing storylines that are eye-opening yet relatable.
Using qualitative and quantitative analysis in nine global markets, we selected engaging and confidence-boosting stories that teach important life lessons with engaging illustrations to keep little readers captivated. Through McDonald’s research, we found the most successful themes are animals, nature, and science. Other storylines range from athletics to social initiatives, including titles like “I Can Be a Sports Star,” “I Can Be a Champion of Change,” and “I Can Be a Talented Musician.” While these books are designed as condensed versions to fit within the Happy Meal packaging, full-versions of the books are available for purchase in retail book stores.
McDonald’s and tms also created digital activities and games which correspond with the Happy Readers series that can be accessed by scanning the QR Code on the Happy Meal Readers Book, extending the storylines and education beyond the books to increase engagement and make young readers feel as they are a part of the protagonist’s adventure!
Outcome
The readers have proven to be a global success, with 17 books published in 2022 and 41 diverse role models featured in over 100 countries. Since 2001, tms and McDonald’s have been passionate about making books accessible for children and have produced nearly 1 billion books as of 2023, making McDonald’s one of the largest children’s books distributors in the world. Through the “I Can Dream Big” Happy Meal Readers initiative since 2022, McDonald’s has successfully put over 50 million books into the hands of young readers.
Results
51
Million books put into customers hands through the “I Can Dream Big” series
100+
Global markets reached
55%
Customers trust McDonald’s more with the addition of Happy Readers
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Samsung Galaxy | Big Ten Conference
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Creating a one-of-a-kind experience for modern tastemakers
Approach
Working in tandem with McDonald’s agency partners, tms helped amplify the brand’s place in culture by creating a program that connected the brand with today’s leading creatives — a fresh way to promote classic menu items. Known for its designs that feature an array of characters, Cactus Plant Flea Market has a niche place in the cultural zeitgeist and was the perfect partner to kickstart the program. Tapping our collective marketing and sourcing expertise, we turned heritage characters into highly-sought-after premium collectibles. Not only did we design the figurines themselves, but we also developed retail, packaging, and omni-channel assets.
Outcome
This program outperformed projections across many key objectives, including average check amount and units sold, netting out to an early end to the program due to depleted supplies generated from high popularity. The successes of this program outweighed previous Famous Orders/Big Bet campaigns for the brand. The program also garnered high levels of attention and positive mentions from traditional and social media.
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Boosting the momentum of a long-standing program
Boosting brand love with an exciting promotion
Opportunity
Noticing a pattern of decreasing visits to its restaurants during the month of October, McDonald’s wanted to introduce a month-long program that would tempt customers back. We made it our objective to turn that around by crafting an experience that drove guest counts, reinvigorated sales, and boosted brand affinity.
Approach
tms put a new twist on the standard sweepstakes promotion with an exciting Halloween campaign that drove guests back into stores.
Outcome
We developed a bold program called “Trick. Treat. Win!” which leveraged a timely Halloween theme and a chance at instant-win prizes to delight customers. And for the first time ever, our program gave customers the opportunity to choose the prizes they won. As well as owning the campaign strategy, our creative identity featured across stores, digital channels, and the campaign packaging.
Results
1.3
Billion
sweepstakes entries
4.1
Million
app downloads
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McDonald’s | McCafé® Be a Brew-Gooder
Forging a feel-good grassroots program
Driving McCafé® sustainability efforts
Opportunity
McDonald’s sought to overhaul its foam McCafé® coffee cups based on customer insights and a need to align supplier practices with sustainability goals.
Approach
McDonald’s tapped tms to initiate, manage, and implement the conversion of their foam cup to a renewable resource with the optimized double-wall fiber hot cup. It had to be cost-effective and easily deployed to more than 14,000 restaurants in the United States. Recognizing the gold-standard of the FSC® certification and influence of the trademark and organizational reach of the label, tms also managed the phase-in of the FSC® certified board and subsequently included the graphic on the hot cup.
Outcome
The resulting cup aligned with brand demand for sustainable products as well as consumer expectations for quality and corporate responsibility, making it cost-neutral for McDonald’s and its customers. Furthermore, the redesign promoted environmental sustainability and highlighted McDonald’s FSC® certification and sustainable practices. The cup’s increased insulation eliminates the need for a sleeve, leading to a reduction in material use and freight cost.
Results
5.8
million
a pounds packaging waste saved
5.2
million
pound initial goal surpassed
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Delivering culturally relevant design to bring families together
Delivering culturally relevant design to bring families together
Opportunity
McDonald’s wanted to introduce rice-based entrees in Northern Asia to grow the dinner day part and find a way to bring families together. They needed a short-term packaging solution that allowed for effective containment in less than three months. They were also looking for a longer-term solution that offered a more consumer-centric approach.
Approach
tms took a two-step functional packaging approach for both short and long-term gains. The first batch of packaging was delivered in less than three months, allowing the restaurant to quickly launch rice entrees. For the longer-term solution, tms analyzed main consumer preferences for a dinner experience. We harnessed these insights to create new packaging that encouraged meal sharing while maintaining product integrity and quality.
Outcome
Leveraging tms’s award-winning design teams and extensive supplier network, we delivered new packaging in record time, then adapted the next round of designs using our findings with limited investment on the front end. Our modular packaging enhances the customer experience, allowing them to share food in a way that feels comfortable and familiar.
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